A monthly meeting to learn more about the Bahá'í Faith and the Bahá'í community. The third Friday of the month.
Where: Virginia Villa Apartments Community Room Behind Columbia Bank, High Schcool Road, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Monday, July 8, 2013
The Bahá'í Faith
Principles of Bahá'í Faith
If one word were used to summarize the Bahá'í faith, it would be Unity. This begins with the unity of all religion. The idea of Progressive Revelation is one where God sends Manifestations (as in a Manifestation of God) to mankind to renew certain principles and to provide an ongoing spiritual education that builds upon each Manifestation. Hence Bahá'ís see a continuous revelation starting with Abraham, through Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and Bahá'u'lláh. There is a common thread running through all religions as ultimately they all emanate from the Source.
Unity of mankind is another important aspect of the concept of Unity. Bahá'ís do not recognize distinct races. There is a race of humanity and shades and hues are incidental. To encourage understanding of this idea, the Baha'i faith encourages interracial marriage. A logical branch of this concept is the equality of the sexes as well.
Unity of Religion and Science is another important idea to the faith. If they appear to be incompatible then it is either because the religious reasoning is rooted in superstition or the scientific reasoning represents and incorrect or incomplete theory.
There is a strong emphasis on the independent investigation of the truth. There are no clergy in the Bahá'í faith and there is no attempt to limit the scope of understanding. Bahá'ís are encouraged to read all religious texts in order to understand different traditions and find the common thread of religion for themselves.
Universal Education is another keystone of the Bahá'í faith. This stems from both a desire to create opportunity for all individuals and also to insure that all decisions are made from a place of knowledge, not fear and superstition. An eventual world peace is thought only possible if there is a wider understanding and compassion among the peoples of the world.
History of Baha’i Faith
The Bab, meaning “Gate” in Arabic, declared the coming of God’s most recent Manifestation at Shiraz, Persia in 1844 (similar to John the Baptist leading the way for Christ). The Bab was martyred at Tabriz, Persia in 1850. Bahá'u'lláh received the revelation that he was the Manifestation foretold by the Bab in the Black Pit of Tehran in 1852 where he was imprisoned for being a follower of the Bab. Bahá'u'lláh began a time of constant exile and imprisonment in Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople, and Acre, that included his Declaration as the Manifestation of God in 1863 in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad. Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892 and his son, ‘Abdu’l-baha, continued his father’s work, coming to the US in 1912 to further spread the Faith.
Some Interesting facts about the Baha’i Faith
- Own calendar of 19 months with 19 days each and 4 intercalary days
- Yearly fast, sunup to sundown, from March 2-March 20, followed by Naw Ruz (New Year)
- Second most widely spread faith in the world, established in 232 countries, with over 5,000,000 adherents
If one word were used to summarize the Bahá'í faith, it would be Unity. This begins with the unity of all religion. The idea of Progressive Revelation is one where God sends Manifestations (as in a Manifestation of God) to mankind to renew certain principles and to provide an ongoing spiritual education that builds upon each Manifestation. Hence Bahá'ís see a continuous revelation starting with Abraham, through Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and Bahá'u'lláh. There is a common thread running through all religions as ultimately they all emanate from the Source.
Unity of mankind is another important aspect of the concept of Unity. Bahá'ís do not recognize distinct races. There is a race of humanity and shades and hues are incidental. To encourage understanding of this idea, the Baha'i faith encourages interracial marriage. A logical branch of this concept is the equality of the sexes as well.
Unity of Religion and Science is another important idea to the faith. If they appear to be incompatible then it is either because the religious reasoning is rooted in superstition or the scientific reasoning represents and incorrect or incomplete theory.
There is a strong emphasis on the independent investigation of the truth. There are no clergy in the Bahá'í faith and there is no attempt to limit the scope of understanding. Bahá'ís are encouraged to read all religious texts in order to understand different traditions and find the common thread of religion for themselves.
Universal Education is another keystone of the Bahá'í faith. This stems from both a desire to create opportunity for all individuals and also to insure that all decisions are made from a place of knowledge, not fear and superstition. An eventual world peace is thought only possible if there is a wider understanding and compassion among the peoples of the world.
History of Baha’i Faith
The Bab, meaning “Gate” in Arabic, declared the coming of God’s most recent Manifestation at Shiraz, Persia in 1844 (similar to John the Baptist leading the way for Christ). The Bab was martyred at Tabriz, Persia in 1850. Bahá'u'lláh received the revelation that he was the Manifestation foretold by the Bab in the Black Pit of Tehran in 1852 where he was imprisoned for being a follower of the Bab. Bahá'u'lláh began a time of constant exile and imprisonment in Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople, and Acre, that included his Declaration as the Manifestation of God in 1863 in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad. Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892 and his son, ‘Abdu’l-baha, continued his father’s work, coming to the US in 1912 to further spread the Faith.
Some Interesting facts about the Baha’i Faith
- Own calendar of 19 months with 19 days each and 4 intercalary days
- Yearly fast, sunup to sundown, from March 2-March 20, followed by Naw Ruz (New Year)
- Second most widely spread faith in the world, established in 232 countries, with over 5,000,000 adherents
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)