a lot of people feel that joining or adhering to the beliefs of a religion will restrict or inhibit them and their freedom. it won't let them do this or that, and they want to be free to do whatever they want. but what is really true freedom? I will start with three quotations, the first two from Bahá'u'lláh, and the last one from 'Abdu'l-Bahá:
"Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things. Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."
Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness.
...with regard to the peoples who clamour for freedom: the moderate freedom which guarantees the welfare of the world of mankind and maintains and preserves the universal relationships, is found in its fullest power and extension in the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
isn't it so that our Creator knows us best and what is best for us? consider a painter - only he can know exactly using what and how he made his painting, which colors, in what order, and what he was thinking as he painted. anyone else can only second guess, at best.
since God has created us, He naturally knows what's best for us. wouldn't it then be better to follow the commandments we receive therefrom? isn't it better to already from the beginning know what's good and bad, instead of all the time trying to figure it out, testing back and forth, risking getting burned all the time? where is the freedom in all the time being afraid that something bad might happen to us?
I think it's better to have the map in hand, knowing where all the dangers lie. this is the true freedom, then we can spend all our time exploring and learning from everything there. if there's a cliff somewhere, I definitely wouldn't want to walk right next to it - I'd rather stay a couple of meters away from it. why risk it when you don't have to?
"Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things. Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."
Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness.
...with regard to the peoples who clamour for freedom: the moderate freedom which guarantees the welfare of the world of mankind and maintains and preserves the universal relationships, is found in its fullest power and extension in the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
isn't it so that our Creator knows us best and what is best for us? consider a painter - only he can know exactly using what and how he made his painting, which colors, in what order, and what he was thinking as he painted. anyone else can only second guess, at best.
since God has created us, He naturally knows what's best for us. wouldn't it then be better to follow the commandments we receive therefrom? isn't it better to already from the beginning know what's good and bad, instead of all the time trying to figure it out, testing back and forth, risking getting burned all the time? where is the freedom in all the time being afraid that something bad might happen to us?
I think it's better to have the map in hand, knowing where all the dangers lie. this is the true freedom, then we can spend all our time exploring and learning from everything there. if there's a cliff somewhere, I definitely wouldn't want to walk right next to it - I'd rather stay a couple of meters away from it. why risk it when you don't have to?
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