In a baptism, we question, three times, “Do you unite yourself to Christ?” We bless both the person and the baptismal water in sets of three. We baptize, immersing the candidate three times in the water. We petition our Lord, and respond, “Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”
Jesus was not talking about love the way our culture tends to talk about love. This is not about a superficial, “feel good” kind of love. It is not about a short term, self centered kind of love that focuses on me, and mine. Jesus was not saying that what matters is that I am loved, or that I experience that warm fuzzy feeling that we often associate with love.
He was part of a well defined group in the gospels — the poor, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the sick, the disabled. They were poor, often homeless, and left to beg for food and basic needs. The cultural assumption was that their predicament was a consequence of sin — their sin or the sin of their ancestors.
The Baha'i faith is the newest global religion,and, as such, is virtually unknown to many people. I am hoping to give an overview of the basic principles and information regarding this faith which has become the central purpose of my life.
The Oct. 15 issue of Newsweek had a fascinating article by Dr. Eben Alexander entitled "My Proof of Heaven." Alexander is a neurosurgeon who describes himself as a man who “considered myself a faithful Christian,” but more so, “in name than in actual belief.” He tells us that he “sympathized deeply with those who wanted to believe that there was a God somewhere out there who loved us unconditionally.”