The Baha'i Studies Listserv
I think conventions can hinder moral and ethical development.
Sent from my iPad
On Apr 18, 2013, at 14:19, Stephen Kent Gray <skg_z...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The Baha'i Studies Listserv
> How come this topic is ignored in favor or Against nature?
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Apr 18, 2013, at 12:53, Stephen Kent Gray <skg_z...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> The Baha'i Studies Listserv
>> I forgot to include specific religious ethics. Note, Scientology and Wicca
>> are good examples of the hypothesis. The Baha'i Faith and Religious
>> Humanism are good examples as well.
>>
>> The "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic"[34] from the Parliament of the
>> World’s Religions[35][36] (1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule ("We must treat
>> others as we wish others to treat us") as the common principle for many
>> religions.[37] The Initial Declaration was signed by 143 respected leaders
>> from all of the world's major faiths, including Baha'i Faith, Brahmanism,
>> Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous, Interfaith,
>> Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism,
>> Theosophist, Unitarian Universalist and Zoroastrian.[37][38] In the folklore
>> of several cultures{31} the Golden Rule is depicted by the allegory of the
>> long spoons.
>> The Writings of the Bahá'í Faith while encouraging everyone to treat others
>> as they would treat themselves, go further by introducing the concept of
>> preferring others before oneself:
>> O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his
>> face is My face; be then abashed before Me.
>> —Bahá'u'lláh[39]
>> Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.
>> —Bahá'u'lláh[40][41]
>> And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour
>> that which thou choosest for thyself.
>> —Bahá'u'lláh[42][43]
>> Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee,
>> and say not that which thou doest not.
>> —Bahá'u'lláh[44][45][46]
>> Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any
>> man with your words, be he known to you or a stranger, be he friend or foe.
>> —`Abdu'l-Bahá[47]
>>
>> Many different sources claim the Golden Rule as a humanist principle:[55][56]
>> Trying to live according to the Golden Rule means trying to empathise with
>> other people, including those who may be very different from us. Empathy is
>> at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect – qualities
>> that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever we think and
>> wherever we come from. And although it isn’t possible to know what it really
>> feels like to be a different person or live in different circumstances and
>> have different life experiences, it isn’t difficult for most of us to
>> imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing suffering
>> to others. For this reason many people find the Golden Rule’s corollary –
>> “do not treat people in a way you would not wish to be treated yourself” –
>> more pragmatic.[55]
>> The above is from the website Think Humanism
>> Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. [is] (...)
>> the single greatest, simplest, and most important moral axiom humanity has
>> ever invented, one which reappears in the writings of almost every culture
>> and religion throughout history, the one we know as the Golden Rule. Moral
>> directives do not need to be complex or obscure to be worthwhile, and in
>> fact, it is precisely this rule's simplicity which makes it great. It is
>> easy to come up with, easy to understand, and easy to apply, and these three
>> things are the hallmarks of a strong and healthy moral system. The idea
>> behind it is readily graspable: before performing an action which might harm
>> another person, try to imagine yourself in their position, and consider
>> whether you would want to be the recipient of that action. If you would not
>> want to be in such a position, the other person probably would not either,
>> and so you should not do it. It is the basic and fundamental human trait of
>> empathy, the ability to vicariously experience how another is feeling, that
>> makes this possible, and it is the principle of empathy by which we should
>> live our lives.[57]
>> The above is from the website Ebon Musings
>> According to Greg M. Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, "
>> 'do unto others' ... is a concept that essentially no religion misses
>> entirely. But not a single one of these versions of the golden rule requires
>> a God".[58]
>>
>> These eight words the Rede fulfill, 'an ye harm none do as ye will.
>> —The Wiccan Rede
>> Here ye these words and heed them well, the words of Dea, thy Mother
>> Goddess, "I command thee thus, O children of the Earth, that that which ye
>> deem harmful unto thyself, the very same shall ye be forbidden from doing
>> unto another, for violence and hatred give rise to the same. My command is
>> thus, that ye shall return all violence and hatred with peacefulness and
>> love, for my Law is love unto all things. Only through love shall ye have
>> peace; yea and verily, only peace and love will cure the world, and subdue
>> all evil."
>> —The Book of Ways, Devotional Wicca
>>
>> 19. Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you.
>> —The Way to Happiness, Precept 19[73][74]
>> 20. Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.
>> —The Way to Happiness, Precept 20[75][76]
>> Consistent with the observation by Walter Terence Stace "that 'doing as you
>> would be done by' includes taking into account your neighbor's tastes as you
>> would that he should take yours into account" (see Criticisms and responses
>> to criticisms), Scientologyaddresses the issue concerning differences in
>> values or interests by focusing on the values and interests of the recipient
>> of the conduct:
>> Thus today we have two golden rules for happiness: 1. Be able to experience
>> anything; and 2. Cause only those things which others are able to experience
>> easily.
>> —Scientology: A New Slant on Life, Two Rules for Happy Living[70][71][72]
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_ethics
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_ethics
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_ethics
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethics
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics_(Scientology)
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiccan_morality
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Apr 18, 2013, at 12:43, Stephen Kent Gray <skg_z...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> The Baha'i Studies Listserv
>>> I remember talking about these concepts earlier. Post conventional morality
>>> is based on a social contract and universal ethical principles without
>>> regards to specific terms on which they need to be based upon. Conventional
>>> morality is based on authority and conformity which requires a specific
>>> norm and everyone to conform to it. Pre conventional morality is based on
>>> rewards and punishments.
>>>
>>> Don C seem to think the Baha'i Faith is the prime example of a post
>>> conventional religion. You can look at them and see which new religious
>>> movements are even better examples of a post conventional religion. This is
>>> especially with regards to sexual morality and ethics as a subtropical as
>>> well.
>>>
>>> Bahai's tend to have a lot of conventional morality. Just look at the Aqdas
>>> and try and see wether or not that qualifies as a convention.
>>>
>>> To summarize, why is anything more than the platinum rule, golden rule,
>>> silver rule, and non aggression principle which are all the same thing
>>> enough? Especially when you apply these to sexuality (which was the last
>>> topic that spilled over in those topic)?
>>>
>>> Among major religious groups or world religions: Baha'i Faith, Cao Dai,
>>> Cheodogyo, Tenrikyo, Wicca, Sekai Kysuei Kyo, Seicho No Ie, Rastafarianism,
>>> Unitarian Universalism, Scientology, Eckankar, LaVeyanism, Raëlism,
>>> Neo-Druidism, etc. are all new religious movements.
>>>
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_new_religious_movements
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UFO_religions
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_religion
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics_in_religion
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_and_religion
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
__________________________________________________
You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:arch...@mail-archive.com
Unsubscribe: send a blank email to
mailto:leave-698410-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@list.jccc.edu
Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to ly...@list.jccc.edu
Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st
Baha'i Studies is available through the following:
Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st
News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st
Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net
New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
