doppelgänger;893594 said:
Since Sharon has graciously agreed to sit down with me for some chicken salad and a nice cup of chamomile, here goes:
Chamomile? Did you want me to fall asleep? :tuna:
First of all, why the fascination with chickens?
When our kids were younger (around 6-8) we went through a phase of having a lot of different pets, many of them exotic. At one time, we had 72 pets, though that was counting the fish, which may be cheating a bit.
Anyway, we've had some hens (roosters are too noisy), ducks and one goose. Eventually we had to ship them over to the local school, where we included them in the school's Backyard Wildlife Habitat, and they were a big hit with the kids. This was especially true of the hen that laid green eggs. The little kids would collect those eggs, cook them up, and have them as part of their reading of "Green Eggs and Ham."
Besides, if you've ever seen a White Crested Black Polish chicken, you would be hooked on them too. Think of it as Phyllis Diller -- with wings.
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth I had many exotic chickens running about the palace, as other rulers have had peacocks? They really are cheap entertainment. If you want to see some really cool looking breeds, check out a photo book called "Extraordinary Chickens."
Baha'u'llah said the disease of our time is "disunity" and only after humanity has overcome it will our social, economic, political, and other problems find a solution. What does "unity" mean to you?
To start off, I think it's important to understand what Baha'u'llah did
not mean by unity. People often mistake unity for uniformity, but they are nothing alike.
Unity comes from realizing that there is only one human race and appreciating the knowledge and value people of other cultures bring to human knowledge. Uniformity is insisting everyone be the same, which aside from being a pipe dream, is oppressive and would cause us to lose a lot of knowledge and talent that humanity has accumulated over a couple of million years. When there is uniformity, we lose creativity.
I was at the 2nd Baha'i World Congress, held in NYC in 1992, and here is an excerpt of a message sent by our highest elected body that sums up our views on unity pretty well:
Let us by word and example show that "it does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world." Finally, let them appreciate that "it calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race"; that "it insists upon the subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world"; that "it repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other"; that "its watchword is unity in diversity". (The Universal House of Justice, 1992 Nov 26, Second Message to World Congress, p. 4)
When you look at the greatest disasters of our time, at the core is always a failure to grasp the essential unity of mankind. Where we realize this principle, how can there be a Darfur, a Rwanda, or a Kosovo? How could there be a Holocaust?
People often respond that we're too idealistic and that it's just impossible. But I would say that we already have models for the possible. One early model is my own nation, the U.S., where people from all over the world have proven it is possible for people from wildly different backgrounds to live in peace. We have issues to work on, of course, but no one is committing genocide between cultural groups here.
A more recent model is the EU. Despite its growing pains, it serves as a model that out of the great destruction of the World Wars, people can actually decide that regarding their neighbors as fellow Europeans is preferable to more wars.
All we need to do now is keep expanding and improving on these early models. Like any huge transition in human history, it won't be easy, and it's going to take some time. But the time to start is now.
In a world where many are increasingly disillusioned with the traditional theistic interpretations of reality as related by the various Manifestations of God, what do you think is the role of Baha'i in creating a dialogue that is inclusive of "atheists," "naturalists" and others who don't approach the world through an authoritative ethical or moral perspective? Must they change? Or do the teachings of Baha'i, in your view, account for them in "unity"?
While reading up on the Baha'i Faith as an atheist, you can imagine I found the following quote rather unusual for a religious text:
Thirdly: Bahá'u'lláh taught, that Religion is the chief foundation of Love and Unity and the cause of Oneness. If a religion become the cause of hatred and disharmony, it would be better that it should not exist. To be without such a religion is better than to be with it.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 28)
I've occasionally remarked here that it may well be that atheists are the most "religious" people in some areas, if you're using the criteria above.
The teachings about unity encompass
all of humanity. One of our principles is "elimination of all forms of prejudice." I think the Writings use "all" because they meant it.
Must atheists change? I believe they need to "see with their own eyes, and not through the eyes of another." Since another of our principles is "Independent Investigation of the truth" we really have no leg to stand on if someone does their investigation and figures that atheism and naturalism is the best course for them.
Baha'i is a particularly tolerant and dare I say comparatively "liberal" approach to religion it seems to me. But it has it's roots in Islamic Iran.
In some ways we are very "liberal" in that we don't just tolerate, but accept diverse religious beliefs as coming from the same Source ours has come from. In other ways, we would be perceived as very conservative. When it comes to guidance about personal behaviour, we're quite conservative. We just don't think we need to extend our guidance to those who have chosen another belief. Political interference is anathema to us.
Yes, the roots of our faith are very much planted in Shi'a Islam. That's where the Bab and Baha'u'llah lived and taught most of their lives, and the initial audience were Shi'a Muslims, so that becomes very obvious in works like the Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude).
What sort of response do you get from your neighbors, friends, acquaintances to your being a practicing Baha'i? Is it something you feel you can freely discuss? Do you find people are generally curious once they find out?
I have good relations with my neighbors, and they come from many different backgrounds. But then, my neighborhood is very diverse, including Jews, Baha'is, Hindus, Buddhists, pagans, not religious and of course plenty of Christians. People here tend to judge you as a person according to your acts, and not from some label.
In other parts of town things are not so diverse, but still I've encountered relatively few problems. Many people are uneasy about discussing religion, but for those who are not, we have much common ground.
I find if I don't do things that will offend and upset others, even those who are suspicious at first will eventually figure out I'm a pretty harmless sort of bird.
