Jesus calls us to provide practical and loving service during the earthly crises that "must take place" (see Matthew, chapter 24). These include wars, famines and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. We are to confront hatred and injustice with love and forgiveness. "Peacemakers," He said, "shall be called sons of God."

I believe, however, that the greatest human crisis is eternal in nature. Consider Jesus' words: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" Regardless of the good or evil we experience during the short years of this life, without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we will enter an eternity of separation from God.

God has commissioned all believers to meet our neighbors' practical needs and to proclaim the one way to avoid the ultimate eternal crisis: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved."

PASTOR JON BARTA

Valley Baptist Church

Burbank

The greatest crisis in the world today is the same one that world citizens have had to face for most of our existence on this planet. It is separation from each other for one reason or another.

Too many people separate themselves from others because of skin color.

Too many people are separated in terms of prosperity -- some have too much, many not nearly enough.

Too many people are separated by religion. If we Christians cannot get along together, how do we ever expect to get along with the rest of the people on earth in other religions or people with no religion?

Too many people are separated by education. Much of this can be attributed to lack of opportunity because of scarcity of money to pay for a good education, but much of it also can be attributed to lack of initiative by students at every level of education -- from elementary through high school and college.

What is even worse is too many people are separated from God. Too many people try to go it alone in life and fail to use the incredible divine ideas that an absolutely good God keeps making available to us to use to make our lives happier and more fulfilled in every way.

What can religion do about the problem of separation? Be more tolerant of other views one, be more tolerant of other views two, and be more tolerant of other views three and on and on into infinity.

THE REV. THOMAS

E. WITHERSPOON

Unity Church of the Valley

La Crescenta

While feeding the hungry will always be a problem (didn't Jesus say, "The poor you will always have with you"?), I think the world's greatest crisis is the conflict now going on between the West and the fanatic devotees of Islam.

We in the West somehow don't understand the jihadists' point of view, and the jihadists don't seem to want to understand what the West wants. My own opinion is that as long as the United States and its allies are waging war in Iraq, the killing and suicide bombing won't stop. Right now it would seem that nobody will be doing much listening as long as war is raging.

A parishioner of mine told me about a bumper sticker she saw; it said, "What would Jesus bomb?" In my mind, that bumper sticker is an obvious anti-war statement. But I believe it points to an obvious truth: there will be no listening, no attempts at understanding, as long as Western armies occupy Arab lands. So the world's greatest crisis won't even begin to be solved until the killing stops -- on both sides.

THE REV. C.L.

"SKIP" LINDEMAN

Congregational Church

of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

Feeding the poor should be the forefront agenda of all religious organizations. I feel it is very important to bring awareness of severe poverty to our congregations, encouraging them to help out in any way possible. We are blessed to live in a country of great abundance. Many

Americans cannot relate to missing one meal, let alone understand that millions die yearly as a result of malnutrition.

The Talmud states that without bread, there can be no Torah. As people of faith, we should be putting the physical well-being of the starving first and foremost. Feeding the hungry should be done for humanitarian reasons, without ulterior motives, providing sustenance for all needy people, regardless of religion, race, color or creed.

Although extreme poverty is a great crisis, I feel that an even greater crisis are the oppressive and dictatorial leaders and governments of many third world countries that prevent food from getting to the people who need it most. Regardless of how many noble organizations send these countries assistance, quite often, the efforts are thwarted and the intended recipients remain destitute.

We must shine a light on these malicious and corrupt governments or individuals and call them to task for the disgraceful acts they are perpetrating on their own citizens. I feel that the United Nations World Tribunal should try these despots for crimes against humanity. They are directly responsible for the death of millions of people, many of them children, every single year.

RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN

Chabad Jewish Center

Glendale

The greatest crisis facing our planet is the loss of community and the rise of the self as the new god. Because in the self we find an ego expressing itself through pride, envy, lust, gluttony, greed, laziness and anger. Each of these seven expressions brings about the problems that our planet faces, from poverty to global warming, from loneliness to war, from hatred to nuclear annihilation.

All true religions should bring the person to understand him or herself as part of a community, and therein, serving the spiritual and physical needs of that collective.

In this vein, I'm pleased that today, as this column is being read, that over a million young people are participating in World Vision's 30-Hour Famine this weekend. The purpose is to bring attention and funds to the starving children of the world -- 29,000 of whom are dying each day because of hunger. More than 50 Armenian youth -- all great grandchildren of genocide survivors -- are participating in this planned Famine here in Glendale. It's a strict fast they adhere to -- no food or drink -- to collect much needed funds to feed the children in Darfur, Sudan, who have fallen victim of genocide. In this way, the Church is faithful to its mission to help the individual lose the self (ego) and strive for the greater purpose: the service of humanity.

FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN

Armenian Church

Youth Ministries

The greatest crisis in this time, as in the past is mankind's unwillingness to follow the word of God, and hence our unwillingness to accept our own divine origin. This perceived independence from the teachings given to us through God's messengers prevents us from understanding the oneness of humanity, that the suffering of a hungry child on the other side of the planet matters as much as the suffering of one of our own.

We face the same problems of ethnic suspicion and class prejudice that have plagued humanity since the beginning of civilization.

Religion does offer answers. The humble acceptance of God's guidance directing us to unite in ever-expanding groups, and His timeless instruction to treat others with the compassion we wish for ourselves, when put into practice would assuredly solve our most painful crises, such as poverty, violence and selfishness. The Prophet Founders of each revealed religion throughout history have brought major precepts by which to live. The Ten Commandments guided individual and group behavior for an orderly civilization, and are sound today. The major Baha'i principles include the beliefs in the oneness of humankind, the essential harmony of science and religion, the equality of men and women and the elimination of prejudice, to name several. God will never leave us bereft of guidance, and if we can only listen and follow, life on earth will be much gentler.

BARBARA CRAMER

Secretary

Local Spiritual Assembly