Direction the world is taking

Human rights (and its implications) is becoming a burning issue on the international arena (e.g. Iran, China etc.). How long 'till we can expect to see the debate become central to national (and eventually local) news media (at present it being only touched upon circumstantially therein)?

And then there's the question of the underlying CAUSES of states failing, of endemic poverty, of religious extremism, of international crime (e.g. trafficking, drugs), terrorism and lawlessness.

Who's to take the lead in moving discourse toward the hopeful vision (that we've forgotten) of peace and prosperity which lies at the core of every culture/tradition?

I am reminded of the emphasis Bahá'u'lláh lays on religion as a constructive force in society, characterizing it as

...the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein.

In this regard, the Universal House of Justice writes:

Referring to the eclipse or corruption of religion, [Bahá'u'lláh] wrote: "Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine." In an enumeration of such consequences the Bahá'í writings point out that the "perversion of human nature, the degradation of human conduct, the corruption and dissolution of human institutions, reveal themselves, under such circumstances, in their worst and most revolting aspects. Human character is debased, confidence is shaken, the nerves of discipline are relaxed, the voice of human conscience is stilled, the sense of decency and shame is obscured, conceptions of duty, of solidarity, of reciprocity and loyalty are distorted, and the very feeling of peacefulness, of joy and of hope is gradually extinguished."

- The Promise of World Peace, p. 4

Is it time for us to rediscover the fundamental nature of religion?


Photo copyright Bahá'í International Community.