Religion - Cause for Unity?

shathaway · 02-25-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.

-Shoghi Effendi, 1936

The following is extracted from International Baha'i communications to the United Nations assembly.

Turning Point For All Nations: Part II
Emphasizing Moral Development

The process of integrating human beings into larger and larger groups, although influenced by culture and geography, has been driven largely by religion, the most powerful agent for changing human attitudes and behavior. By religion, however, we mean the essential foundation or reality of religion, not the dogmas and blind imitations which have gradually encrusted it and which are the cause of its decline and effacement.

In the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "Material civilization is like the body. No matter how infinitely graceful, elegant and beautiful it may be, it is dead. Divine civilization is like the spirit, and the body gets its life from the spirit. . . . Without the spirit the world of mankind is lifeless."

The concept of promoting specific morals or values may be controversial, especially in this age of humanistic relativism. Nevertheless, we firmly believe there exists a common set of values that have been obscured from recognition by those who exaggerate minor differences in religious or cultural practice for political purposes. These foundation virtues, taught by all spiritual communities, constitute a basic framework for moral development.

Reflection on the commonalties inherent in the great religious and moral systems of the world reveals that each one espouses unity, cooperation and harmony among people, establishes guidelines for responsible behavior and supports the development of virtues which are the foundation for trust-based and principled interactions.

--------------------------
Sincerely,
Steven J. Hathaway

shathaway · 03-20-2007, 06:41 PM

Religious traditions and morality have the ability to unite. Radical theologies have the ability to cause hatred, discontent, scandal, and wars.

Sincerely,
Steven J.Hathaway

Orthodox · 09-03-2010, 05:47 PM

Unification is good, but it should be real unification in ideology and belief, but if not that, simple tolerance for others beliefs is fine.

Livindesert · 09-05-2010, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orthodox

Unification is good, but it should be real unification in ideology and belief, but if not that, simple tolerance for others beliefs is fine.

Eventually mankind will unify into one country and the oness of all religions will be realized as has been the plan of God made evident through his manefestations.

Orthodox · 09-05-2010, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livindesert

Eventually mankind will unify into one country and the oness of all religions will be realized as has been the plan of God made evident through his manefestations.

I do hope the world will be unified (in Orthodox Christianity(Sorry!), but it won't be done without great effort and divine intervention.

pheonixduprese · 09-08-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livindesert

Eventually mankind will unify into one country and the oness of all religions will be realized as has been the plan of God made evident through his manefestations.

Yes; I believe that Baha'i Faith will not be this one religion though; it will be a completely different religion as revealed to us by God. Baha'i Faith is simply leading us to Him, as Baha'i Faith is what Mankind is capable of.

tonyfish58 · 10-07-2010, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orthodox

I do hope the world will be unified... but it won't be done without great effort and divine intervention.

I bet the tens of thousands of Baha'i Martyrs and the hundred of thousands of persecuted Baha'is would agree with you there :lol

Cheers Tony

tonyfish58 · 10-07-2010, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pheonixduprese

Yes; I believe that Baha'i Faith will not be this one religion though; it will be a completely different religion as revealed to us by God. Baha'i Faith is simply leading us to Him, as Baha'i Faith is what Mankind is capable of.

I would have to disagree, mainly because the next Manifestation of god is over 850 years away :unsure

If mankind is not united by then....well the planet may not even exist :blink

From my point of view, I look at the bigger picture - can it not be said the next step will be to unite with others not from this planet

I think mankind is on the edge of realizing unity - Injustice can not continue for much longer :cool

Cheers Tony

mrjapilz · 10-07-2010, 02:30 PM

The Haykal- (The First Point)

As a sphere is portrayed with a radius and a single point as the focus of that sphere; the Manifestation of God can be understood to be that central point. The attractive forces that occurs between the individual and manifestation can be physically represented and understood as centripetal force- the invisible line that keeps the individual in orbit around the Manifestation of God. In the Hidden Words, mankind is told the following:

"5.O SON OF BEING!

Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant."

What is said indicates that both the individual and the Manifestation need to love each other. They draw closer to each other...

