War! What is it Good For!

War! What is it Good For!

Having grown up in the 60’s and 70’s I was greatly influenced by the anti-war movement. Much of the music of that era was in protest of war and promoting love and peace. I was left with the perception that war is bad and peace is good. Assuming most people would be the same I felt that most people, if given the choice, would choose peace.

Recently, having talked with someone who grew up at a different time and on a different continent, I was informed that she felt most people were against peace and wanted war. She felt that those who want peace were in the minority while most would kill anyone that didn’t share their belief system if they were given the chance.

No doubt, religious, patriotic and racial bigotry is the cause of most of the strife we suffer, but my mind wants to know why. If it is the goal of the religionist to eliminate anyone that doesn’t follow his persuasion, then what will he do if this is accomplished. If war is the established standard, then that group would be forced to divide into separate factions that could then declare war against each other, so we see that the way of war will never end in this way.

My question is, “Why?” Why does one group feel they must destroy all others? Perhaps it is out of fear. If group one fears that group two wants them dead, they will want to kill before they are killed. Now that it is established that group one wants to kill group two, group two is now justified in its attacks against its enemy in order to preserve its own members. If either group took the time to analyse or question why its enemy was against it, both could see that it was only fear of a perceived danger that really didn’t exist. Once they take the time to get to know each other, they find their goals are similar and really they only want to be allowed to live a peaceful and rewarding life and have a secure environment in which to raise their children. Now, instead of being enemies, they can be friends. Instead of trying to kill each other they can help each other survive. Instead of living with a feeling of distrust for each other, they can earn each other’s trust and learn to trust each other.

This is why my main concentration is on helping people to get to know each other. Once we know each other’s desires and needs, we will learn to turn hatred into love. We will learn to turn the other cheek. We will give our coat also if they ask for our cloak. And they would do the same for us if we were the ones in need.

My friend tells me that, although she has no desire to kill me, her religion dictates that this is what she should do. I reply that if one of us must die, then she must kill me because I could never kill her. If you feel I must die, then by all means go ahead and kill me; and then go on killing until you are the only one left on earth because, as long as there is still two your job is not done.

Alternatively we can find reasons to love and support each other and live happy peaceful lives supporting and caring for each other. We can discover that we both love the same creator although we may know Him by different names. We may find that we both follow the same religion although we wear different labels and see it from different perspectives. Although our knowledge of it is different we will realize that we both accept the same Truth and we will learn from each other and have a greater understanding of that Truth by acknowledging each others point of view.

100 years ago today one who was known as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (the servant of Glory) gave several talks at Green Acre in Main USA. Personally I view Him as the Greatest Peace Ambassador that ever existed. His talks are beautiful and to the point and He brings true meaning to light. I will quote one of those talks here.

17 August 1912, Talk at Green Acre, Eliot, Maine

Notes by Edna McKinney

The oneness of the world of humanity

Are you all well and happy? This is a delightful spot; the scenery is beautiful, and an atmosphere of spirituality haloes everything. In the future, God willing, Green Acre shall become a great center, the cause of the unity of the world of humanity, the cause of uniting hearts and binding together the East and the West. This is my hope.

Tonight I wish to speak upon the oneness of the world of humanity. This is one of the important subjects of the present period. If the oneness of the human world were established, all the differences which separate mankind would be eradicated. Strife and warfare would cease, and the world of humanity would find repose. Universal peace would be promoted, and the East and West would be conjoined in a strong bond. All men would be sheltered beneath one tabernacle. Native lands would become one; races and religions would be unified. The people of the world would live together in harmony, and their well-being would be assured.

From the beginning of human history down to the present time the various religions of the world have anathematized and accused each other of falsity. Each religion has considered the others bereft of the face of God, deprived of His mercy and in the direct line of divine wrath. Therefore, they have shunned each other most rigidly, exercising mutual animosity and rancor. Consider the record of religious warfare, the battles between nations, the bloodshed and destruction in the name of religion. One of the greatest religious wars, the Crusades, extended over a period of two hundred years. In this succession of great campaigns the western crusaders were constantly invading the Orient, bent upon recovering the Holy City from the hands of the Islamic people. Army after army raised in Europe poured its fanatical legions into the East. The kings of European nations personally led these Crusades, killing and shedding the blood of the Orientals. During this period of two hundred years the East and West were in a state of violence and commotion. Sometimes the crusaders were successful, killing, pillaging and taking captive the Muslim people; sometimes the Muslims were victorious, inflicting bloodshed, death and ruin in turn upon the invaders. So they continued for two centuries, alternately fighting with fury and relaxing from weakness, until the European religionists withdrew from the East, leaving ashes of desolation behind them and finding their own nations in a condition of turbulence and upheaval. Hundreds of thousands of human beings were killed and untold wealth wasted in this fruitless religious warfare. How many fathers mourned the loss of their sons! How many mothers and wives lamented the absence of their dear ones! Yet this was only one of the "holy" wars. Consider and reflect.

Religious wars have been many. Nine hundred thousand martyrs to the Protestant cause was the record of conflict and difference between that sect of Christians and the Catholics. Consult history and confirm this. How many languished in prisons! How merciless the treatment of captives! All in the name of religion! Consider and estimate the outcome of other wars between the people and sects of religious belief.

From the beginning of human history down to this time the world of humanity has not enjoyed a day of absolute rest and relaxation from conflict and strife. Most of the wars have been caused by religious prejudice, fanaticism and sectarian hatred. Religionists have anathematized religionists, each considering the other as deprived of the mercy of God, abiding in gross darkness and the children of Satan. For example, the Christians and Muslims considered the Jews satanic and the enemies of God. Therefore, they cursed and persecuted them. Great numbers of Jews were killed, their houses burned and pillaged, their children carried into captivity. The Jews in turn regarded the Christians as infidels and the Muslims as enemies and destroyers of the law of Moses. Therefore, they call down vengeance upon them and curse them even to this day.

Consider what injuries, ordeals and calamities have been inflicted upon mankind since the beginning of history. Every city, country, nation and people has been subjected to the destruction and havoc of war. Each one of the divine religions considers itself as belonging to a goodly and blessed tree, the tree of the Merciful, and all other religious systems as belonging to a tree of evil, the tree of Satan. For this reason they heap execration and abuse upon each other. This is clearly apparent in books of historical record and prevailed until the time of the appearance of Bahá'u'lláh.

When the light of Bahá'u'lláh dawned from the East, He proclaimed the promise of the oneness of humanity. He addressed all mankind, saying, "Ye are all the fruits of one tree. There are not two trees: one a tree of divine mercy, the other the tree of Satan." Again He said, "Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch." This was His announcement; this was His promise of the oneness of the world of humanity. Anathema and execration were utterly abrogated. He said, "It is not becoming in man to curse another; it is not befitting that man should attribute darkness to another; it is not meet that one human being should consider another human being as bad; nay, rather, all mankind are the servants of one God; God is the Father of all; there is not a single exception to that law. There are no people of Satan; all belong to the Merciful. There is no darkness; all is light. All are the servants of God, and man must love humanity from his heart. He must, verily, behold humanity as submerged in the divine mercy."

