Ep 27: Created in the Image of God with Jay Tyson & Eileen Maddocks

Jay Tyson grew up outside of Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in civil engineering in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he married Eileen Cregge. They spent four years in Liberia, where Jay worked on road construction projects. They also spent seven years in Haifa, Israel, where he assisted with historic restoration at the Baha’i World Center. They returned to New Jersey in 1989, where they raised two daughters and Jay continued his career in civil engineering. Raised in a Presbyterian household, Jay was apt from an early age to deeply ponder spiritual matters. The suicides of three men in his upper-middle-class neighborhood over the course of a few years caused him to question the idea that material success holds the key to fulfillment and happiness. He became a member of the Baha’i Faith in 1970 and has long observed a daily regime of reading scriptures or books on religion and religious history. The Wise Men of the West: A Search for the Promised One in the Latter Days is his first novel and reflects his commitment to studying religion, history, and geography. His years in the Holy Land also allowed him to travel to many of the locations in which this story is set.

Eileen Maddocks is a researcher, editor, and writer living in Burlington, Vermont, with her two cats. Her cerebral lifestyle is balanced by classical ballet and jazz classes.

Medium Author Bio: Eileen Maddocks grew up in Maine in the United States. She attended the University of Kansas and received a bachelor’s degree in history. She married, had two children, and raised her children by working in sales.

Her mother, who was raised in the Millerite tradition in the Advent Christian Church, studied Bible history and theology and became a Sunday School teacher in the Universalist Church. The stories of her Advent Christian family and their church’s tent meetings were family lore, but Eileen was raised in liberal Protestantism.

This dual world fostered a need to seek and search for spiritual truth. Various Christian churches she attended did not have the answers to her questions, so she explored New Age concepts. In midlife, she discovered and accepted the Baha'i Faith. Subsequently, she served at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel, for 16 years as an executive assistant, a position that required research and writing. Upon retirement, she returned to her New England heritage and is now a researcher, editor, and writer living in the bucolic state of Vermont, where billboards are banned.

Wade Fransson and friends will discuss what it means to be Created in the Image of God — and the role of Religion in society - every Tuesday night at 8:00 PM Central Time. These live-streamed discussions are deep dives into what it means to be human and to struggle with the challenge of rising above where we've been as individuals, communities, and even in society as a whole, incorporating our latest understanding from our quest to make sense of our experiences through systematic investigation, and progressing towards what we can become while remaining faithful to God's revealed Word.

Learning about the Bible is a lifelong journey for every human being. This learning process begins as a child and continues throughout life as we ask questions and learn more about the meaning of the Holy Bible. We pray that this series of in-depth studies will help you discover more about God and His Word, the Bible. We pray that these sessions will encourage and enhance your walk with God.