On Questing for the Moral High Ground: Finding the Baha'i Faith

I think Jason is onto something. -gw

1. There is oneness of the entire human race.

2. There must be an independent searth after truth, unfettered by supersition or tradition.

3. There is a basic unity of all religion.

4. All forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class related, or national, are condemned.

5. Harmony must exist between religion and science.

6. There is equality of men and women.

7. Cumpulsory education must prevail.

8. There should be a universal language.

9. Extremes of wealth and poverty should be abolished.

10. A world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes among nations should be instituted.

11. Work performed in the spirit of service should be exalted to the rank of worship.

12. Justice should be glorified as the ruling principle in human society and religion for protection of all peoples and nations.

13. The establishment of a permanent and universal peace should the the suprememe goal of mankind.

~Bahaullah

After years of study and reflection, I've come to the conclusion that all of the religions of the world must have spring from one source. The Golden Rule is instinctual. It has to be. How else would so many different faiths, from so many different geographic areas, come to so similair of conclusions?

There are obviously many possibilities, but in my mind there are only two logical conclusions. The gods of all faiths are the one God, or there is no god at all. Equality amoung men and women of all races and creeds is just, or justice itself is undefinable. There is truth to the idea of Karma. There is truth in the Ten Commandments, the Eightfold Path, and even some parts of the Qu'Ran. Every faith has pieces of what is the absolute truth. Therefore, God must exist, at least in some form. I believe in circumstance to a point, but there are far too many similarities. Even if only as an ingrained human idea, God exists. There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from this one source, be it internal or devine.

If God exists, his existance must be scientifically provable. As frequently quoted, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." We currently lack the scientific capacity to prove or disprove the existance of God, and that lack of capacity proves nothing. All we truly have to rely on is thought and emotion, which combine to form faith. The more I think about it, the stronger my feeling is becoming. For the first time in my life, I'm begining to have faith that God exists.

Also, it's my firm belief that in creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. They're mearly different. Fear of the different led to the man-made creations of intolerance, prejudice, revenge, and hatred... known collectively as evil. Thoughtful introspection and unbiased education are the collective path we should all strive to follow.

On studying religions, I found several that I feel are very close to my personal beliefs, specifically Buddhism and Baha'i. Right now, I'm spending a lot of time reading about Baha'i, as it's not a mainstream religion in Western culture, so it's still pretty new to me. The 13 primary doctrines seem pretty rock solid to me for the most part though. What do you think?
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Jason, "Thoughts on God," An Ever Changing Mind

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{Re-posted with permission}