Bahá'u'lláh has made no exception to this rule. He said that among mankind there may be those who are ignorant; they must be trained. Some are sick; they must be treated. Some are immature; they must be helped to attain maturity. In other respects humanity is submerged in the ocean of divine mercy. God is the Father of all. He educates, provides for and loves all; for they are His servants and His creation. Surely the Creator loves His creatures. It would be impossible to find an artist who does not love his own production. Have you ever seen a man who did not love his own actions? Even though they be bad actions, he loves them. How ignorant, therefore, the thought that God, Who created man, educated and nurtured him, surrounded him with all blessings, made the sun and all phenomenal existence for his benefit, bestowed upon him tenderness and kindness and then did not love him. This is palpable ignorance, for no matter to what religion a man belongs, even though he be an atheist or materialist, nevertheless, God nurtures him, bestows His kindness and sheds upon him His light. How then can we believe God is wrathful and unloving? How can we even imagine this, when as a matter of fact we are witnesses of the tenderness and mercy of God upon every hand? All about us we behold manifestations of the love of God. If, therefore, God be loving, what should we do? We have nothing else to do but to emulate Him. Just as God loves all and is kind to all, so must we really love and be kind to everybody. We must consider none bad, none worthy of detestation, no one as an enemy. We must love all; nay, we must consider everyone as related to us, for all are the servants of one God. All are under the instructions of one Educator. We must strive day and night that love and amity may increase, that this bond of unity may be strengthened, that joy and happiness may more and more prevail, that in unity and solidarity all mankind may gather beneath the shadow of God, that people may turn to God for their sustenance, finding in Him the life that is everlasting. Thus may they be confirmed in the Kingdom of God and live forever through His grace and bounty.

Bahá'u'lláh has clearly said in His Tablets that if you have an enemy, consider him not as an enemy. Do not simply be long-suffering; nay, rather, love him. Your treatment of him should be that which is becoming to lovers. Do not even say that he is your enemy. Do not see any enemies. Though he be your murderer, see no enemy. Look upon him with the eye of friendship. Be mindful that you do not consider him as an enemy and simply tolerate him, for that is but stratagem and hypocrisy. To consider a man your enemy and love him is hypocrisy. This is not becoming of any soul. You must behold him as a friend. You must treat him well. This is right.  

We return to the subject. When we observe the phenomena of the universe, we realize that the axis around which life revolves is love, while the axis around which death and destruction revolve is animosity and hatred. Let us view the mineral kingdom. Here we see that if attraction did not exist between the atoms, the composite substance of matter would not be possible. Every existent phenomenon is composed of elements and cellular particles. This is scientifically true and correct. If attraction did not exist between the elements and among the cellular particles, the composition of that phenomenon would never have been possible. For instance, the stone is an existent phenomenon, a composition of elements. A bond of attraction has brought them together, and through this cohesion of ingredients this petrous object has been formed. This stone is the lowest degree of phenomena, but nevertheless within it a power of attraction is manifest without which the stone could not exist. This power of attraction in the mineral world is love, the only expression of love the stone can manifest.

Look now upon the next highest stage of life, the vegetable kingdom. Here we see that the plant is the result of cohesion among various elements, just as the mineral is in its kingdom; but, furthermore, the plant has the power of absorption from the earth. This is a higher degree of attraction which differentiates the plant from the mineral. In the kingdom of the vegetable this is an expression of love, the highest capacity of expression the vegetable possesses. By this power of attraction, or augmentation, the plant grows day by day. Therefore, in this kingdom, also, love is the cause of life. If repulsion existed among the elements instead of attraction, the result would be disintegration, destruction and nonexistence. Because cohesion exists among the elements and cellular attraction is manifest, the plant appears. When this attraction is dispelled and the ingredients separate, the plant ceases to exist.

Then we come to the animal world, which is still higher in degree than the vegetable kingdom. In it the power of love makes itself still more manifest. The light of love is more resplendent in the animal kingdom because the power of attraction whereby elements cohere and cellular atoms commingle now reveals itself in certain emotions and sensibilities which produce instinctive fellowship and association. The animals are imbued with kindness and affinity which manifests itself among those of the same species.

Finally, we reach the kingdom of man. Here we find that all the degrees of the mineral, vegetable and animal expressions of love are present plus unmistakable attractions of consciousness. That is to say, man is the possessor of a degree of attraction which is conscious and spiritual. Here is an immeasurable advance. In the human kingdom spiritual susceptibilities come into view, love exercises its superlative degree, and this is the cause of human life.

The proof is clear that in all degrees and kingdoms unity and agreement, love and fellowship are the cause of life, whereas dissension, animosity and separation are ever conducive to death. Therefore, we must strive with life and soul in order that day by day unity and agreement may be increased among mankind and that love and affinity may become more resplendently glorious and manifest. In the animal kingdom you will observe that domestic species live together in the utmost fellowship. See how sociable and friendly sheep gather together in a flock. Look at the doves and other domestic birds. There is no partisanship among them, no separation due to notions of patriotism. They live together in the utmost love and unity, flying, feeding, associating. Ferocious animals -- beasts of prey such as the wolf, bear, tiger and hyena -- are never amicable and do not associate together. They attack one another. Whenever they meet, they fight. Three wolves are never seen associating happily. If you see them together, it is with some ferocious intent. They are like selfish, brutal men who are inimical, cursing and killing each other. Better that man should resemble the domestic animals than the ferocious beasts of prey, for in the estimation of God love is acceptable, whereas hatred and animosity are rejected. Why should we act contrary to the good pleasure of God? Why should we be as ferocious animals, constantly shedding blood, pillaging and destroying? Because we belong to one race or family of humankind, why should we consider all others bad and inferior, deserving of death, pillage and invasion -- people of darkness, worthy of hatred and detestation by God? Why does man show forth such attitude and actions toward his fellowman? We see that God is kind to all. Just as He loves us, He loves all others; just as He provides for us, He provides for the rest. He nurtures and trains all with equal solicitude.

God is great! God is kind! He does not behold human shortcomings; He does not regard human weaknesses. Man is a creature of His mercy, and to His mercy He summons all. Why then should we despise or detest His creatures because this one is a Jew, another a Buddhist or Zoroastrian and so on? This is ignorance, for the oneness of humanity as servants of God is an assured and certain fact.

Bahá'u'lláh has proclaimed the promise of the oneness of humanity. Therefore, we must exercise the utmost love toward each other. We must be loving to all the people of the world. We must not consider any people the people of Satan, but know and recognize all as the servants of the one God. At most it is this: Some do not know; they must be guided and trained. They must be taught to love their fellow creatures and be encouraged in the acquisition of virtues. Some are ignorant; they must be informed. Some are as children, undeveloped; they must be helped to reach maturity. Some are ailing, their moral condition is unhealthy; they must be treated until their morals are purified. But the sick man is not to be hated because he is sick, the child must not be shunned because he is a child, the ignorant one is not to be despised because he lacks knowledge. They must all be treated, educated, trained and assisted in love. Everything must be done in order that humanity may live under the shadow of God in the utmost security, enjoying happiness in its highest degree.

               (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 264 - 270)

Message to my International Page Viewers

Stats on this blog have skyrocketed. From June 6, 2011 until the end or June 2012 the average has been about 83 page views per month. After the launch of my Sowing Peace web site, that grew to 602 page views in July of 2012 with most of those being in the last half of the month. From August 1^st until now (August 9^th) there has been 333 page views. Originally most page views were coming from Canada, but with this sudden rise, most views are international with Canada staying steady or maybe even a slight decline.

