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BOOK 2
INTRODUCING BAHA'I BELIEFS SECTION
7:
Humanity's
coming of
age
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Humanity's coming of age is the subject of the next passage you will
study:
From the beginning to the end of its life, every living thing in this
world passes
through different stages. Each stage has its own conditions and
presents its own
requirements. In the life of the human being, the conditions and
requirements of
infancy, of childhood, of adolescence, of youth and maturity are not
the same. Each
Stage prepares us for the next, sharpening our faculties and training
our intelligence.
Similarly there are periods and stages in the life of humanity as a
whole. Humanity
is now leaving behind its childhood and entering the long-awaited
period of maturity. That which could meet the needs of its early history does not
satisfy the
demands of this day. The playthings of infancy and childhood no longer
satisfy the
adult mind.
From every standpoint the world of humanity is undergoing
revolutionary change,
whether in government or law, in science or industry. Old standards of
ethics, moral
codes and methods of living in the past are not adequate for the
present age of
advancement and progress.
This is the time of maturity and reformation in religion as well.
Bigotry and dogmatic imitations of ancient beliefs have become the source of
animosity. They must pass and give way to heavenly teachings which
have been revealed for the advancement of humanity in this age. This reformation and renewal of the
fundamental
reality of religion constitute the true spirit of modernism, the
unmistakable light of
the world, and the divine remedy for all the ills of humanity.
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To help you
learn the ideas presented in this passage well, you should, as always,
read it several times in your group and ask one another questions, the
answers to
which are found in the passage itself.
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Below is
a list of topics of conversation. Mark the ones into which you could
introduce the above ideas in a natural way, and discuss in your group
how you would go about doing this.
____ History
____ Modem literature
____ Humanity's future
____ Social unrest in today's world
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What
would you answer if someone asked you the following question: "How do
we know that humanity is reaching the stage of maturity?"
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You may
wish to memorize the following words of Baha'u'llah:
"Every age hath its own problem, and
every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in
its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a
subsequent age may require." "
"Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and
center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements." "
"A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the
earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its
motive." |
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January 18, 2004