Golden Rules

As we approach a New Year, I invited the United Church of Christ (UCC) choir members to come and join the Baha'is for dinner, music and celebration. As we departed the singing practice, I gave Pastor Olaf an update on the Baha'is imprisoned in Iran. His response was heartening. Something like: "They'll be coming for the UCC next." Humor aside, it was a warm and fuzzy moment for me because he immediately put himself and his congregation in our shoes. What a world this will be when, like Pastor Olaf, we all see in each other a brother and sister and not a stranger.

This post on http://www.jeunestreet.com struck me as a sweet way to emphasize UNITY and how much we hold to common values:

"Religion is the power directing positive human social evolution, not our genes. Men are imperfect so, like natural selection, new religions have appeared periodically and have thrived when they addressed the particular needs of their time and place. Today a religion can only survive if it addresses the needs of a tottering world civilization … and is able to truly inculcate in its members and leaders the newest version of the Golden Rule: “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”