One thing that is constant is that no one is leaving comments. I think I have received one comment since I started the blog. The idea of this blog was to get a discussion going. I would love to hear your comments. What do you think of my input? Do you want to add input? Let me know. You can email me submissions for my consideration and if I feel it fits the theme I will add your post to my blog. If you want to be a regular contributor and I agree that your content would add to the theme of the blog, I can add you on to the account as a blogger so you can add a post at any time.

The Sowing Peace initiative, besides going cyber, has held 3 events in London, Ontario parks. A 4^th one is being planned for Gibbons Park on August 29^th at 6:30 pm. Anyone in the area can join us. If you want to send greetings or comments to our group, just send me an email or leave a comment on this post and I will convey it to the group when we meet. It would be great to have some international participation in the events.

Do you want to hold a Sowing Peace event in your area? By all means go ahead. I hold no monopoly on the idea of Sowing Peace into the Hearts of every Human on earth. The more widespread the idea becomes, the better it is. If you need help to get it going, you can send me an email or post a comment. The event can be announced on the blog and/or on the Sowing Peace Website. Please keep me informed at all stages, form conception through planning to completion. Send me a report or the event so I can let the world know what you have done. We are going to win world peace one heart at a time through individual grassroots efforts, not through political campaigning or lobbying governments.

From more information on the sowing Peace Initiative, visit our website at www.sowingpeace.ca. Any questions of comments, email me at george@sowingpeace.ca, or leave a comment either on this blog or the Sowing Peace website.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Don’t Bully Yourself.

Don’t Bully yourself. Sometimes, actually many times we listen to what the bullies tell us and start using their words against ourselves. Saidat is very active in the anti-bully campaign and she has recently released a video on untube about the dangers of self-bullying. I have embedded her video on my sowing peace web site. It is on the Bully Not page.

Obedience to those in authority and to the Laws of the Land

Obedience to those in authority and to the Laws of the Land is a necessity if peace is to be established. If the laws of the country are unjust, then they should be corrected, but not by divisive or violent measures.

The Sowing Peace Initiative aims at changing human hearts to become peaceful. It does not lobby governments or engage in demonstrations. We are against no one. We encourage all to be peaceful within themselves and in their relationships with others.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained 100 years ago how our relationship to the government should be.

23 July 1912, Talk at Hotel Victoria, Boston, Massachusetts

 Notes by Edna McKinney

The Bahá'ís must not engage in political movements which lead to sedition. They must interest themselves in movements which conduce to law and order. In Persia at the present time the Bahá'ís have no part in the revolutionary upheavals which have terminated in lawlessness and rebellion. Nevertheless, a Bahá'í may hold a political office and be interested in politics of the right type. Ministers, state officials and governor-generals in Persia are Bahá'ís, and there are many other Bahá'ís holding governmental positions; but nowhere throughout the world should the followers of Bahá'u'lláh be engaged in seditious movements. For example, if there should be an uprising here in America having for its purpose the establishment of a despotic government, the Bahá'ís should not be connected with it.

The Bahá'í Cause covers all economic and social questions under the heading and ruling of its laws. The essence of the Bahá'í spirit is that, in order to establish a better social order and economic condition, there must be allegiance to the laws and principles of government. Under the laws which are to govern the world, the socialists may justly demand human rights but without resort to force and violence. The governments will enact these laws, establishing just legislation and economics in order that all humanity may enjoy a full measure of welfare and privilege; but this will always be according to legal protection and procedure. Without legislative administration, rights and demands fail, and the welfare of the commonwealth cannot be realized. Today the method of demand is the strike and resort to force, which is manifestly wrong and destructive of human foundations. Rightful privilege and demand must be set forth in laws and regulations.

While thousands are considering these questions, we have more essential purposes. The fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are associated with the world of the heart and spirit. This is fully explained in the Bahá'í teaching, and without knowledge of its principles no improvement in the economic state can be realized. The Bahá'ís will bring about this improvement  and betterment but not through sedition and appeal to physical force -- not through warfare, but welfare. Hearts must be so cemented together, love must become so dominant that the rich shall most willingly extend assistance to the poor and take steps to establish these economic adjustments permanently. If it is accomplished in this way, it will be most praiseworthy because then it will be for the sake of God and in the pathway of His service. For example, it will be as if the rich inhabitants of a city should say, "It is neither just nor lawful that we should possess great wealth while there is abject poverty in this community," and then willingly give their wealth to the poor, retaining only as much as will enable them to live comfortably.

Strive, therefore, to create love in the hearts in order that they may become glowing and radiant. When that love is shining, it will permeate other hearts even as this electric light illumines its surroundings. When the love of God is established, everything else will be realized. This is the true foundation of all economics. Reflect upon it. Endeavor to become the cause of the attraction of souls rather than to enforce minds. Manifest true economics to the people. Show what love is, what kindness is, what true severance is and generosity. This is the important thing for you to do. Act in accordance with the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. All His Books will be translated. Now is the time for you to live in accordance with His words. Let your deeds be the real translation of their meaning. Economic questions will not attract hearts. The love of God alone will attract them. Economic questions are most interesting; but the power which moves, controls and attracts the hearts of men is the love of God.

               (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 238, 239)

Another great success!

Another great success!

It is so exciting to watch world peace being established one heart at a time. Read about our last event at http://www.sowingpeace.ca/.

Lines

The lines we've drawn in the sand

Are being washed away by the tide of love.

All the divisions that mankind has made

Are being erased by God above.

Copyright by George McNeish 2012

www.sowingpeace.ca/thoughts/lines.html

Challenges in Starting a Dialog of Peace

Challenges in Starting a Dialog of Peace

CXLV. If ye meet the abased or the down-trodden, turn not away disdainfully from them, for the King of Glory ever watcheth over them and surroundeth them with such tenderness as none can fathom except them that have suffered their wishes and desires to be merged in the Will of your Lord, the Gracious, the All-Wise. O ye rich ones of the earth! Flee not from   the face of the poor that lieth in the dust, nay rather befriend him and suffer him to recount the tale of the woes with which God's inscrutable Decree hath caused him to be afflicted. By the righteousness of God! Whilst ye consort with him, the Concourse on high will be looking upon you, will be interceding for you, will be extolling your names and glorifying your action. Blessed are the learned that pride not themselves on their attainments; and well is it with the righteous that mock not the sinful, but rather conceal their misdeeds, so that their own shortcomings may remain veiled to men's eyes.

             (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 314, 315)

In attempting to keep with my goal of starting a dialog of peace with those I meet I have met challenges strait away. Although most people are friendly and sympathetic to the goal of peace, there are also the down-trodden who are bitter with life and want revenge for the injustice that was committed against them.

