The pandemic, how do you think or feel about it?

[Trailblazer]

That is a very malevolent God, an Idi Amin.

I really don't think God had anything to do with the pandemic, it was caused by humans.
God has allowed it to continue and that is His only part in it.

If God wanted to see unity in human kind, he would not have sent us prophets / sons / messengers / manifestations / mahdis to create different religions to fight each other. Surely, you get the purpose of God wrong.

God did not want unity when he sent the messengers of the older religions because humanity was not ready for unity at that time in history. Those religions were intended to be separate until the present age when Baha'u'llah appeared, but now that Baha'u'llah has come there is really no excuse for the disunity that we see and the only reason we still see it is because people have chosen to cling to the older religions instead of recognizing and following Baha'u'llah. Nobody can blame God for that because humans have free will to choose.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Do you wish it would go back to the way it was before?

Not really. Thing is that this pandemic revealed a lot about how humans react to things that I wouldn't have thought to be true before. I am the type of person who doesn't like to change the past because of the lessons we learn from adversity.

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. pandemic, it was caused by humans.
God has allowed it to continue and that is His only part in it.

God did not want unity when he sent the messengers of the older religions ..

In what way humans have created this pandemic? And there have been scores of others. Even if the pandemic was created by humans, why has your God / Allah allowed it to continue?

So, your God did not want unity earlier but wants it now with the creation of one additional religion! Why did he not want unity earlier and why did he change his views now? Why does your God change his views at the drop of his hat?

 

[oldbadger]

The pandemic, how do you think or feel about it?

To make it easier, I have provided a list.
Please pick from one or more of the following and explain why you think or feel that way.

A. I wish this had never happened because it disrupted my life. I want my life back the way it was before the pandemic.

B. The pandemic has hardly affected my life at all or changed my daily routine.

C. The pandemic has affected my life and changed my daily routine but that does not bother me.

D. I am completely aloof from this pandemic.

E. My life was/is such a mess so the pandemic couldn’t make it any worse.

F. I am glad this pandemic happened because I am better off now.

G. I am glad this pandemic happened because the world is better off now (although many people have died and will die.)

H. I think the pandemic has made the world situation worse.

I. I think the pandemic has made the world situation better.

J. There is no world situation, everything is just fine the way it is.

K. I don’t care about the world situation.

L. I never think about the world situation.

M. I never think about the pandemic.

N. I think about the pandemic a little.

O. I think about the pandemic a lot.

P. I think about the pandemic a lot and wonder if it will ever be over.

Q. I think about the pandemic and believe it will eventually end and everything will go back to the way it was before.

R. I think about the pandemic and believe it will eventually end but nothing will go back to the way it was before.

S. I think about the pandemic and I am afraid I might die.

T. I think about the pandemic but I am not afraid of dying.

U. I don’t care about any of this.

Sincerely, Trailblazer

Dear Trailblazer,
You didn't include my choice of answer.

V. The Seaside Cafe has been closed for months!
I have not had a full Turkish Breakfast in months! (That's egg, chips, bacon, tomatoes, two fried slice and mug of tea but Ali insists that's a full Turkish)
It will be May before I can stuff a full 'T' down.
Where can I get counselling for that, then?
PTSD or what?

The Pandemic didn't affect this little home too much but how young families have clawed their way through this nightmare is the big question.

All around here are (mostly) retired folks and so the real impact of this lock-down and isolation has not really been felt. Our children have suffered horrible upheavals in their routine education and this generation of schoolkids might not win back from all this. Everything is still standing and looking fine but the results for our kids seem like we had been through another Blitz.

 

[Trailblazer]

In what way humans have created this pandemic? And there have been scores of others. Even if the pandemic was created by humans, why has your God / Allah allowed it to continue?

Humans created it from tampering with wildlife species who carry the virus and bringing it into human populations. I don't know why God has allowed it to continue; I can only surmise that is so we humans could learn some lessons from it, learn how to fight it with the development of new medicines, etc.

So, your God did not want unity earlier but wants it now with the creation of one additional religion! Why did he not want unity earlier and why did he change his views now? Why does your God change his views at the drop of his hat?

