New Fireside Blog

Those who follow this blog may realize by now that most of my inspiration comes from the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Although the purpose of this blog is to promote world peace I don’t feel that this purpose can be achieved without reconciling the world’s religions. Some may justifiably argue that religion has been the cause of many wars and that it is detrimental to world peace. Many are familiar with John Lennon’s song, “Imagine,” were he states, “Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

Man has twisted religion and made it a case for war. The original principles given us by the founders of all the major religions have been towards peace and unity. Somehow man has twisted that to mean, “kill anyone that doesn’t agree with you.”

Christ said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” ^{(Matthew 5:44)}

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “Another fundamental announcement made by Bahá'u'lláh is that religion must be the source of unity and fellowship in the world. If it is productive of enmity, hatred and bigotry, the absence of religion would be preferable. This is a new principle of revelation found only in the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh.” ^{(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 434)}

My goal here is not to convert, but to reconcile and promote love and unity between all groups, be they religious, nationalistic, political, racial, economic or any other. I prefer to think of myself as belonging to the human race, the religion of God, and the nation of the World. Whatever groups you identify yourself with, it is important to realize that others also have a right to existence and a right to live in a peaceful, secure manner.

Since my desire is to promote world peace and also to promote the Ancient Faith of God, I have started a new blog. Thus I will have this one to promote peace and the other one to promote religion. It is simply called Fireside and is a place where anyone can go to share ideas about the Baha’i Faith. Fireside is a name that has been given to informal Baha’i meetings were people gather to learn about and explore the principles of the Baha’i Faith. My Fireside Blog is a cyber version of such a meeting. The atmosphere is informal and invites comments from all. You can visit the fireside blog at http://fireside9.blogspot.ca/.