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peace on earth
June 2009 
Today's Devotional
Creative Soul
In the Bahá'i Faith we have no clergy. The affairs of the local Bahá'i community are overseen by a 9 person assembly called the Local Spritual Assembly and other than saying the marriage vow, a couple of obligatory prayers and a funeral prayer there are no set rituals. Devotions are left to the individual and the community. I began holding a devotional program on Sunday mornings before the scheduled talk given by a volunteer and todays devotional was timely so I'd like to share it with whomever care to read selections I gleaned from the devotional I prepared. What follows are some of the selected quotes from the world's Holy Scriptures and a couple of Native American Holy sayings.
Peace On Earth
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth...
" Peace, good will toward men."
St. Luke 2:13-14.God that made the world and all things therein... giveth to all life, breath, and all things: And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth...
Christianity: The New Testament, Acts 17:24-26
In the beginning, the Great Spirit made this world for His pleasure. He piled up the mountains, scooped out the lakes, traced the rivers, planted the forests; and to dwell in them, He created the insects, the fish, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, and man-all of one flesh, and in all, the breath of life, which is a measure of the Great Spirit. All are His children...
Native American tradition: from The Gospel of the Redman, p. 73
God, the Almighty, has created all mankind from the dust of earth. He has fashioned them all from the same elements; they are descended from the same race and live upon the same globe. He has created them to dwell beneath the one heaven... His teachings are the means of establishing union and fellowship among mankind and awakening love and kindness in human hearts. He proclaims the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. He rebukes those things which create differences and destroy harmony; He commends and praises every means that will conduce to the solidarity of the human race.
Grandfather, Great Spirit, all over the world the faces of living ones are alike....
Teach us to walk the soft earth as relatives to all that live.
Native American: Sioux prayer
Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao....
Taoism: Lao-Tzu, Tao-Te-Ching, no. 51
In every man, there is a spark of the Divine Soul.
Jewish rabbinic teaching: Rabbi Isaac of Worka
Thou art My lamp, and My light is in thee.
There is one body, and one Spirit...one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Christianity: The New Testament: Ephesians 4:4,6
...And when a man sees that the God in himself is the same God in all that is, he hurts not himself by hurting others: then he goes indeed to the highest Path.
Therefore, it is our duty to put forth our greatest efforts and summon all our energies in order that the bonds of unity and accord may be established among mankind. For thousands of years we have had bloodshed and strife. It is enough; it is sufficient. Now is the time to associate together in love and harmony. For thousands of years we have tried the sword and warfare; let mankind for a time at least live in peace.
...I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.
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