Road's end for an Atheist

"If such a thing were to happen it would be because my illness had rendered me demented", Christopher Hitchens; when asked on the possibility of him turning to God considering his deteriorating health caused by cancer. 

Personally, I would like to give Mr. Hitchens the benefit of the doubt on his statement.  But what if on his deathbed, Mr. Hitchens would finally accept the reality of God's existence and then later on, when by miracle or whatever way he recovers from his ailment, he will withdraw his acceptance of God's existence and claim that he was "demented" or hallucinating at that time due to the effect of the drugs administered on him?

Surely nobody would believe in him anymore.  Would you?

Raised to Street Life

Amid the hustle & bustle of the city streets of Dipolog, Philippines, the child underneath the fruit stand above earned an uninterrupted rest from his labor.  His labor consists of just being there; his physical presence providing moral support to his mother who is eking out a living for herself and her son in the streets.  (When I took this picture, the mother went away to get something nearby, confident that nobody would harm her son - not while I'm there taking pictures of him).

This is a common sight in Philippine streets: street vendors bringing along their children while earning their living in the streets - exposing their children to danger and pollution outside.  But these street vendors have no choice.  It's the way of life with which they grow up; and most probably, it's the way of life with which their children will grow up too.  But life must go on....

Sneak-reading The News

I find that reading a newspaper in the hands of the person in front me or over that person's shoulder is more interesting than reading my own newspaper.  Why is this so?  Maybe because I got my news for free!

What do you think?

Philippine Tarsier

Meet Nick Vujicic - The Man with No Limbs

Our own troubles which tend to discourage us are nothing compared to this man's own. If there is anybody who can say he is abandoned by God, it would be Nick Vujicic. And yet, his situation didn't keep him from serving the Lord. Watch this video and be inspired.

Scorching Heat

     Some countries, including the Philippines, are now experiencing a weather disturbance called the El Nino phenomenum which brings with it periods of prolonged dry spell.  In the Philippines, the lingering dry spell has caused almost P3 billion in damage to the country’s major crops, the Department of Agriculture said.

     The El Niño is only one of the harmful results of man’s uncontrolled use of toxic substances and other air pollutants that damage the earth’s atmosphere.  With a damaged atmosphere, we now feel the heat of the sun getting hotter. 

     In the picture above, the small pond provides the much needed relief for the water buffalos (locally known as “carabao”) who had just emerged from their day’s share of working on dry, parched lands.  I am afraid that if we don’t do our part in saving mother earth and the atmosphere from deteriorating further, time will come when we will find ourselves immersed side by side with these water buffalos on the murky water in order to escape the scorching heat of the sun.  When that happens, the phrase “equal opportunity” will find a new application.                                                                              

                      

Uncertainty

 

         The uncertainty of life is reflected in this picture of a boy in a farm eagerly waiting for his mother who have gone to the city trying to earn a living.  It's going to be dark soon and this boy is worried that his mother would come home late or never come home at all that night and he would be left alone in their house - cold and afraid of the dark.

           When the uncertainties of life stare straight at your face, whom do you turn to?