With a sphere in mind, every different point on such a structure can represent a person coming from a different culture, ethnicity, way of life, etc.
With the world everyone lives in today, people are being exposed to new people everyday with qualities that are new to each other. The problems of mixing cultures have arisen as people have to tolerate and accept the way other people live. Baha'u'llah has provided human beings with the cure to such a problem. Traveling accross such a sphere with different cultures being rejected while other cultures are accepted proves to be a problem. It is a simple law discovered by Sir Isaac Newton that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Instead of rejecting other cultures to accept another culture, every separate point can join to be one. Mankind is one, and the only way for its unity to be realized is to accept everyone. 'Abdu'l-Baha' states that everyone must love one another because they love God because if people love other persons without such a condition, discord is bound to break out.
30. O SON OF MAN!

Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me.

Now since one must reject every culture in order to accept and travel to one point of such a globe, a major problem is presented. To travel to one point, the rejection of all other points is necessary because of the laws of physics which apparently have proven thusfar to apply to reality- spiritual and physical. Drawing nigh to Baha'u'llah is the solution to such a perplexing problem.

"Knowledge is a single point, but the ignorant have multiplied it." [1]
[1 Hadith, i.e. action or utterance traditionally attributed to the Prophet Muhammad or to one of the holy Imams.]
...
...
...
All of the sciences and disiplines are part of one point.
People must learn how to be multi-disiplinary.

This is just a quick summary, but it is necessary for Baha'is to also know that the Haykal is the actual symbol of the Baha'i Faith and all religions to have appeared in the past. It represents the body of man, the body of the Manifestation of God (we are made in Their image), the body of mankind, its unity, and the fundamental fact that We are all ONE from ONE God with only ONE religion, "eternal in the past, eternal in the future."

Essence of GOD · 11-07-2010, 10:10 AM

We are all one, which is the cumulative existence united, i believe and hope.

dattaswami · 11-12-2010, 02:31 AM

Oneness of God of different religions

Every religion says that its God created the entire earth and entire humanity. But, unfortunately there is only one earth containing this humanity. Due to one earth, there must be one God only and hence all the religions are calling the same God by different names. Since the God is unimaginable and nobody can even imagine Him, all the names are indicating that unseen and unimaginable God only. This unimaginable God is mediated by energy. Such mediated God is also one and the same because energy is also one and the same for all religions. This mediated God is called as Brahman by Hinduism, Jehovah by Christianity and Allah by Islam. The absolute unimaginable God as well as the medium [Energy] are one and the same and hence there is no difference between these three names.

Of course, when the absolute God gets mediated by human bodies, there may be minute difference in the form, culture and language of the external human form as in the case of Krishna of Hinduism, Jesus of Christianity and Mohammad of Islam. Even here the material of the human body is one and the same except slight variation in the external form. From the point of absolute God, here also there is no trace of difference and hence all these three human forms are also one and the same.

Essence of GOD · 11-12-2010, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dattaswami

Oneness of God of different religions

Every religion says that its God created the entire earth and entire humanity. But, unfortunately there is only one earth containing this humanity. Due to one earth, there must be one God only and hence all the religions are calling the same God by different names. Since the God is unimaginable and nobody can even imagine Him, all the names are indicating that unseen and unimaginable God only. This unimaginable God is mediated by energy. Such mediated God is also one and the same because energy is also one and the same for all religions. This mediated God is called as Brahman by Hinduism, Jehovah by Christianity and Allah by Islam. The absolute unimaginable God as well as the medium [Energy] are one and the same and hence there is no difference between these three names.

Of course, when the absolute God gets mediated by human bodies, there may be minute difference in the form, culture and language of the external human form as in the case of Krishna of Hinduism, Jesus of Christianity and Mohammad of Islam. Even here the material of the human body is one and the same except slight variation in the external form. From the point of absolute God, here also there is no trace of difference and hence all these three human forms are also one and the same.

beautifully put as always.

however a question rises,
how sure are you that there is only one earth? have traveled across the vast universe?
also forgive me if i misunderstood, but were you suggesting that god is a form of energy? if so, then if we can never even come close to understanding God, how have you been able to know so much about him.
agin, forgive this fool if you feel my questions are idiotic

Lunitik · 11-12-2010, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Essence of GOD

beautifully put as always.

however a question rises,
how sure are you that there is only one earth? have traveled across the vast universe?
also forgive me if i misunderstood, but were you suggesting that god is a form of energy? if so, then if we can never even come close to understanding God, how have you been able to know so much about him.
agin, forgive this fool if you feel my questions are idiotic

There is surely only one Earth, since Earth is simply the name we have given to this sphere we live on. We are told there are other worlds elsewhere, but that they be called Earth too seems quite unlikely.