Yesterday, while traveling through some parks I talked to a few people that I met intent on inviting them to the July 20^th event at Gibbons Park. Many would graciously accept the invitation with some excuse why they would not likely be able to attend, but would consider it if they are in the area at the time, so it was with a bit more bravery that I approached a group sitting in a circle near the peace gardens. I introduced myself and the Sowing Peace Initiative and was met with mixed interest. One lady took a card from me and showed some interest. One wanted me to guess his nationality. When I said “Ojibwa,” I think he was disappointed that I got it right, although he never confirmed or denied it. The conversation led to Columbus and I was informed that to celebrate Columbus Day was to celebrate genocide. I agreed, because I have read much about the genocide that followed Columbus discovering America. Great nations were wiped out and the remnant that remained was treated poorly. Today alcoholism, also brought by the European Settlers, ravages much of what is left of the aboriginal civilization of this continent.  

So the challenge is, “How do I as a descendant of these European Settlers start a discussion of peace with one who is a descendant of the defeated nation?” It is well with us to suggest that we put the past behind us and try to go forward learning from the past and not making the same mistakes again, but there is no way we can give life back to those countless numbers that were murdered in the name of progress. We can say that we are very sorry that it happened, but we are living off the spoils of war. We are living on stolen land that we worked hard for and paid for with our labour and earnings. Does the fact that we bought it from someone who bought it from someone make it any less stolen? The fact is that the original settlers originally purchase it from someone who had stolen it or they got a land grant from the invading government who took it from the original inhabitants.

Blankets for land!

Yes, here is a great example of early justice. The original inhabitants, having been put into a desperate state by the invaders, are now offered blankets in exchange for their land. If this doesn’t sound unjust to you, then wait to you hear where the blankets came from. These were not new blankets by any means. They had been used by soldiers who died of smallpox. Now instead of going through the process of burning these decease laden items, they were used to purchase land. Of course the resulting smallpox epidemic wiped put much of a people who had little natural immunity to the deceases brought by the early Europeans.

Over the last few years the injustices of the past have been acknowledged. Those who had committed the crimes are long gone as are the victims, but descendants of both sides now share a blood stained land. We are now all homeless wanderers who have no place to go. Do those who had their land stolen try to steal it back? If we are living on stolen land do we return it and become homeless ourselves? We are living is a very different society the one the early settlers found, but we are only here on this earth for a short time, so it doesn’t matter so much if we have a home here. Let us try to be polite and courteous visitors while we are on this planet so we can be welcomed to our true home when we leave.

Addition vs Subtraction

One and One is Two

Addition vs Subtraction

Additions argument:

I just love addition and I do not want to see it corrupted by subtraction. We all know from the very beginning of addition that one plus one is two. Now subtraction wants to confuse the issue by saying one minus one is zero. Tell subtraction to get a life. What good is zero? What do we do when there is nothing left? With addition we will always have more. Whatever we have we can add to it and get more. There is power in addition, but subtraction wants to take that away. If you love addition you will not allow subtraction make a negative impression on you. And if subtraction does take hold, what’s next? Multiplication, division or perhaps even fractions; we don’t need these. Addition serves all our needs. It gives and never takes away. Don’t let our pure methods of addition get corrupted with these new age ideas.

Subtractions argument:

Addition is good, but it doesn’t do everything. Addition is getting, but if we keep adding and never taking away, we will become bogged down in materialism.  Subtraction is giving and sharing. If I have ten apples and give five away, I still have five. Addition can’t do that. Without subtraction there would be no room for addition. Our storage facilities would be full and we would starve to death. Subtraction is necessary for live. If we have ten apples and we eat one, we have just subtracted. Yes, with addition we can get all we need, but we can’t use it without subtraction. If the additionalist would examine the principles of addition they would see it was just a first step leading to subtraction and beyond. Yes it will progress to multiplication, division and even fractions, but this is a fulfilment of addition and not a corruption.

It is plain to see that the Divine Teachers teach us what we are capable of learning at the time, but if we reject the Divine teachings of the present because they introduce new ideas that we are not familiar with and were not taught in the past, we lose big time. The new teachings do not negate the teachings of the past, but they add to it. It is not a denial of the past but a fulfillment of it. When we close our minds to the new ideas, we become handicap and the old ideas will no longer work for us. If we don’t learn to subtract, addition will lose its power and be of no use to us.

Moses brought the revelation of God to humanity in His age. He brought social and spiritual laws to help us live. Among them was the law of the Sabbath that was designed to give us humans a break and a day of rest. By the time Jesus appeared the followers of Moses had interpreted the law in such a manner that people became slaves to the law. Moses led the people out of slavery and Jesus found them in a new kind of slavery.

When Jesus introduced new spiritual and social concepts, He was rejected by the majority of the followers of Moses. When He explained that the law was made for man and not that man was made for the law, He was accused of blasphemy and corrupting the law of God. Have the followers of Jesus suffered for accepting His teachings. No, they went on to found great governments and establish kingdoms on earth. They did not reject the teachings of Moses, but added the teachings of Jesus to them. Many more became acquainted with the teachings of Moses through the efforts of the Christians and there was no harm whatsoever done to the law of Moses.

Again humanity progressed and became in need of new ideas and teachings. The people of the Arabic area were nomadic tribes living in a constant state of war. God sent Mohammad and the tribes were united into a great nation. The Muslim universities became renown over the world and even many Christian leaders were educated in these Muslim institutions. If you doubt the advantages of these new ideas, try balancing your bank account or filing your tax return using roman numerals. Our present number system and mathematics is an outcome of Muslim educational techniques.

Over the last few hundred years we have seen the world increasingly being ravaged by war. Each nation wanting to protect its way of life would rise up against anyone perceived to be a threat to its ideals.  Politics, religion and materialism all contributed to the greed of expanding territories and defeating the enemy. Christ’s injunction to “love your enemies” was forgotten as even one Christian ideology would rise up in war against another. At such a time, God’s twin Messengers, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh came with a message of love and unity.  Bahá’u’lláh annulled the rule of the sword and replaced it with the power of utterance. He says;

Know thou that We have annulled the rule of the sword, as an aid to Our Cause, and substituted for it the power born of the utterance of men. Thus have We irrevocably decreed, by virtue of Our grace. Say: O people! Sow not the seeds of discord among men, and refrain from contending with your neighbor, for your Lord hath committed the world and the cities thereof to the care of the kings of the earth, and made them the emblems of His own power, by virtue of the sovereignty He hath chosen to bestow upon them. He hath refused to reserve for Himself any share whatever of this world's dominion. To this He Who is Himself the Eternal Truth will testify. The things He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of men's hearts, that He may cleanse them from all earthly defilements, and enable them to draw nigh unto the hallowed Spot which the hands of the infidel can never profane. Open, O people, the city of the human heart with the key of your utterance. Thus have We, according to a pre-ordained measure, prescribed unto you your duty.

   (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 303, 304)

We see in the past how, despite insurmountable odds and extreme opposition, the law of God was established and human society was advanced. We also see that, without these new ideas, human society was doomed and its destruction would have resulted. Now, more than ever we see the destruction of the human race looming on one side while the revelation of God is rushing in on the other to save it. The world is waiting for the life giving Message that has been entrusted to those faithful followers who have recognized it. The veils must be rent asunder, the clouds dispersed and the hearts unlocked so the revelation of Glory may shine with its life giving rays on all of humanity.

Yes; many problems can be solved with addition, but we need subtraction, multiplication, division and many other aspects to solve all the problems. Even so, the past revelation of God was good and sufficient to solve the problems of the Day in which it was revealed, to solve the problems of today we need the current revelation of God and we must learn the rules and conditions of the future world order which is currently being established.

