For the first blog post regarding the Baha'i faith I'll admit I was confused as to exactly what the Baha'i stood for. While reading the book, my initial reaction to this faith was one that was contradictory. Some followers of this religion were very compassionate and stood for unity throughout the nations and other religions. And other followers did not stand for either of those principles at all.
After our class discussion, I came to realize that this religion is not like that in any way. This religion in all aspects stands for unity throughout nations, religious practices, and choices, it stands for compassion, and the betterment of others in a way. During class on Wednesday I thought of a quote that I think can summarize a little of what this religion stands for,
“It’s freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion”.
This quote came to mind because it seems like the Baha’I do not care about what other people believe when it comes to religion, or if they believe in religion. This is very important I feel in today society because so many people look down on others if they don’t follow the same religion as them.
I honestly had never heard of this faith before class, and I find that a little bit surprising considering that it is the second most widespread religion after Christianity. I’m not one to understand all the nitty gritty about the well-known religions, but I think that some of the aspects of Baha’I should be integreated into some of those religions a little bit more. For example, the unity of nations and religions, a good number of religious people, mainly Catholics and Christians seem to shun people in a sense when it comes to others religious beliefs. I have nothing against these religions in any way, however, I think that some aspects of Baha’I would make the religions a little bit more approachable.
I don't know if it's so much that the Baha'i don't care what other people believe as much as it is that the Baha'i have incorporated the other world religions into their religion. It seems to me that the Baha'i still want you to believe in their religion but also to understand that all previous religions are also incorporated into their religion, that Baha'i is just the most updated version of religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lily, but in some ways I think that the Baha'i are almost oppressive with their attempts to unify religion. They put a monopoly on the advancement of belief systems for the next 1000 years and prevent anyone from saying their religion is up to date and completely legitimate.
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