The Baha'i Faith (A to Z of Belief, 1 of 3)

A BBC Northern Ireland program, 1990.
The first five minutes include parts of promotional Baha'i videos to describe what is the Baha'i Faith about.
Converted from an old VHS tape.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Bahai
• Baha'i
• Northern
• Ireland

[fsmtdaler]

Correction offered: The Baha'i Faith does Not teach that man was born evil. In fact "Greed" in early stages of development is a natural need in all animals for self-preservation.

The baby bird which doesn't open its mouth wide enough does not get the worm and will die. People are similar, in that instincts must be followed for the survival of the body, when in balance with nature.

It is only the distortion of this quality, and obsession of self, that can be called "evil", or ignorance

[yohedayyo]

Great One thanks

[IRANisPERSIA1]

@ColonelMarksman well one of the most important things in the bahai faith is the teach and bring up a child who is smart and civilized. 

[UltimatePersian]

great video

thx

[PeterJDeer]

@ColonelMarksman - In regards to your statement regarding human nature, this is in fact a faith aimed at the very purpose of helping mankind conquer his selfish animalistic self, and evolving us from a divided group of self-centered individuals to a unified brotherhood aimed at the common welfare of all. And yes, we believe that our teachings constitute just such a method, that will transform humanity and allow it to escape from the darkness of selfishness and egotism.

[PortaCustodis]

@ColonelMarsman: Your statement "Man is born evilly selfish" is a philosophical assumption. You believe that man is fundamentally evil. Some people do not. Yes, there are plenty of examples of people behaving despicably but there are also just as many, if not more, examples of people showing incredible altruism and self sacrifice.

Furthermore, just because something seems difficult to attain doesn't mean we shouldn't try. In fact, some of the most valuable things in life require intense effort.

[fewoifhiu3hfklew]

what is mysterious about bahaism? its just another organised religion, that tries to differentiate itself from others by seeming to make itself compatible with other monotheistic religions even if those religions contradict each other or have no real common view, its a really silly and asinine concept, thats been done to death over the last 2000 years.

[pyrobassplayer]

@ColonelMarksman you are right, man is born selfish (or "evil" as some would say), but one idea of the Baha'i faith is that we try to subdue our natural selfish urges. I am new to the faith, so this is very difficult when you first start, but becomes easier as you grow spiritually, BUT it is never "easy" per say.

[ColonelMarksman]

It seems to me judging from the Baha'i faith that it has one very serious flaw. Man itself. Man is born evilly selfish; you see it in babies. As long as Man lives, there will be war and corruption. Man's nature is to do wrong; it's part of our devolving genetic coding, it is what Man is programmed to do. For the Baha'i faith (or any faith) to be true, it must have a method that creates a counter or clearance of the evil that is part of Man's nature. Otherwise, it's just evil in disguise.

[ColonelMarksman]

Hmm. Muslims personally believe that the total destruction of everyone who doesn't follow their strict code, we saw it on 9/11. Are you saying that if my religion glorified kill you and raping your wife and children, that it is simply different, and my own personal absolute?

[samjosrob]

Its an older video. A lot of videos from the time period aren't up to quality standards of today, but it conveys the idea in an efficient and loving way.