What We Talk About When We Talk About God-Rob Bell

This is a great book.  I like the style of Rob Bell, it's as if he is talking to you.  After reading this book I felt re-connected to my family, neighbors, strangers, and even people I'm not so fond of.  It's so true that there is energy that connects us all and I feel it.  I can always tell how a party or holiday with family is going to be as soon as I walk in the room, even if everyone is trying to hide the tension and uneasy feelings, it's there.  If my husband or one of my kids or even myself are having a bad day, it's contagious to the rest of the family and we all end up having a bad day together.  (Though, sometimes a beautiful laugh from one of my kids will knock the energy back to positive!) And it is of course vice versa, good days are just as contagious!

We are all our unique essence, we are not just our skin and bones or our house or material things nor our we the one religion.  If all of those things were taken away, our essence would still be there.  The energy that makes us who we are and how we connect to others and find other essence and energy we can bond with.

Bell gave me Grenzbegrifflich and it is my new favorite word.  A German word that says it all when you can't see it or describe it yourself.  Its beyond description, something so powerful that you wouldn't even know its there if you hadn't felt it yourself.  This is love.  I feel it when I look at my children or my husband.  I can't describe how this intense feeling overcomes me and consumes my own essence and energy.  Bell uses the word to describe God.  And love and God are the same and not easily described.

Bell also talks about how we can be many things at once, we don't have to choose or stay the same.  We evolve and change.  Omnism is possible.  We should be able to believe in many things at the same time and across a wide variety of fields and not be stuck or have to choose one path.  We can make our own path by intertwining the many paths of religions.

Baha'i Faith

 

 

The Baha'i Faith coincides directly with Omnism because one of their core beliefs is "unity of religion". Which is exactly what I'm trying to achieve here!

The Baha'i believe in one God and the spiritual unity of all humans.  They have three primary beliefs. 

• The unity of God, and that there is only one God.
• The unity of religion, and religions have the same spiritual source and come from the same God.
• The unity of humans, and all humans are created equal and diverse cultures and people are one.

Baha'i is a relatively new religion that currently has around four million followers.  It began in the 19th century in Iran.  Baha'u'llah began the religious teachings until he was imprisoned in the Ottoman Empire and then his son Abdu'l-Baha continued the teachings with it spreading to Europe and America.

 

The Baha'i teachings focus on prayer and serving others to get closer to God.  They believe that messengers, such as Abraham, Jesus, Mohammed, and Buddha, as well as Bha'u'llah came to give God to the people in a way that they needed at that time in history.  So, all these religions are connected.

 

Also, as with all religions, the Baha'i faith has faced much persecution for their beliefs.  Muslims, Iran especially, have targeted Baha'is because they are considered apostates for leaving Islam. Many Baha'is are imprisoned and harassed. 

 

Honestly, I don't understand this need to persecute someone because they are different.  A religion that talks only of love and unity should be revered, not criticized.  People wanting only peace are sought after and killed in the name of God.  Well, the God that I know speaks only of love and forgiveness and being kind, even to your enemy.  It's distressing how words can be twisted to suit hatred.