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-697886-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@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