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All Humanity is One

"It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."  This quotation from the Writings of the Baha'u'llah underlies the pendant pictured below, and it is one of the core beliefs of the Baha'i faith.

All mankind is one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the designers of this pendant explain, little on this piece of jewelry lacks symbolic significance.  Its eighteen background lines represent the eighteen steps to the main floor of the Bahai House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.  The "Ringstone Symbol" in the foreground 

Ringstone Symbol

represents the worlds of God, His manifestations & humanity, linked by divine messengers. 

At a time when many in the West associate monotheism with intolerance, Baha'i is a reminder that exclusionary religions can also give rise to more universal values.   Global peace, the elimination of prejudice, the fundamental unity of all nations and religions in one God--such are the core principles of the Baha'i faith, which has spread far beyond its Middle Eastern roots to count among its members world leaders in law, politics, education, journalism and entertainment. 

Judge DW Nelson On a personal note, I couldn't finish my first post on Baha'i jewelry without noting my indebtedness to one of the most influential leaders of the Baha'i faith, the Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson, Senior Judge on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, for whom I had the good fortune of serving as a law clerk.  Without her I'd know a lot less not only about the Baha'i faith, but law, life and the inestimable value of a cup of tea and cookies on a rainy day.  Thanks Judge! 

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Comments

What do you mean by "exclusionary religions"?
Good question--and the short answer is, nothing bad. When I use terms such as "exclusionary" or "exclusivistic", I am speaking strictly in a technical sense, regarding the degree to which a religious or spiritual system views itself, its deity, its leaders or moral system as the only truth, to the exclusion of all others. For example, more conservative schools of Islam interpret he doctrine that there is no God but God and Muhammed is his prophet in its most narrow sense. Thus, say, a Hindu god is a false god and others who came after Muhammed claiming to be God's prophet, such as the Bab or Baha'u'llah, are false prophets. This sense of absolute exclusion is one reason that religious leaders in Iran persecute members of the Baha'i faith so severely. Similarly, the Roman Catholic Church has long held that "Outside the Church there is no salvation," and Calvinistic Christians believe that Jesus died only for those whom God has chosen to be saved. Some would say that even the Baha'i faith is arguably exclusionistic in the sense that it regards its doctrines of God to be true, but because of the breadth of its inclusionary message it would no doubt fall on one of the weakest bands of the exclusionist spectrum. The Blingdom of God is no discriminator of persons or faiths, as so I leave to each individual to decide the relative value of any exclusive or inclusive beliefs. This site gladly welcomes all, even to the point of acknowledging that one of them just might be right!

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