Comm Skills 104 - Newspaper Article

Newspaper: Express
Article Title: The Sins of the Fathers
Author: A.P. Toussaint

"The sins of the fathers will be visited unto the children, even unto the third and fourth  generations of them who hate me."

Yes, I agree with the author in that we do in fact often forget to quote the last part of that scripture, "...of them who hate me." And one would think for a moment, after realizing you don't hate God, that 'yuh safe'. But in truth and in fact, biblically speaking  "of them who hate me" does not necessarily equal "intensely despise". Rather it most likely refers to disobeying. He said if you love Him then keep His commandments. So that one can interpret this to mean that if you are not keeping His commandments then you don't love Him (hate Him).

I would not like to believe that this is the kind of God I serve. To know that if I break a commandment then it translates into "me hating God". Hence the reason, hate cannot be taken to mean despise (at least I don't agree with that). Regardless the author went on to discuss how it might seem unfair, and to many it is because now we have to deal with our own shortcomings of the glory of God AND those of our forefathers. That's A LOT!

What is to remembered is the popular quote, "the Lion of Judah shall break every chain." Really now, if we simply ignore the sins of our fathers and our own, and just try to continue on our merry way, then no headway would be made and we would end up walking in circles; facing trials after trials, some of which are very similar in nature. It is my belief that situations will keep resurfacing or rearing its head over and over until we break that chain. At this point I am elated that the God I serve is full of mercy and grace. I trust that once I seek Him the chain will be broken and I will be under grace and not under law.

"I realize now that nothing in life really matters except that I get my conscious attunement with God — because when I have that, everything else will rightly follow, and until I do get that nothing else can be right".  This is my favourite quote and I try to live by it everyday. Should I sin does not mean that i hate God, it means that I am human and I too like everyone else falls short of His glory. The thing is I am responsible enough to acknowledge my sins and ask for forgiveness and pray that His mercy extends unto me and even more to my descendants. 


A.P. Toussaint hit the nail on the head with this article. It made me reflect on myself and all that I am and have been experiencing. Some of which made no sense to me just did and I am thankful for that reminder and insight. I am not living for me alone. I mean I live for God, but my actions will affect (directly me yes) but indirectly my offspring and theirs too. God have mercy on us all.

Comm Skills 104 - 9/11

The attacks of 9/11 in the U.S. occurred when I was 15 years old (ten years ago). I would have been in form 4 somewhere there about. At that time, the attacks would have been like a scene from a movie for me. I was shocked, and a tad bit saddened by it. But that feeling was fleeting and quite frankly today I am still not deeply moved or affected by it. This could be as a result of being detached from the U.S. and it's affairs or because of the fact that very little surprises me anymore. A plane flying through a building and killing thousands is just as tragic as the wars in the middle east killing thousands there or the tribal wars in Africa. To me it doesn't matter the circumstances under which the numerous deaths occur. The bottom line still remains that thousands died tragically.These things were becoming the norm. I am disturbed by the kind of deaths and situations these people had to face but that is as far as my sentiments would go. Should a relative of mine been subject to that kind of experience, who knows, my response might have been different. As it is now, the 9/11 attacks did not awaken in me any hatred, disgust, malice towards anyone at all. I don't view people as groups, I view them as individuals, so I can't say anything about Muslims really. At the end of the day we have to face judgement individually, not collectively. For those who were affected however, please accept my condolences if you lost someone, or my sincerest regard for how you feel. I try my best to remember nothing happens before its time and nothing is a coincidence.  I am thankful for every moment I breathe and I try to express that always especially with loved ones.

Comm Skills 104 - Me

My name is Shinelle Cross. I'm a 3rd year student here at USC pursuing my B.Sc in Elementary Education. I teach at Diamond Vale Government Primary School (in Diego Martin). I enjoy going to springs, waterfalls, rivers and hiking. As a communicator I would rate myself as a seven, reason being I consider myself to be a great listener and my body language is a 'give away'. However, I don't verbally share much because if I do not consider you a friend, then my business is my own but at the same time, nothing in me is hidden per say, if you have eyes you will see. There will always be room for improvement hence I gave myself a seven leaving room for those who disagree with me about my communicating skills. I expect this course will enlighten me about some skills that I have been unaware about and how best I can adopt them to my benefit and pleasure. I look forward to getting the work done and getting through this semester as quickly and successfully as possible.