SOWING PEACE Initiative: First event

The Sowing Peace Initiative had a very successful first event. You can read about it at http://sowingpeace.ca/. Many more events are to come. At the present we are concentrating our efforts on London, Ontario, but I plan to hop on my bicycle and go wherever in the future. If you are interested in the Sowing Peace Initiative and would like to have an event to promote sowing the seeds of peace, you can use the contact form on my main page or leave a comment on this blog. I will go when I can, but if I can’t make it, don’t let that stop you from holding the event. You may use resources on or linked to any of my web sites were applicable. Some restriction may apply to how some information is used, depending on who the copyright owner is, but most information can be used for planning events.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was a great peace ambassador. Many of his talks and writings are available on line. You can check the links on >http://sowingpeace.ca/ to find many of them.

Feel free to contact me or leave a comment if you want any more information on the Sowing Peace initiative.

One point of interest is how happy everyone looks. If you look at the picture of the participants of our first event, there are smiles all around. It seems there is great joy in bringing peace to the world. Peace begins with our thoughts. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.”          (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29)

My Heroes

Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee, or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.

      (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 4, 5)

As I Struggle to know my own self, I am reminded to the heroes amongst us. These are the ones that do ordinary things that make a difference to others.

Since my wife is a minister at a local church, I am often engaged in some work about the church. While I was cutting grass and doing yard work, one of the volunteers approached me. We noticed a dead skunk lying on the road in front of the house next to the church properly. “So that is why the scent of skunk had drifted into my bedroom window this morning,” I stated. “I guess we should dig a hole in the back yard and bury it,” I suggested. Right away he volunteered to do the dirty job. Later I relayed to him, “While others are driving over the skunk and complaining about the smell, a true servant of God buries the skunk.” He is one of my local heroes.

Now, although I would never liken their job to that of burying a skunk, my attention turns to our wonderful Baha'i Local Spiritual Assembly. What an excellent job they are doing at directing the affairs of our community. They have to deal with all the problems of daily living like the rest of us, yet they take the time to meet and discuss the affairs of our city. Not only are they guidance to the Baha’is of London, they are also instrumental in shaping a future world society. Although its membership is made up of individuals not unlike ourselves, when they meet there is a kind of magic. I new entity comes into being which is completely subservient unto our Creator and enacts His will. Yet their role is to provide the framework and guidance to accomplish this work. It takes an arising of individuals to carry out their plans.

From there the list of heroes blooms out and has many a flower laden branch. There is the branch of the Ruhi Class tutors. These self sacrificing individuals have busy lives and some can scarcely find time to look after their own personal needs, yet they book time off their important work, travel for miles and use their precious time to tutor a Ruhi class, often of less than five students. If only we could fill these classes with committed sincere students who desire to serve the Cause of God to the best of their abilities, we would have a more efficient use of their time.

There are so many examples of heroes among our committees and co-ordinators who keep things running smoothly, who faithfully hold reflection meetings and study sessions which are often sparsely attended, but their faith and longing to serve the Cause of God is not diminished. If one person shows up at a meeting it is deemed a success, and the work of the Faith continues. These are my Heroes who are working toward the betterment of the human race.

I cannot make mention of heroes without reference to our youth. How many meetings they have blessed us with their talents? How often they have inspired us to be better Baha’is? These young people, with all the temptations and peer pressure we faced when we were youth, are overcoming and gaining hero status at rates that are overwhelming and mind boggling. God’s will is being accomplished and He continues to raise up generations that exceed the expectations of the generations that went before it.

Our heroes are all around us. It seems I cannot look to the left or the right without seeing at least one of them. And that is only the ones I know about. I’m sure that if I took the time to get to know you and find out what you have accomplished, you too would be my hero.

http://www.sowingpeace.ca/

Think Peace and we will have peace.

Think Peace and we will have peace.  We must not allow thoughts of hatred to enter our minds. War is proceeded by a thought of war. Thoughts of hatred lead to thoughts of war. A peaceful world begins with thoughts of peace, love and unity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  puts it this way.

“I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.

Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other's hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!

Nothing is impossible to the Divine Benevolence of God.

If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”

               (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29, 30)

Sowing seeds of peace

Sowing seeds of peace

If I can sow a seed of peace in your heart, it may grow and its seed my spread to other hearts. This is my goal. I believe that world peace is best achieved by having peace in the hearts of all mankind. How can we every hope to stop world conflict if there is conflict within families and how can we prevent conflict within families if we are not at peace within ourselves?

This is where I start; in my own soul. I must be at peace within myself. I cannot allow myself to commit any deed or entertain any thought that would cause conflict within my own being. From there I fit myself into my family setting and live at peace with my brothers and sisters, my parents and all my relatives. Now I expand to my community, to those I do business with and those I work with. All my actions, thoughts and speech must exude peace.

As I travel I come in contact with more and more people. I deal with each one in an attitude of peace and in the process I may sow a seed of peace within them or cultivate the peace that is already growing there. As I do this, the peace within me grows and blossoms and produces fruit that I offer to others. If it is accepted and consumed, its seed will begin to grow until it blossoms and produces more fruit to be passed on. Soon peace will envelop the whole earth. We need to first desire peace, and then it will grow in us and spread to others.

The process may be difficult at times. The weeds of envy, hate, greed and lust will have to be uprooted to make room for peace, and sometimes they are well rooted and difficult to dislodge. Yet, as we become the gardeners of our own souls it is up to us what we will allow to grow there. If we are diligent and seek divine guidance we will see this tree of peace grow within us. It will bear fruit and spread to others who, once they taste of its sweetness, will want it in the gardens their own souls.

It is my desire that you will eat of this fruit and pass it on. It is so sweet and desirable to all. Just give it a try, if you don’t like it you can always go back to the old ways of hatred and war, but at least lets at least try it.

'During these six thousand years there has been constant war, strife, bloodshed. We can see at a glance the results. Have we not a sufficient standard of experience in this direction? Let us now try peace for a while. If good results follow, let us adhere to it. If not let us throw it away and fight again. Nothing will be lost by the experiment.'

    (‘Abdu’l-Bahá  quoted by Marzieh Gail, Dawn Over Mount Hira, p. 189)

Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess. Through a word proceeding out of the mouth of God he was called into being; by one word more he was guided to recognize the Source of his education; by yet another word his station and destiny were safeguarded. The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. If any man were to meditate on that which the Scriptures, sent down from the heaven of God's holy Will, have revealed, he would readily recognize that their purpose is that all men shall be regarded as one soul, so that the seal bearing the words "The Kingdom shall be God's" may be stamped on every heart, and the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelop all mankind.

    (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 259 - 260)

Read and Study the Words of Christ:

Read and Study the Words of Christ:

Here is a challenge for those who follow Christ. Read and study His Words. There are some, maybe many, who are afraid to look at the Words of Jesus. They will study the letters of the apostles. They will have classes based on books written on Christian subjects. But they will not have any course of Study that focuses on the Words of Jesus. They may, from time to time, refer to a verse from the words of Jesus to back up something that they were studying from another point of view, but I don’t see the focus being on the divinely revealed Words of Jesus. Perhaps I am totally wrong and I would love for someone to disprove me.