Humans were not able to unify in past ages because that world was not connected by mass communications and technology. The entire world had not even been discovered when the last major religion, Islam, was revealed. But now that we are all connected by these means we are all interconnected so what happens in any part of the world affects the whole world.

God never changed His views or plans, as it was God's Plan all along to unite humanity in this age. This had to be accomplished in stages -- as a social unit first came the family, then the village, then the city, then the nation, now the world. The time was right to start uniting the world in the mid-19th century as humanity and the world was ready.and that is why God sent Baha'u'llah, that was His primary mission.

“The Revelation associated with the Faith of Jesus Christ focused attention primarily on the redemption of the individual and the molding of his conduct, and stressed, as its central theme, the necessity of inculcating a high standard of morality and discipline into man, as the fundamental unit in human society. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find any reference to the unity of nations or the unification of mankind as a whole. When Jesus spoke to those around Him, He addressed them primarily as individuals rather than as component parts of one universal, indivisible entity.......

The Faith of Islám, the succeeding link in the chain of Divine Revelation, introduced, as Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies, the conception of the nation as a unit and a vital stage in the organization of human society, and embodied it in its teaching. This indeed is what is meant by this brief yet highly significant and illuminating pronouncement of Bahá’u’lláh: “Of old [Islamic Dispensation] it hath been revealed: ‘Love of one’s country is an element of the Faith of God.’” This principle was established and stressed by the Apostle of God, inasmuch as the evolution of human society required it at that time. Nor could any stage above and beyond it have been envisaged, as world conditions preliminary to the establishment of a superior form of organization were as yet unobtainable. The conception of nationality, the attainment to the state of nationhood, may, therefore, be said to be the distinguishing characteristics of the MuHammadan Dispensation, in the course of which the nations and races of the world, and particularly in Europe and America, were unified and achieved political independence.....

“One of the great events,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has, in His “Some Answered Questions,” affirmed, “which is to occur in the Day of the manifestation of that Incomparable Branch [Bahá’u’lláh] is the hoisting of the Standard of God among all nations. By this is meant that all nations and kindreds will be gathered together under the shadow of this Divine Banner, which is no other than the Lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation. Religious and sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races and peoples, and differences among nations, will be eliminated. All men will adhere to one religion, will have one common faith, will be blended into one race, and become a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland, which is the planet itself.”
The Promised Day Is Come, pp. 119-121

God does not want an additional religion; God wants all religions to unite under one common banner, so there will be only one religion. Baha'is believe that will happen eventually because it was ordained by God, but when it will happen and what that religion will be called nobody knows.

“That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error.”
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 91

 

[Mock Turtle]

The pandemic has hardly affected my life at all or changed my daily routine - so B.

I'm not a great worrier unless I do have something serious to worry about, and I seem to have enough sense to do as much as is required to not put my life at risk unnecessarily - or that of others. And as to anything else, I just don't know how it will affect the future or whether we will be better off after we have settled down - hopefully. It might be that this experience will be seen as nothing compared to what those in the future will have to face - if they (and we) don't recognise the dangers of so many issues existing and that need dealing with.

Like others, I find it interesting to observe all the different behaviours, but I try not to be too judgmental, given that one often can't place oneself in their position. Those at the front line, so to speak, seemingly show the best sides of our nature whilst many others just don't. Living alone (and being quite self-sufficient) I am perhaps fortunate, but if this pandemic had happened some time ago, when my mother was alive for example, then no doubt my views and attitudes might have changed, but probably only as to being even more careful.

Well this resonated with me (on UK TV, and being so moving), as to so many aspects of the pandemic around the world, and how it showed that we are all the same, even if our circumstances tend to divide us. Images of deserted streets, as many of us have seen during this pandemic, might be rather different if we all behaved differently and some felt more panicky.

BBC iPlayer - Pandemic 2020 - Series 1: 1. The Shock of the New
Pandemic 2020 offers up witness statements to a human collective failure – review

 

[Aupmanyav]

It is extremely shameful that some religions are using the pandemic to sell their religious snake-oil.

