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An Earnest Plea for Unity

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Greetings to all of the believers in the One God of Abraham, and may His Peace and Blessings be always upon us!

While meditating upon a passage from Bahá'u'lláh's Gleanings, something is weighing heavily on my heart, brothers and sisters: our disunity as the People of God. We argue and fight, kill each other, make war with one another. WE NEED TO STOP! WE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM! Surely, God — who has, through the children of one and the same man, brought forth four different religions— commands us as His Servants, His Lovers, to be one family! Understanding this, the various conflicts which have arisen among us (for any reason) MUST be extinguished. Can this happen? With every fiber of my being, I say “Yes!” How? I believe that it comes through an honest examination of not only the words of our Holy Books, but also the Spirit of those Words, and the manifestation of true devotion to them and that Spirit in our dealings with each other. In all of the Books, there is an unambiguous affirmation of the Unity of God, the Glorification of His Majesty, the Creation of all humankind by the One and the Same God, and a firm belief in the Revelation of God as given to Abraham, and in His Messengers.


So, what am I saying in all of this? In our differences, we must learn to hold our peace, not allowing them whatsoever to continue to be sources of contention and strife. In our similarities, we must rejoice, as the common Lovers of the Almighty God — Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahá'ís — in the spirit of unity and reconciliation! If you agree, then say so!
 
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Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
In our differences, we must learn to hold our peace, not allowing them whatsoever to continue to be sources of contention and strife. In our similarities, we must rejoice, as the common Lovers of the Almighty God — Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahá'ís — in the spirit of unity and reconciliation! If you agree, then say so!
I AGREE!
 

Raahim

مكتوب
Not much can be discussed here because I doubt there's a user on RF who will say he or she disagrees on what you wrote.
Every religion is thought to be good towards others & live in peace & harmony, it's just that people have issues with living in mixed society and are driven by greed.
 

Sw. Vandana Jyothi

Truth is One, many are the Names
Premium Member
Greetings to all of the believers in the One God of Abraham, and may His Peace and Blessings be always upon us! So, what am I saying in all of this? In our differences, we must learn to hold our peace, not allowing them whatsoever to continue to be sources of contention and strife. In our similarities, we must rejoice, as the common Lovers of the Almighty God — Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahá'ís — in the spirit of unity and reconciliation! If you agree, then say so!

Oops! Sniff, sniff. Sorry but I hit "post" prematurely, apparently had trouble with a sticky keyboard 'cuz of all these little tears and sniffles. Say, what about us other Lovers of Almighty God, DJ? For the sake of our One Beloved, do please encourage unity and reconciliation amongst ALL His Lovers! He would.
 

jeager106

Learning more about Jehovah.
Premium Member
Unity among the Abrahamic religions?
Bawwwwwwwwwwwwww-hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
 

jeager106

Learning more about Jehovah.
Premium Member
Ain't EVER gonna happen.
Can we imagine the dingbats that pass around a basket of rattlesnakes to play
with giving up such a sacred act to prove Faith?
Not likely. The practice is banned in many States yet still practiced by the ignorant.
 

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Oops! Sniff, sniff. Sorry but I hit "post" prematurely, apparently had trouble with a sticky keyboard 'cuz of all these little tears and sniffles. Say, what about us other Lovers of Almighty God, DJ? For the sake of our One Beloved, do please encourage unity and reconciliation amongst ALL His Lovers! He would.

Right on, SVJ! You're right. What you say is the truth! God is Lord of both East and West.
 

The Emperor of Mankind

Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
Greetings to all of the believers in the One God of Abraham, and may His Peace and Blessings be always upon us!

While meditating upon a passage from Bahá'u'lláh's Gleanings, something is weighing heavily on my heart, brothers and sisters: our disunity as the People of God. We argue and fight, kill each other, make war with one another. WE NEED TO STOP! WE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM! Surely, God — who has, through the children of one and the same man, brought forth four different religions— commands us as His Servants, His Lovers, to be one family! Understanding this, the various conflicts which have arisen among us (for any reason) MUST be extinguished. Can this happen? With every fiber of my being, I say “Yes!” How? I believe that it comes through an honest examination of not only the words of our Holy Books, but also the Spirit of those Words, and the manifestation of true devotion to them and that Spirit in our dealings with each other. In all of the Books, there is an unambiguous affirmation of the Unity of God, the Glorification of His Majesty, the Creation of all humankind by the One and the Same God, and a firm belief in the Revelation of God as given to Abraham, and in His Messengers.


So, what am I saying in all of this? In our differences, we must learn to hold our peace, not allowing them whatsoever to continue to be sources of contention and strife. In our similarities, we must rejoice, as the common Lovers of the Almighty God — Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahá'ís — in the spirit of unity and reconciliation! If you agree, then say so!

What do you think the consequences of achieving unity & ending the in-fighting amongst members of the Abrahamic religions would be for people who do not follow Abrahamic religions?

Where do you think the energy to persecute and oppress one another would be directed instead?
 

Sw. Vandana Jyothi

Truth is One, many are the Names
Premium Member
Right on, SVJ! You're right. What you say is the truth! God is Lord of both East and West.

OH!! I just saw this:
“Therefore did Bahá'u'lláh cry, “O God, deliver us from the sea of names!” Man must turn to the light and not think that the form of the lamp is essential, for the lamp may be changed; but he who longs for light welcomes it from whatever source it comes.”

Talk about right on!!
 

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
What do you think the consequences of achieving unity & ending the in-fighting amongst members of the Abrahamic religions would be for people who do not follow Abrahamic religions?

Where do you think the energy to persecute and oppress one another would be directed instead?