I don’t go to church often, but today I decided to sit in on the study session for a while. Apparently the last 6 weeks they had been studying a passage from a book that dealt with how to worship. While others were discussing what they had learned, I was asked to read a portion from the start of the first chapter they had studied to an elderly lady who had also missed the earlier sessions. The author began the chapter by stating that it was apparent from the bible that the first duty of a Christian was to minister unto God. Okay, I now would like to know what Biblical passages she felt would infer such an emphatic statement, but she only continued to emphasise the importance, without reference to any book, of ministering unto God. Eventually she referred to Genesis 1:1 to explain how God had conferred with Holy Spirit before creating the World. Genesis 1:1 states; “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This made the whole subject about as clear as mud to me, and the elderly lady I was reading to told me how she couldn’t understand anything that had recently been preached in the church, even going back to the previous minister’s messages. So I put down the pages I had been handed and turned to the Gospel of Matthew where I read; “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” ^{(Matthew 5: 3, 4)} “That,” my elderly friend said, “I can understand.”

In defence of Paul

I often get accused of Paul bashing because I don’t believe that the words of Paul are equal in authority to the Words of Christ. Paul was a very wise man and the letters he wrote to the early believers was an invaluable resource that is still used today. We need not ignore what Paul said, but it needs to be put into perspective. Those who rely almost exclusively on the words of Paul for guidance will point me to the following passage from a Prayer of Christ revealed shortly before His Crucifixion. He was praying for the apostles who would be carrying on His work after He had left this earthly existence.

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” ^{(John 17:20)}

This, they feel, shows that Christ conveyed the full authority of His Word on the Apostles and therefore their words are equal in authority to His own. To me I simply see that He was inferring that the apostles would carry on His work and bring His Word to others. Thus, through the words of the apostles many would be led to believe in the Words of Christ.

Another passage I often have referred to me to is from the writings of Paul.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” ^{(Timothy 3:16)}

This alarms me more than anything else in that they take this, and all of Paul’s writings, as Scripture. This is where I must stand up in Paul’s defense as I would hope someone in the future would stand up for me if ever, God Forbid, something I had written was taken as scripture. Okay; analyse this. Do you think for one moment that when Paul wrote this letter to his friend and colleague that he believed he was writing scripture? I think that if Paul even had an inkling of how his words would be used in the future he would never had written a thing. We can be glad that he did write because his advice and wisdom was and is often very valuable. Paul’s love and reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ would never allow him to assert himself over his beloved and Paul never considered his authority equal to his Lord’s.

Back To the Challenge:

Can you handle the Truth? What Jesus revealed was Truth. It was stated in the simplest terms so even the uneducated could understand it. It is clear. It is not debateable. It is Truth. To some this pure unadulterated form of Truth is too alarming to accept. Of course that’s not you or I, but we likely know someone who can’t handle the Truth.

So if this is the Truth, why is there such a reluctance to focus on it? Why do we feel the need to study the way Jane, Dick or Harry interpreted the Truth when we already have the Truth set before us? Why do we feel we need to complicate the simple Truth with the words of philosophers and wise men who mix their own ideas in with the simple Truth? This is beyond me.

Beyond Christianity:

I take this challenge beyond Christianity to all religions. I challenge everyone to turn to the writings and sayings of the prophet that each one believes in. There is only one God and only one religion which God has revealed to us through various prophets. The purpose of God’s Religion is to unite His people in love and harmony. Thus Jesus tells us; “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” ^{(John 13:34, 35)} If we find someone claiming to be a disciple of Christ and they are filled with hate, we can remind them of this verse.

God spoke through Moses in the following way: “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” ^{(Leviticus 19:18)} If we find someone of the Jewish persuasion that is bent on hatred and killing, we can remind him of this verse.

In the Qur'an it is revealed: “It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.” ^{(The Qur'an (Pickthall tr), Sura   2 - The Cow vs 177)} In other words Love one another. Be Kind. Be generous. Love.

Now for the Baha’is the challenge is even greater. Being in the early days of the Faith, there is much persecution in various parts of the world, and it will come here when religionist begin to perceive us as a threat. Yet we are commanded to love even our enemies.

In this wondrous age, however, praised be God, the commandments of God are not delimited, not restricted to any one group of people, rather have all the friends been commanded to show forth fellowship and love, consideration and generosity and loving-kindness to every community on earth. Now must the lovers of God arise to carry out these instructions of His: let them be kindly fathers to the children of the human race, and compassionate brothers to the youth, and self-denying offspring to those bent with years. The meaning of this is that ye must show forth tenderness and love to every human being, even to your enemies, and welcome them all with unalloyed friendship, good cheer, and loving-kindness. When ye meet with cruelty and persecution at another's hands, keep faith with him; when malevolence is directed your way, respond with a friendly heart. To the spears and arrows rained upon you, expose your breasts for a target mirror-bright; and in return for curses, taunts and wounding words, show forth abounding love. Thus will all peoples witness the power of the Most Great Name, and every nation acknowledge the might of the Ancient Beauty, and see how He hath toppled down the walls of discord, and how surely He hath guided all the peoples of the earth to oneness; how He hath lit man's world, and made this earth of dust to send forth streams of light. ^{(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 20)}

Alas: If any of us have even the least trace of hatred in our hearts, we must be reminded of the command to love.

Never speak disparagingly of others, but praise without distinction. Pollute not your tongues by speaking evil of another. Recognize your enemies as friends, and consider those who wish you evil as the wishers of good. You must not see evil as evil and then compromise with your opinion, for to treat in a smooth, kindly way one whom you consider evil or an enemy is hypocrisy, and this is not worthy or allowable. You must consider your enemies as your friends, look upon your evil-wishers as your well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Act in such a way that your heart may be free from hatred. Let not your heart be offended with anyone. If some one commits an error and wrong toward you, you must instantly forgive him. Do not complain of others. Refrain from reprimanding them, and if you wish to give admonition or advice, let it be offered in such a way that it will not burden the bearer. Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts. Beware! Beware! lest ye offend any heart. Assist the world of humanity as much as possible. Be the source of consolation to every sad one, assist every weak one, be helpful to every indigent one, care for every sick one, be the cause of glorification to every lowly one, and shelter those who are overshadowed by fear. ^{(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 453)}

So the Ancient Faith of God has been renewed once more. When you are familiar with the voice of Christ, Moses or Muhammad, you will recognize that voice once more in the following.

CX. The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requireth.... It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the world may be led, as the result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests. How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station. ^{(Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 215 - 217)}

God has always commanded us to love. He has always desired unity and well being for His people. Yet we have warred, hated and killed one another. Let us try peace and see if we like it. If it is not acceptable, we can always go back to the old way of war.

During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop. War must cease. Let us be united and love one another and await the result. We know the effects of war are bad. So let us try, as an experiment, peace, and if the results of peace are bad, then we can choose if it would be better to go back to the old state of war! Let us in any case make the experiment. If we see that unity brings Light we shall continue it. For six thousand years we have been walking on the left-hand path; let us walk on the right-hand path now. We have passed many centuries in darkness, let us advance towards the light. ^{(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 61, 62)}

The Fundamental Principles of Religion

In thine esteemed letter thou hadst inquired which of the Prophets of God should be regarded as superior to others. Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him. If any man, therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should consequently indulge in vain and unseemly language, no one whose sight is keen and whose understanding is enlightened would ever allow such idle talk to cause him to waver in his belief. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 78, 79)

A few days ago I heard a pastor on the radio talk about the nature of religion. He said there was a belief that all religions were fundamentally the same but superficially different. He disagreed. In his estimation, all religions are superficially the same but fundamentally different. He went on to explain that there were some who did not accept the physical crucifixion of Jesus. This he held to be a fundamental principle. At this point I stopped listening but went on analysing and it struck me that this was the reason for war.