I think saying God must consist of a type of energy is assumed due to his lack of physical being as we understand it. It is rare that assumptions are correct, and I am not aware of any scripture that denotes this specifically - perhaps dattaswami will be able to provide some? It seems more likely that it is the human mind trying to make sense of something it is impossible for it to comprehend, again, however

Essence of GOD · 11-12-2010, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunitik

There is surely only one Earth, since Earth is simply the name we have given to this sphere we live on. We are told there are other worlds elsewhere, but that they be called Earth too seems quite unlikely.

I think saying God must consist of a type of energy is assumed due to his lack of physical being as we understand it. It is rare that assumptions are correct, and I am not aware of any scripture that denotes this specifically - perhaps dattaswami will be able to provide some? It seems more likely that it is the human mind trying to make sense of something it is impossible for it to comprehend, again, however

i agree for the second part.
but on the first part, again, no one has ever visited every single planet moon or where ever conscience life exiles. its 50/50, we don't know.

Lunitik · 11-13-2010, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Essence of GOD

i agree for the second part.
but on the first part, again, no one has ever visited every single planet moon or where ever conscience life exiles. its 50/50, we don't know.

While I agree we don't know, we can't even agree on it on this planet - each language has a different name for it. I suppose it is possible, by utter fluke, that somewhere out there another language completely different from English has chosen the same sound and spelling for the name of their planet, but I consider the chances quite slim

BruceDLimber · 11-13-2010, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dattaswami

[T]here must be one God only and hence all the religions are calling the same God by different names....

Not a problem.

God in fact has MANY names! Just a few of these are: Dieu, Boje, Jehovah, Gott, Wankantanka, Elohim, Bog, Yahweh, Dios, and Parvardegar.

And ANY of these are equally acceptabale!

Best, :-)

Bruce

Boethiah · 11-17-2010, 05:55 PM

Religion is apart of our spirituality and our own philosophy of how we view the world. The reason people of many religions fight is because our own philosophy of the world can be challenged by others, and it isn't very comfortable having your entire foundation for the world being challenged. It can be insulting to some, which causes the conflicts.

What we need to realize is that humans are united by this common religion of God and this love for humanity. I'd say the majority of human beings, religious or not, would like to see things like war, poverty, and suffering lessened. Humans just want what is best for them, their families, and their communities.

Religion can definitely be a cause for unity. How we as a human race go about discussion religion and forging bonds is important. So, we are to live our lives the best we can under the Cause of God. Support interfaith and international dialogue. This is how the goal of Baha'i unity can be reached.

Foremost, we should walk the walk. Being a good person is vital to uniting the world and attaining oneness with God.

