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 Faithtim@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"