You see that although all religions teach love for God and love for one another, according to this pastor that is only a superficial belief and can be ignored, but the physical nature of Jesus must be believed one hundred percent because that was a fundamental principal of his religion. So if he were to meet someone that accepted every teaching of Christ, believed that Christ was the Manifestation of God and that we must adhere to every principal that Christ proclaimed, but that person did not agree with him as to the smallest detail of the physical nature of Jesus, this person should be regarded as an enemy and an infidel and therefore we should hate him, war with him and even kill him. This even though Christ said; “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

My belief is that religion is fundamentally spiritual and in the spiritual aspects all true religion is the same. I believe that God, who is All Powerful, has sent Messengers to us throughout history. These messengers were Manifestations of Himself in much the same way as the sun becomes manifest in the mirror that is directed towards it. These pure and sanctified Mirrors revealed God to us to the extent that we were capable of understanding. As our understanding grows, He sends New Messengers that reveal more to us. The only problem with my belief is that it leaves no excuse for war, so no war mongering hateful person could accept what I believe.

Jesus taught Love. He said; “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35) You judge if this is a fundamental principle of Christ or if it should be treated as superficial.

John questions Jesus; “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” (Luke 9:49)

Jesus answered; “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9: 50)

Does this sound like we should hate everyone who doesn’t follow what we believe. Throughout the New Testament the boastful self righteous are rebuked while the humble sinner is forgiven and praised.

Here is an account of a parable told by Jesus:

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18: 9-14)

It is extremely important that we seek truth for ourselves. Many will twist the truth so they can persuade you toward their own believe. Some well meaning souls may not even be aware they are doing it, but even the Devil quoted scripture when he tried to temp Jesus.

O SON OF BEING!

Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds. (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #31)

Yes we must always be on guard that we do not fall victim to our own lusts and desires. What are our motivations for what we do? I must internalize this even more and say, “I must always be on guard,” for if I point a finger at you I find I have three pointed back at me and anything I urge you to do I must put three times the effort into urging myself. We live in a wonderfully glorious new day and although it is such an honour to be chosen to live in this day, it is also very humbling. We see the magnificence of God’s power, His grace and His forgiveness. We seem so small and insignificant, yet we are called upon to do a great work. How can we accomplish this? Surely not by our own efforts, but only by allowing ourselves to be selfless channels through which God’s power can flow.

This is where I get stuck. How do I do this? How do I get my ego out of the way so God can work through me? I must bounce my ideas off of others. I must study with them and discover with them the ways of God. In this way we can help others as we help ourselves grow ever closer to God.

Naturally your comments are welcome. I have only presented my own personal view, as imperfect as it is, and I welcome your thoughts and ideas which will make it more complete.

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1260

1260

In three chapters of the Book of Revelation, the number 1260 is referred to six times. Four times in chapter eleven, once in twelve and one more time in thirteen. At the end of chapter thirteen there is a reference to the number 666.

Chapter eleven starts with an a angel telling the prophet John to measure the temple of God, the alter and those who worship therein, but in verse two he is told not to measure the court outside of the temple for it is given to the gentiles. These same gentiles will walk over the holy city for forty-two months.

In prophesy each day represents a year and a month is 30 days. Forty-two months therefore represents 1260 years.

In verse three mention is made of two witnesses who will prophesy for 1260 days, again representing 1260 years. These two witnesses are given some amazing powers. Verse five says that fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In prophesy that which proceeds from the mouth represents the words they speak, so it is their words that devour their enemies. These two witnesses have complete power until the beast appears. When they have finished their testimony the beast will ascend out of the bottomless pit and make war against them, overcome them and kill them.

These witnesses would not be buried but their bodies would lie in the great city where our Lord was crucified for three and a half days. In prophesy this represents three and a half years, each year representing 12 months of 30 days or 360 days. Three and a half times three hundred and sixty is equal to one thousand two hundred and sixty days. If we again take a day for a year we have 1260 years or this may mean just 1260 days.

The people of the earth rejoiced at their death and celebrated until the spirit of Life from God entered into them. In verse eleven we have our fourth reference to 1260 when it states that they came alive and stood up after three and a half days. Now their enemies would see them ascend into Heaven in clouds and great disasters would torment the earth killing many.

In chapter twelve we are introduced to a woman who would give birth to a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. A great red dragon pursued the woman with intentions of devouring her child, but the child was snatched up into heaven and the woman hid in the wilderness for 1260 days. (verse 6)

Now chapter thirteen opens with an introduction to a beast named Blasphemy. Having seven heads and ten horns and wearing ten crowns, it would seem this beast represents ten nations ruled by seven leaders. This is the big one. It had authority and power and it blasphemed God. The people of earth reverenced it and stood in awe before its power, even worshipping this beast. It was given power to continue for forty-two months. This is the sixth reference to 1260.

This beast was given power and a mouth to blaspheme, but that was not enough. Another beast appears with equal power and causes the people of earth to worship the first beast. He now makes an image of the first beast and gives it life. All who refuse to worship the beast are to be killed. No one can buy or sell unless he has the mark of the beast, the name of the beast or the number of his name on his right hand or forehead. The chapter concludes by telling us that the number of the beast is the number of a man and that his number is 666.

I have shortened this synopsis and left many things out, so it would be wise to read these chapters for yourself and see what understanding you come to.

I once went to a study class on revelation and had the mark of the beast explained in this way.

Forehead means understanding, as it is in the frontal lobe of the brain where understanding occurs. 666 is 999 upside down. 9 is the number for perfection since it is the largest single digit and is said to have all other numbers within it. Perfection upside down would refer to corruption. Repeated three times means corruption of the mind, soul and body. So taking the mark of the beast in your forehead means that you have corruption in your understanding.

It wasn’t explained what it means by the right hand, but I think this refers to what we do as the right had is usually employed in most of our tasks.

1260

To me it can be no mere coincidence that the number 1260 appears so many times in prophesies and that the declaration of the Báb occurred in the year 1260 AH. It is the description of the things that occur for and duration of 1260 years that I find confusing. I suppose trying to understand spiritual things with a physical brain has its drawbacks. Perhaps the 1260 is repeated simply so we will recognize the significance of that year in history, but time being a physical limitation has no meaning in the spiritual.

The man mentioned in chapter 12 that was destined to rule may refer to Mohammad or Baha’u’llah. Since they are regarded as one, this is not a problem. Mohammad was destined to rule but was snatched into Heaven to protect Him from the Dragon. His Mother, representing the creative force that brought Him into being, was kept alive in the wilderness for 1260 years. We know that the creative power is the word of God, so the woman represents the Qur’an. Although Mohammad’s physical being lived on earth for a short time, His true abode was Heaven were the dragon could not reach Him.