I can only surmise that is so we humans could learn some lessons from it, learn how to fight it with the development of new medicines, etc.

Humans were not able to unify in past ages because that world was not connected by mass communications and technology.

We are all doing that. Manufacturing vaccines and distributing them to the people of the world. India has given its vaccine to more than 40 countries of the world, even to US. Other countries also are doing that. Not just the vaccine but other necessary things also, instruments, chemicals for detection of virus and protective gear for those who are working in the field. So, I fail to understand what you are crapping about and what your problem is.

“But now that we are all connected by these means we are all interconnected so what happens in any part of the world affects the God's Plan.”: So your omni-potent God had to wait for 2,500 years for us to develop means of interconnection technology which hindered his plans. What kind of God do you have? Is this what you mean by omni-potence?

“Nowhere in the Gospels do we find any reference to the unity of nations or the unification of mankind as a whole.“: Perhaps not in your Abrahamic religions, but Hinduism always had the idea of “Vasudhaiva Kumbakam” which means that the whole world is a family.

Islam has not unified even all the Muslim countries or even the people who profess different sects of Islam in one country, so saying that Islam talks about unity of people is a big lie.

In this post also, when you are talking about the pendemic, you have not forgotten to quote ‘blah-blah’ from Bahaullah twice in which Bahaollah says that people should unite under his banner. I find this kind of evangelism very mean.

 

[RestlessSoul]

It is extremely shameful that some religions are using the pandemic to sell their religious snake-oil.

Perhaps.

Entirely natural, however, that people should seek spiritual succour in times of stress.

 

[Aupmanyav]

That is not what our friend is doing here. She is trying to propagate her religion shamelessly.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

The pandemic, how do you think or feel about it?

To make it easier, I have provided a list.
Please pick from one or more of the following and explain why you think or feel that way.

A. I wish this had never happened because it disrupted my life. I want my life back the way it was before the pandemic.

B. The pandemic has hardly affected my life at all or changed my daily routine.

C. The pandemic has affected my life and changed my daily routine but that does not bother me.

D. I am completely aloof from this pandemic.

E. My life was/is such a mess so the pandemic couldn’t make it any worse.

F. I am glad this pandemic happened because I am better off now.

G. I am glad this pandemic happened because the world is better off now (although many people have died and will die.)

H. I think the pandemic has made the world situation worse.

I. I think the pandemic has made the world situation better.

J. There is no world situation, everything is just fine the way it is.

K. I don’t care about the world situation.

L. I never think about the world situation.

M. I never think about the pandemic.

N. I think about the pandemic a little.

O. I think about the pandemic a lot.

P. I think about the pandemic a lot and wonder if it will ever be over.

Q. I think about the pandemic and believe it will eventually end and everything will go back to the way it was before.

R. I think about the pandemic and believe it will eventually end but nothing will go back to the way it was before.

S. I think about the pandemic and I am afraid I might die.

T. I think about the pandemic but I am not afraid of dying.

U. I don’t care about any of this.

Sincerely, Trailblazer

C. The pandemic has affected my life and changed my daily routine but that does not bother me.
H. I think the pandemic has made the world situation worse.

The pandemic devastated much of the world medically, psychologically, and economically. It was a net negative for the world, but not so much for my wife and me.

 

[Trailblazer]

That is not what our friend is doing here. She is trying to propagate her religion shamelessly.

That is not what I am doing. You asked questions and I gave you answers. Don't ask if you don't want answers. It's that easy.

 

[Trailblazer]

We are all doing that.

That was my point. We are doing all that because we have to because of the pandemic

So, I fail to understand what you are crapping about and what your problem is.

I have no problem and I am not crapping about anything.

“But now that we are all connected by these means we are all interconnected so what happens in any part of the world affects the God's Plan.”: So your omni-potent God had to wait for 2,500 years for us to develop means of interconnection technology which hindered his plans. What kind of God do you have? Is this what you mean by omni-potence?

Yes, God had to wait because God gave humans free will to do these things and it took that long for humans to get to this point.