vc@hou2h.UUCP (Verbus M. Counts) (03/25/85)
From the book "FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD UNITY" By Abdu'l-Baha: "The divine prophets have revealed and founded religion. They have laid down certain laws and heavenly principles for the guidance of mankind. They have taught and promulgated the knowledge of God, established praiseworthy ethical ideals and inculcated the highest standards of virtue in the human world. Gradually these heavenly teachings and foundations of reality have been beclouded by human interpretations and dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs. The essential realities which the prophets labored so hard to establish in human hearts and minds while undergoing ordeals and suffering tortures of persecution, have now well nigh vanished. Some of these heavenly messengers have been killed, some imprisoned; all of them despised and rejected while proclaiming the reality of divinity. Soon after their departure from this world, the essential truth of their teachings was lost sight of and dogmatic imitations adhered to." Also from the same book: " .... In reality the foundations of the divine religions are one and the same. The differences which have arisen between us are due to blind imitations of dogmatic beliefs and adherence to ancestral forms of worship. His Holiness Abraham was the founder of reality. His Holiness Moses, His Holiness Christ, His Holiness Mohammed were the manifestations of reality. His Holiness Baha`'u'llah was the glory of reality. This is not simply an assertion; it will be proved. Let me ask your closet attention in considering this subject. The divine religions embody two kinds of ordinances. First, those which constitute essential or spiritual teachings of the Word of God. These are faith in God, the acquirement of the virtues which characterize perfect manhood, praiseworthy moralities, the acquisition of the bestowals and bounties emanating from the divine effulgences; in brief, the ordinances which concern the realm of morals and ethics. This is the fundamental aspect of religion of God and this is of the highest importance because knowledge of God is the fundamental requirement of man. Man must comprehend the oneness of divinity. He must come to know and acknowledge the precepts of God and realize for a certainty that the ethical development of humanity is dependent upon religion. He must get rid of all defects and seek the attainment of heavenly virtues in order that he may prove to be the image and likeness of God. It is recorded in the holy bible that God said,"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." It is self-evident that the image and likeness mentioned do not apply to the form and semblance of a human being because the reality of divinity is not limited to any form or figure. Nay, rather the attributes and characteristics of God are intended. Even as God is pronounced to be just, man must likewise be just. As God is loving and kind to all men, man must likewise manifest loving-kindness to all humanity. As God is loyal and truthful, man must show forth the same attributes in the human world. Evan as God exercises mercy toward all, man must prove himself to be the manifestation of mercy. In a word, the "image and likeness of God" constitute the virtues of God, and man is intended to become the recipient of the effulgences of divine attributes. This is the essential foundation of all the divine religions, the reality itself, common to all. His Holiness Abraham promulgated this; His Holiness Moses proclaimed it. His Holiness Christ and all the prophets upheld this standard and aspect of divine religion. Second: Laws and ordinances which are temporary and non-essential. These concern human transaction and relations. They are accidental and subject to change according to the exigencies of time and place. These ordinances are neither permanent nor fundamental. For instance during the time of NOAH it was expedient that sea foods be considered as lawful; therefore God commanded Noah to partake of all marine animal life. During the time of Moses this was not in accordance with the exigencies of Israel's existence, therefore a second command was revealed partly abrogating the law concerning marine foods. During the time of Abraham - Upon him be peace! - camel's milk was considered a lawful and acceptable food; likewise the flesh of the camel; but during Jacob's time because of a certain vow he made, this became unlawful. These are non-essential temporary laws. In the holy bible there are certain commandments which according to those bygone times constituted the very spirit of the age, the very light of that period. For example according to the law of the torah if a man committed theft of a certain amount they cut off his hand. Is it practicable and reasonable in this present day to cut off a man's hand for the theft of a dollar? In the torah there are ten ordinances concerning murder. Could these be made effective today? Unquestionably no; times have changed. According to the explicit text of the bible if a man should change or break the law of the Sabbath or if he should touch fire on the Sabbath he must be killed. Today such a law is abrogated. The torah declares that if a man should speak a disrespectful word to his father he should suffer the penalty of death. Is this possible of enforcement now? No; human conditions have undergone changes. Likewise during the time of Christ certain minor ordinances conformable to that period were enforced. It has been shown conclusively therefore that the foundation of the religion of God remains permanent and unchanging. It is that fixed foundation which insures the progress and stability of the body politic and the illumination of humanity. It has ever been the cause of love and justice amongest men. It works for the true fellowship and unification of all mankind for it never changes is not subject to supersedure. The accidental or non-essential laws which regulate the transactions of the social body and everyday affairs of life are changeable and subject to abrogation." Regards, Verbus M. Counts AT&T Bell Labs The Word of God(religion) is one, (201) 564-2510 101 JFK Parkway though the speakers are many ... ihnp4!pata!vca Room 1l-423 March 24,1985 Short Hills, NJ 07078 The Bahai Faith
tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney) (03/27/85)
Verbus, why do you keep posting this stuff if you don't want to talk about it? Or do you only want to talk to people who will not question any part of it? Or are your motives infinitely far above the human and thus incomprehensible to us lowly mortals? :-) -=- Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking ARPA: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!"
root@trwatf.UUCP (Lord Frith) (03/28/85)
It's pretty clear what Verbus' purpose is, Tim. He (she? it?) simply wants a platform from which he can espouse his particular beliefs. Not an uncommon sight on this newsgroup when it was young. But what irks me about these postings (aside from the fact that they waste precious disk space on my machine) is that they go on and on and on .... with no content to substantiate the claims presented. The foundations of the divine religions are ONE? Nonsense. The foundations of the major religions are quite distinct. Attempts to unify all religions into one belief is a SECULAR ambition. -- UUCP: ...{decvax,ihnp4,allegra}!seismo!trwatf!root - Lord Frith ARPA: trwatf!root@SEISMO "And Frith made the world"