The two witnesses in chapter 11 may very well represent the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Of course we are not to make any distinction between the Manifestations of God so they are therefore equivalent to Mohammad. Bahá’u’lláh revealed to us, “Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs that have accompanied and proclaimed their Revelation.” ^{(Gleanings p59)}

So the Manifestation of God held awesome power over the earth for 1260 years, but the people didn’t like it so they rejoiced when the beast rose from the bottomless pit and killed them. By this time they had finished their revelation and now they would lie as dead in the great city for 1260 years. In other words the life of their revelation was gone and only the outward form (their bodies) remained. The people rejoiced at their death for 1260 years until they were given new life. They then watched in terror as the two witnesses ascended into Heaven in a cloud. We know that clouds are that which obscure the vision, so our spiritual eyes do not see clearly the significance of these witnesses. Somehow, now, time has no meaning. These two witnesses had complete power for 1260 years and they were as dead for the same 1260 years. They rose again and ascended into Heaven to possibly rule forever. However they were always in Heaven and always alive, have always ruled and will forever rule the earth. It is only our perception of them that changes. Sometimes they appear to us as dead outward forms of something that was once alive and powerful. Other times they appear as All Powerful and All Mighty. They are the channel through which we see God and so they appear as God to us. They are dead when God appears as dead to us. This is when our relationship with God is dead, for God Himself is always alive. When we become dead to his revelation He appears as dead to us.

At the same time He is alive and All Powerful. We recognize that we can’t control Him and that we are subject to His laws. If we don’t submit to His will we will hate the control He has over us. This makes us dead to Him and makes Him appear as dead to us, so we rejoice that He no longer can control us, but then we experience horror as we see Him come back to life because we realize that our evil deeds will be found out. This cycle continues as our finite minds try to comprehend the infinite. Of course the finite can never comprehend the infinite, so we are left with inklings of an All Powerful, Omnipotent Being. In some way we learn that which He desires for us to learn and we know enough to keep us on the path that He has destined for us.

Now I am left with no more head knowledge than when I began. My spirit is content for somehow I know that He is All Powerful and in control. I don’t have to understand His will for me; I only need to submit to it. When I feel I am in trouble I only need to remember this prayer of the Báb.

Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!

(Baha'i Prayers, p. 27)

All are His servants. All abide by His bidding. He is in control. I have nothing to fear so long as I am acting within His will.

Science and religion continued

Religion must agree with science, so that science shall sustain religion and religion explain science. The two must be brought together, indissolubly, in reality. Down to the present day it has been customary for man to accept blindly what was called religion, even though it were not in accord with human reason.

               (Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine Philosophy, p. 26)

At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind will be much improved. This is destined to come about. In the same way, in the character, the conduct and the manners of men, universal modifications will be made.

               (Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 155)

We sometimes need to think things over before we act. I learned the hard way that, just because someone claims to be spiritually guided, it does not mean they are acting in my best interest. Perhaps you remember the chiropractor that explained that he was opening up the channels for the nerves running through your back in order to get them back to the way the creator meant them to be. Since, as a Baha’i I accept that science and religion must go hand in hand, I jumped on this philosophy and went about promoting him. Then I went to another meeting where he talked of how all illness could be cured by opening up the channels of communication through the body’s nervous system. Okay, now I’m a little suspicious since I’ve heard a few cure all theories before. He continued on to explain that it did not matter what you put into the body explaining that even people who smoke sometime live to a very old age. It is all about the condition of the back and how the nerve cells are relaying the body’s messages. Now something is not right. This does not seem to be in conformity with science and reason. Surely, with all the scientific knowledge to the contrary, a competent doctor would not promote smoking and lustful eating habits.

Still, with my doubts, I continued to talk with him and stupidly allowed him to give me a free adjustment. Ouch! That hurt. Three months later I still have pain and have finally made an appointment to see a medical doctor.

To be fair, the chiropractor did offer further adjustments and explained that pain after the first adjustment was normal, but I wasn’t willing to risk it. For three months now, I have been unable to do normal work and sometimes something as simple as lifting my hand to point a finger causes a sharp pain to shoot through my back and stomach area. He may be right and be able to correct it, but reason tells me that, when the pain continues to get worse over three months, something is happening that another whack in the back is unlikely to correct and could very well do more damage. So tonight I will endure another painful night of sleep and tomorrow I will get another opinion, this time from a medical doctor.

O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit.

Are You In Need of Divine Assistance?

I was one who thought that I needed to look after material needs first. I was thinking that once I had my business up and running, I would have time for teaching and Baha'i Activities. Was I in need of divine assistance? That is for sure. Then, after reading the following passage I realized I had it all backwards.

Abdu’l-Bahá says: "it is impossible that the friends of God could receive assistance unless they be engaged in delivering the Message." I definitely needed divine assistance so I definitely need to be engaged in delivering the Message. When I accomplish this, my life will fall back into place.

It is known and clear that today the unseen divine assistance encompasseth those who deliver the Message. And if the work of delivering the Message be neglected, the assistance shall be entirely cut off, for it is impossible that the friends of God could receive assistance unless they be engaged in delivering the Message. Under all conditions the Message must be delivered, but with wisdom. If it be not possible openly, it must be done quietly. The friends should be engaged in educating the souls and should become instruments in aiding the world of humanity to acquire spiritual joy and fragrance. For example: If every one of the friends (believers) were to establish relations of friendship and right dealings with one of the negligent souls, associate and live with him with perfect kindliness, and meanwhile through good conduct and moral behavior lead him to divine instruction, to heavenly advice and teachings, surely he would gradually arouse that negligent person and would change his ignorance into knowledge.

Souls are liable to estrangement. Such methods should be adopted that the estrangement should be first removed, then the Word will have effect.

If one of the believers be kind to one of the negligent ones and with perfect love should gradually make him understand the reality of the Cause of God in such a way that the latter should know in what manner the Religion of God hath been founded and what its object is, doubtless he will become changed; excepting abnormal souls who are reduced to the state of ashes and whose hearts are like stones, yea, even harder.

If by this method every one of the friends of God were to try to lead one soul to the right path, the number of the believers would be doubled every year. But this should be carried out with perfect wisdom and in such a manner that no harm would ever result therefrom.

    (Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu’l-Bahá v2, p. 390 - 392)

By leading one soul to the right path, we will double our numbers every year. If you were like me and thought that you didn’t have the time to do this, then think if you want divine assistance in your life. It is difficult for me to leave my store to go to meetings on a Saturday, but today I will be closing for a few hours to attend the reflection meeting. I hope to see you there.

Discussion on peace continues.

We gather at DR Discount & Wholesale, 639 Nelson St. London, Ontario Every Tuesday at 7:30 PM (store will be closed for the day) for a discussion on peace. If you would like to join us, call 519-850-6651 or email peace@drdiscount.ca for more information. If you have ideas on how we can live peaceably with our fellow word citizens you are welcome to come and share. If you have run into challenges in your struggle to remain at peace you are welcome to share that as well. Perhaps others have had similar experiences and can help to find solutions.

This is strictly a sharing forum. No one has the answers, but together we can learn from each other. World peace begins with individuals like you and me. We must be at peace with ourselves and those we come into contact with if we want to see a peaceful world. We want to avoid all prejudice of every sort, whether racial, patriotic, economic or religious, so all are welcome regardless of where one stands.