There would be no room for that, Scots. It would be futile. All of the Abrahamic religions recognize that God is the Creator of all people, regardless of their religions, y'know? Rooting out the sources of contention and strife among one another means that peace in the world will have finally be achieved.
 

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Unity among the Abrahamic religions?
Bawwwwwwwwwwwwww-hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Slowly but surely, dear jeager — and with God as my Witness — the seeds of love and brotherhood amongst the followers of the Faiths of Abraham are being sown!
 

Tumah

Veteran Member
It would seem that way, Tumah, but it is addressed to followers of all Abrahamic religions.
It does do that.
But then it goes on to say:
our disunity as the People of God... WE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM! Surely, God — who has, through the children of one and the same man, brought forth four different religions— commands us as His Servants, His Lovers, to be one family!

And there is nothing in the above statement that is true according to Jewish theology.

If you didn't intend to work your Baha'i theology into the OP, you could have just said, "I was meditation on some Baha'i stuff and I thought to myself, 'We're all people! Can't we all just get along?'" That I think, would have properly belonged in the Abrahamic directory. It equally applies to all religions without forcing one's beliefs onto another.

But now your essentially saying, "the Abrahamic religions should be live peacefully with each other, because the Baha'i religion believes that we're all the same." And that is not a very good reason.
 

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
It does do that.
But then it goes on to say:


And there is nothing in the above statement that is true according to Jewish theology.

If you didn't intend to work your Baha'i theology into the OP, you could have just said, "I was meditation on some Baha'i stuff and I thought to myself, 'We're all people! Can't we all just get along?'" That I think, would have properly belonged in the Abrahamic directory. It equally applies to all religions without forcing one's beliefs onto another.

But now your essentially saying, "the Abrahamic religions should be live peacefully with each other, because the Baha'i religion believes that we're all the same." And that is not a very good reason.

I understand your objections, Tumah. However, three truths must be accounted for.

#1) By “children of Abraham”, what I mean (and what I go on to explain) is that through the descendants of Abraham, four DIFFERENT religions were established.

#2) I am not saying that “all Abrahamic religions are the same”, rather (more correctly) that all four faiths believe in and worship the ONE GOD of ABRAHAM, which is why we are ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS.


#3) Why should I not, as a Bahá'í — an adherent of an ABRAHAMIC RELIGION — approach the issue of unity and reconciliation from my own perspective? Forget about my religion for a minute! Jews, Christians, and Muslims will all say that, in truth, they worship the same God and they all revere the man Abraham! Jews and Muslims, especially will say about each other “are we not related by blood, even?” Correct me, if I'm wrong, dear Tumah!
 

Tumah

Veteran Member
I understand your objections, Tumah. However, three truths must be accounted for.

#1) By “children of Abraham”, what I mean (and what I go on to explain) is that through the descendants of Abraham, four DIFFERENT religions were established.
This is not what the "children" means and is also not what the phrase "children of Abraham" means.
At least not literally and definitely not in my theology.
#2) I am not saying that “all Abrahamic religions are the same”, rather (more correctly) that all four faiths believe in and worship the ONE GOD of ABRAHAM, which is why we are ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS.
Even if that were true, which I'm not sure can be said about Christianity according to Jewish theology, and is definitely misleading with regards to all other religions from Judaism's perspective, every preceding religion (ie. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha'i) doesn't recognize the authenticity of the succeeding religions as true expressions of their faith. In other words, the same thing that brings us together also drives us apart.

#3) Why should I not, as a Bahá'í — an adherent of an ABRAHAMIC RELIGION — approach the issue of unity and reconciliation from my own perspective?
Because its not relevant to anyone not in your religion and this isn't the Baha'i directory. So if you want to be universal, you need to speak universal.

Forget about my religion for a minute! Jews, Christians, and Muslims will all say that, in truth, they worship the same God and they all revere the man Abraham!
That's someone misleading as the similarities between our beliefs of G-d and Abraham are superficial at best.

Jews and Muslims, especially will say about each other “are we not related by blood, even?” Correct me, if I'm wrong, dear Tumah!
That is true, because both Jews and Muslims are actually children of Abraham through Sarah and Keturah respectively. This has nothing to do with Christians or Baha'i.
 

Sundance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
This is not what the "children" means and is also not what the phrase "children of Abraham" means.
At least not literally and definitely not in my theology.

Even if that were true, which I'm not sure can be said about Christianity according to Jewish theology, and is definitely misleading with regards to all other religions from Judaism's perspective, every preceding religion (ie. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha'i) doesn't recognize the authenticity of the succeeding religions as true expressions of their faith. In other words, the same thing that brings us together also drives us apart.


Because its not relevant to anyone not in your religion and this isn't the Baha'i directory. So if you want to be universal, you need to speak universal.


That's someone misleading as the similarities between our beliefs of G-d and Abraham are superficial at best.


That is true, because both Jews and Muslims are actually children of Abraham through Sarah and Keturah respectively. This has nothing to do with Christians or Baha'i.

· I use the term “children” in the literary sense.

· What impact does any of this have on the facts that they ALL worship one God, and revere many of the same individuals, especially Abraham? What you're referring to deals with matters that do differ among us, but in the end, must not be sources of contention and strife, don't you agree?

·Not relevant?! That's not what the positive posts in this thread say. One came from a Christian, and another from a Muslim. You, Tumah, seem to be the only one with the issue here as for relevance. That's fine, but don't ever try to say that what anyone speaks is irrelevant just because it's from a different religious perspective.

· Islam began among Arabs, who are descendants of Ishmael through Hagar, not Keturah. Christians, having started from Jews, can rightfully lay claim to being the sons and daughters of Abraham. Same thing for Bahá'ís. Speaking of whom, our Founder, Bahá'u'lláh, was descended from one of the sons of Keturah. So, what are you saying here?
 
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