10-07-2010, 02:30 PM	#9
mrjapilz A Friend Joined: Sep 2010 From: Florida Posts: 36	A Shining Star The Haykal- (The First Point) As a sphere is portrayed with a radius and a single point as the focus of that sphere; the Manifestation of God can be understood to be that central point. The attractive forces that occurs between the individual and manifestation can be physically represented and understood as centripetal force- the invisible line that keeps the individual in orbit around the Manifestation of God. In the Hidden Words, mankind is told the following: "5.O SON OF BEING! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant." What is said indicates that both the individual and the Manifestation need to love each other. They draw closer to each other... With a sphere in mind, every different point on such a structure can represent a person coming from a different culture, ethnicity, way of life, etc. With the world everyone lives in today, people are being exposed to new people everyday with qualities that are new to each other. The problems of mixing cultures have arisen as people have to tolerate and accept the way other people live. Baha'u'llah has provided human beings with the cure to such a problem. Traveling accross such a sphere with different cultures being rejected while other cultures are accepted proves to be a problem. It is a simple law discovered by Sir Isaac Newton that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Instead of rejecting other cultures to accept another culture, every separate point can join to be one. Mankind is one, and the only way for its unity to be realized is to accept everyone. 'Abdu'l-Baha' states that everyone must love one another because they love God because if people love other persons without such a condition, discord is bound to break out. 30. O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me. Now since one must reject every culture in order to accept and travel to one point of such a globe, a major problem is presented. To travel to one point, the rejection of all other points is necessary because of the laws of physics which apparently have proven thusfar to apply to reality- spiritual and physical. Drawing nigh to Baha'u'llah is the solution to such a perplexing problem. "Knowledge is a single point, but the ignorant have multiplied it." [1] [1 Hadith, i.e. action or utterance traditionally attributed to the Prophet Muhammad or to one of the holy Imams.] ... ... ... All of the sciences and disiplines are part of one point. People must learn how to be multi-disiplinary. This is just a quick summary, but it is necessary for Baha'is to also know that the Haykal is the actual symbol of the Baha'i Faith and all religions to have appeared in the past. It represents the body of man, the body of the Manifestation of God (we are made in Their image), the body of mankind, its unity, and the fundamental fact that We are all ONE from ONE God with only ONE religion, "eternal in the past, eternal in the future."

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03-20-2007, 06:41 PM	#2
shathaway Senior Member Joined: Jul 2006 From: Oregon, USA Posts: 133	Religious traditions and morality have the ability to unite. Radical theologies have the ability to cause hatred, discontent, scandal, and wars. Sincerely, Steven J.Hathaway

09-03-2010, 05:47 PM	#3
Orthodox Dedicated to Orthodoxy Joined: Sep 2010 From: New Zealand Posts: 1,302	Unification is good, but it should be real unification in ideology and belief, but if not that, simple tolerance for others beliefs is fine.

11-07-2010, 10:10 AM	#10
Essence of GOD Senior Member Joined: Nov 2010 From: EARTH Posts: 235	We are all one, which is the cumulative existence united, i believe and hope.

11-12-2010, 02:31 AM	#11
dattaswami Banned Joined: Nov 2010 From: India Posts: 282	Oneness of God of different religions Every religion says that its God created the entire earth and entire humanity. But, unfortunately there is only one earth containing this humanity. Due to one earth, there must be one God only and hence all the religions are calling the same God by different names. Since the God is unimaginable and nobody can even imagine Him, all the names are indicating that unseen and unimaginable God only. This unimaginable God is mediated by energy. Such mediated God is also one and the same because energy is also one and the same for all religions. This mediated God is called as Brahman by Hinduism, Jehovah by Christianity and Allah by Islam. The absolute unimaginable God as well as the medium [Energy] are one and the same and hence there is no difference between these three names. Of course, when the absolute God gets mediated by human bodies, there may be minute difference in the form, culture and language of the external human form as in the case of Krishna of Hinduism, Jesus of Christianity and Mohammad of Islam. Even here the material of the human body is one and the same except slight variation in the external form. From the point of absolute God, here also there is no trace of difference and hence all these three human forms are also one and the same.

11-17-2010, 05:55 PM	#17
Boethiah Member Joined: Jul 2010 From: Indiana Posts: 53	Religion is apart of our spirituality and our own philosophy of how we view the world. The reason people of many religions fight is because our own philosophy of the world can be challenged by others, and it isn't very comfortable having your entire foundation for the world being challenged. It can be insulting to some, which causes the conflicts. What we need to realize is that humans are united by this common religion of God and this love for humanity. I'd say the majority of human beings, religious or not, would like to see things like war, poverty, and suffering lessened. Humans just want what is best for them, their families, and their communities. Religion can definitely be a cause for unity. How we as a human race go about discussion religion and forging bonds is important. So, we are to live our lives the best we can under the Cause of God. Support interfaith and international dialogue. This is how the goal of Baha'i unity can be reached. Foremost, we should walk the walk. Being a good person is vital to uniting the world and attaining oneness with God.