RE: TV/movies
Dear David, A guideline can be established by the following Persian Hidden Word (#3): Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly. Fellowship, of course, can be seen in many ways. The bottom line is: do the things you watch make you feel uplifted? Do they help you progress? (a very subjective determination). This is a choice we all must maketo some, Jerry Springer can be a downer; to others, the evening news can be a downer. One doubts (although there is no certainty) that there are any definitive Baha'i guidelines on such matters. There is a story in Priceless Pearl (if memory recalls) in which Ruhiyyih Khanum relates a story in which she was looking at some animal (butterfly, lizard.something) and the Guardian suggested that it was a complete waste of time. For Ruhiiyih Khanum, it probably was a waste of timethose things are subjective and depend on the individual. For what it's worth, James __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
RE: tv/movies
I find it really hard to live in a world where more and more programs become a success because they have to do with denigrating behaviour in people or by picking on people. It is as if western society likes to bring out the worst in another human being. Egotistical motives and other ways in which the material self takes the spotlight blatantly are constantly displayed and this is in my view corroding slowly the sense of honour a human being may possess much love, janine van rooij dublin, Ireland Dear Janine You say it very well above. What you wrote made me think of what the Guardian wrote about the consequences... *** No wonder, therefore, that when, as a result of human perversity, the light of religion is quenched in men's hearts, and the divinely appointed Robe, designed to adorn the human temple, is deliberately discarded, a deplorable decline in the fortunes of humanity immediately sets in, bringing in its wake all the evils which a wayward soul is capable of revealing. The perversion of human nature, the degradation of human conduct, the corruption and dissolution of human institutions, reveal themselves, under such circumstances, in their worst and most revolting aspects. HUMAN CHARACTER IS DEBASED, CONFIDENCE IS SHAKEN, THE NERVES OF DISCIPLINE ARE RELAXED, THE VOICE OF HUMAN CONSCIENCE IS STILLED, THE SENSE OF DECENCY AND SHAME IS OBSCURED, conceptions of duty, of solidarity, of reciprocity and loyalty are distorted, and the very feeling of peacefulness, of joy and of hope is gradually extinguished. (Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Baha'u'llah, Page: 187) Shoghi Effendi also was concerned about our DISSIPATIONS The gross materialism that engulfs the entire nation at the present hour; the attachment to worldly things that enshrouds the souls of men; the fears and anxieties that distract their minds; THE PLEASURE AND DISSIPATIONS THAT FILL THEIR TIME, the prejudices and animosities that darken their outlook, the apathy and lethargy that paralyze their spiritual faculties - THESE ARE AMONG THE FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES that stand in the path of every would-be warrior in the service of Baha'u'llah, obstacles which he must battle against and surmount in his crusade for the redemption of his own countrymen. (Shoghi Effendi: Citadel of Faith, Page: 149) __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
RE: TV/movies
Hi David from Down Under! Here are a few quotes that may be relevant to your question on personal viewing censorship: Thine eye is My trust, suffer not the dust of vain desires to becloud its luster. Thine ear is a sign of My bounty, let not the tumult of unseemly motives turn it away from My Word that encompasseth all creation. Thine heart is My treasury, allow not the treacherous hand of self to rob thee of the pearls which I have treasured therein. Thine hand is a symbol of My loving-kindness, hinder it not from holding fast unto My guarded and hidden Tablets (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 322) The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the Will of God, to forbearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom. His object is to array every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him with the ornament of holy and goodly deeds. Say: Have mercy on yourselves and on your fellowmen, and suffer not the Cause of God -- a Cause which is immeasurably exalted above the inmost essence of sanctity -- to be sullied with the stain of your idle fancies, your unseemly and corrupt imaginations. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 299) The word of God which the Abha Pen hath revealed and inscribed on the first leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is this: Verily I say: The fear of God hath ever been a sure defence and a safe stronghold for all the peoples of the world. It is the chief cause of the protection of mankind, and the supreme instrument for its preservation. Indeed, there existeth in man a faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame. This, however, is confined to but a few; all have not possessed and do not possess it. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 63) Convey the greetings of this Wronged One unto all the beloved friends in that region and call to their minds Our wondrous and exalted remembrances, that haply they may forsake the things current amongst them, may set their hearts on that which pertaineth unto God and remain purged from unseemly deeds and pursuits. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 238) From time immemorial even unto this day, all the kindreds and peoples of the earth have clung to such fanciful and unseemly thoughts, and thus have deprived themselves of the clear waters streaming from the springs of purity and holiness. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 19) Regarding Jerry Springer... I think this one is appropriate: We exhort you, O peoples of the world, to observe that which will elevate your station. Hold fast to the fear of God and firmly adhere to what is right. Verily I say, the tongue is for mentioning what is good, defile it not with unseemly talk. God hath forgiven what is past. Henceforward everyone should utter that which is meet and seemly, and should refrain from slander, abuse and whatever causeth sadness in men. Lofty is the station of man! (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 219) Lovingly, Sandra __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
Re: TV/movies
David, At 10:32 PM 2/11/2005, you wrote: I've often wondered what might be considered okay and not okay to watch as a Baha'i as far as TV and movies go. There is a lot of sex and violence in TV and movies. I have two parents with quite opposing views of what is okay and what isn't. I think that a person should simply make her or his own judgment. I have seen a lot of what some Christians call legalism among Baha'is on this subject. All of it puts a great deal of faith in the views of the reviewers. With regards, Mark A. Foster http://markfoster.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger. -- Abbott Abbie Hoffman __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
RE: TV/movies
David Friedman wrote: I've often wondered what might be considered okay and not okay to watch as a Baha'i as far as TV and movies go... *** This is an intriguing question. Personally, I very rarely watch TV. Just lately I've spent a few evenings watching network programs, and I must say that it lived down to my expectations. It's hard not to agree with those who've said there's a conspiracy afoot to make Americans stupid and immoral. I prefer reading, and it's stood me in good stead. I am only a high school graduate, but I've never stopped educating myself. I've taught myself how to use computers, delved into historical eras that interest me, read the Bible cover-to-cover a number of times, learned to fix my car, and any number of other worthwhile things that I wouldn't have learned or experienced if I'd spent my evenings in front of the television. I think that if what you are watching causes you to raise this question, that's a good indication that it may not be real healthy. There's no need to be prissy, but ask yourself what the program is saying to you. How prurient is it? Does it uplift or does it simply titillate? I don't think any hard-edged answers are really possible, but there's a voice inside that lets you know how appropriate things are. The hard part is listening to it. Dave Lambert __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
RE: TV/movies
David Friedman wrote: Is it okay to watch the Jerry Springer show *** Why on earth would you want to? Dave ;-) __ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
