Archive for February, 2006

Protestant-Catholic, Arab-Jew, Hutu-Tutsi: Just the mention of these pairs evokes a sense of conflict. There is great symbolism in a meeting of elected representatives from Northern Ireland and Ireland meeting together in unity.
Photo: A historic meeting took place on Sunday 8th December 2002 between the National Spiritual Assembly of the Republic of Ireland and the Bahá’í Council for Northern Ireland in Dublin.

“In analyzing the rapid changes occurring in the world today, Bahá’ís identify two parallel processes operating at all levels- village, town, nation, and global society. On the one hand, it is clear that human society is suffering from a process of disintegration that manifests itself in wars, terrorism, chaos, physical and psychological insecurity, and a widespread condition of material poverty. On the other hand, forces of integration are moving individuals and groups toward the adoption of new values, new forms of organization, and appropriate structures that can lay the foundation for the establishment of a new social order. The Ruhi Institute defines its basic aim as that of becoming a channel for the spiritual forces of our time to be applied to the lives of the masses of humanity, empowering them to contribute to the establishment of a new world civilization.”

“The Ruhi Institute: Statement of Purpose and Methods”

The Ten Commandments have been around for a long time and are hardly a source of dispute, unless they are a part of statuary associated with an institution of government in the United States. The issue of the separation of church and state has been relevant throughout the history of this country. The Baha’i view offers an alternative way of looking at the subject.

“…[I]n His approach to authority, freedom, and the relation of religion to the state, Baha’u'llah advocates neither the modern Western conception of a complete separation of church and state — especially its American form — nor the premodern idea of their absoute identity….Baha’u'llah’s teachings on this question…are irreducible to the binary discourse of secularism versus theocratism in either the traditional Muslim or the modern Western contexts. But what is most illogical is the idea that a system of belief that proposes to spiritualize order and governance should totally separate the realm that is the source of spirit from any relation to the order that institutionalizes it.”

Nader Saiedi, Logos and Civilization

“In this mosaic of love and hope, filmed on location in South Africa, the human stories replace the intense political focus that is the norm for films set in Africa .

“The positive themes of the movie reflect the couple’s philosophy on filmmaking.

“‘I think the purpose of art is to uplift the human spirit,’ Mr. Bamford said.

“‘In film, entertainment is fine, but a lot of what passes for entertainment is destructive — it degrades women and glorifies drugs and violence.’

“The role for Baha’i artists, he said, is not to avoid crucial issues or to be ‘nicey-nicey,’ but rather to be optimistic.

“Ms. Kay added: ‘Because we say “uplifting,” we don’t mean “naive” — we just want to give [audiences] energy to contribute something for the betterment of society.’”

One Country, “In South Africa, filmmakers draw on social action for their on-screen vision “

“…[T]he Bahá’í community has been a vigorous promoter of interfaith activities from the time of their inception. Apart from cherished associations that these activities create, Bahá’ís see in the struggle of diverse religions to draw closer together a response to the Divine Will for a human race that is entering on its collective maturity. The members of our community will continue to assist in every way we can. We owe it to our partners in this common effort, however, to state clearly our conviction that interfaith discourse, if it is to contribute meaningfully to healing the ills that afflict a desperate humanity, must now address honestly and without further evasion the implications of the over-arching truth that called the movement into being: that God is one and that, beyond all diversity of cultural expression and human interpretation, religion is likewise one.”

The Universal House of Justice, Message to the World’s Religious Leaders

“Afterward Christ came, saying, ‘I am born of the Holy Spirit.’ Though it is now easy for the Christians to believe this assertion, at that time it was very difficult. According to the text of the Gospel the Pharisees said, ‘Is not this the son of Joseph of Nazareth Whom we know? How can He say, therefore, I came down from heaven?’”

Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions

And on the Third Day (of February) I added pictures to Baha’i Views. Boy, what a difference! Google Images — “What hath God wrought.”

And on the Sixth Day (of February) I redid my blog name descriptor and redid post titles. Am I ready now? What happens on the Seventh Day?

“Thou hast written that one of the friends hath composed a treatise. This was mentioned in the Holy Presence, and this is what was revealed in response: Great care should be exercised that whatever is written in these days doth not cause dissension, and invite the objection of the people. Whatever the friends of the one true God say in these days is listened to by the people of the world. It hath been revealed in the Lawh-i-Hikmat: ‘The unbelievers have inclined their ears towards us in order to hear that which might enable them to cavil against God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.’ Whatever is written should not transgress the bounds of tact and wisdom, and in the words used there should lie hid the property of milk, so that the children of the world may be nurtured therewith, and attain maturity. We have said in the past that one word hath the influence of spring and causeth hearts to become fresh and verdant, while another is like unto blight which causeth the blossoms and flowers to wither. God grant that authors among the friends will write in such a way as would be acceptable to fair-minded souls, and not lead to cavilling by the people.”

Baha’u'llah, From a Tablet translated from Persian and Arabic, in Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá’í Faith: Extracts from letters written onbehalf of the Universal House of Justice

Photo by Marco Abrar — Baha’iPictures.com
“Yesterday, I was standing at one of the public gates with a local guard who is a Christian and a elderly man approached the gate and kneeled down and read a few lines from a book he was holding open in his hand. He wore raged clothes and had a long unkept beard.The man then got up and addressed the local guard in English he rebuked him for working for Baha’is and he preached about Jesus being the only truth and that Baha’is were bad people. The guard calmly told the man that he respected the Baha’is because they respected him to witch the man got mad and told him that he was an idol worshiper and so on…

“Fear drives some people to blindly hate without taking the time to listen, but maybe through agreeing with him rather than arguing I touch this scared old man who probably has lived through more sadness than I will ever know… “

Payou, “There Is Hope, There Is Always Hope”