Religious Principles in Panorthosia
By John Taylor; 2009 Sep 22, Izzat 15, 166 BE
John Comenius is best known as an educator but he was also a leader in his Moravian Brotherhood Church, and his heartfelt religious ideals pervade the Panorthosia. In the next few essays I want to discuss his vision of the role that religion would play in the world government he proposes in this book. In the 13th chapter, Comenius proposes a unified religion for all mankind, as explained in the title:
"Concerning a truly universal new religion, designed to bring the human heart to a state of perfection." (Panorthosia, p. 194)
This universal new religion would not perhaps be a formal hierarchy or organization, but simply an agreement by everybody upon certain basics that are to be found in every major religion, such as love, the Golden Rule, and so forth. He foresees a similar common agreement coming about in the other two branches of the world body, the scientific and the political. A universal philosophy will be devised by scientists and educators that will be taught in schools and universities, and the political branch of the world governing institution would similarly promote a common consensus about the need for a firmly enforced peace among nations. A common faith, a common philosophy and a common resolve for peace would permit all to work together wholeheartedly to cement the perpetual covenant of unity.
"When human affairs are so reformed that our Philosophy, Religion, and Politics are all truly universal, it will be the task of scholars to collect and purify essential truths and transplant them into the minds of men, of churchmen to attract men's souls away from the world in the direction of God, and of politicians to maintain peace and tranquillity everywhere, competing with each other, as it were, in holy rivalry to make an outstanding contribution in their respective spheres to the salvation of mankind." (Comenius, Panorthosia, Ch. 15, para 1, p. 216)
At one point, Comenius puts forward an apt image of how the happy combination of a universal faith and a universal philosophy might act as a sort of "key of David," a skeleton key that opens all the doors that formerly had been closed to either science or religion, "as if one man who lived in a castle had separate keys for each of the rooms, and another had only a single key which opened them all." (Panorthosia, Ch. 11, para 22, pp. 184-185) Old knowledge let you into one room only, but a common faith and common philosophy for all would give freedom to enter anywhere in the castle of human endeavour. This would surely change the nature of both religion and science, and would allow both to better bolster the political goals of peace and unity.
Although he is not always clear about it, Comenius does not seem to envision an instant mass conversion of all believers from other persuasions, notably Jews and Muslims, to Christianity. Indeed, the 18th Chapter, "Concerning the Universal Bond of the Church, The Ecumenical Consistery," (p. 237) provides for their coming together to form the religious wing of the Comenian world government. This body would represent all believers, everywhere, who presumably will agree upon the platform of common beliefs that he had put forward in Chapter 13.
The 23rd chapter of Panorthosia he calls "The particular interim reform of churches." (Panorthosia, Vol. II, p. 58) Comenius suggests here that in the interim period before all come to Christ that Christians should make every effort to eschew their present factionalism in order to make themselves worthy of the millennial events foretold in scripture that he believes the formation of a world government would set in motion.
There are many aspects of Comenius's program for religious reform that are either identical to or compatible with Baha'i religious principles. The only one that I have not found at all is the admittedly bold principle of Abdu'l-Baha that religion is a remedy, that is, if a certain belief causes harm or is superstitious that it is a religious act to reject and expunge it.
Other than that small lacuna, though, Comenius has clearly put a great deal of thought to the problem of fundamentalism and religious prejudice, which was if anything more intense and violent in his day than now. That is what I want to start into next time.
By John Taylor; 2009 Sep 22, Izzat 15, 166 BE
John Comenius is best known as an educator but he was also a leader in his Moravian Brotherhood Church, and his heartfelt religious ideals pervade the Panorthosia. In the next few essays I want to discuss his vision of the role that religion would play in the world government he proposes in this book. In the 13th chapter, Comenius proposes a unified religion for all mankind, as explained in the title:
"Concerning a truly universal new religion, designed to bring the human heart to a state of perfection." (Panorthosia, p. 194)
This universal new religion would not perhaps be a formal hierarchy or organization, but simply an agreement by everybody upon certain basics that are to be found in every major religion, such as love, the Golden Rule, and so forth. He foresees a similar common agreement coming about in the other two branches of the world body, the scientific and the political. A universal philosophy will be devised by scientists and educators that will be taught in schools and universities, and the political branch of the world governing institution would similarly promote a common consensus about the need for a firmly enforced peace among nations. A common faith, a common philosophy and a common resolve for peace would permit all to work together wholeheartedly to cement the perpetual covenant of unity.
"When human affairs are so reformed that our Philosophy, Religion, and Politics are all truly universal, it will be the task of scholars to collect and purify essential truths and transplant them into the minds of men, of churchmen to attract men's souls away from the world in the direction of God, and of politicians to maintain peace and tranquillity everywhere, competing with each other, as it were, in holy rivalry to make an outstanding contribution in their respective spheres to the salvation of mankind." (Comenius, Panorthosia, Ch. 15, para 1, p. 216)
At one point, Comenius puts forward an apt image of how the happy combination of a universal faith and a universal philosophy might act as a sort of "key of David," a skeleton key that opens all the doors that formerly had been closed to either science or religion, "as if one man who lived in a castle had separate keys for each of the rooms, and another had only a single key which opened them all." (Panorthosia, Ch. 11, para 22, pp. 184-185) Old knowledge let you into one room only, but a common faith and common philosophy for all would give freedom to enter anywhere in the castle of human endeavour. This would surely change the nature of both religion and science, and would allow both to better bolster the political goals of peace and unity.
Although he is not always clear about it, Comenius does not seem to envision an instant mass conversion of all believers from other persuasions, notably Jews and Muslims, to Christianity. Indeed, the 18th Chapter, "Concerning the Universal Bond of the Church, The Ecumenical Consistery," (p. 237) provides for their coming together to form the religious wing of the Comenian world government. This body would represent all believers, everywhere, who presumably will agree upon the platform of common beliefs that he had put forward in Chapter 13.
The 23rd chapter of Panorthosia he calls "The particular interim reform of churches." (Panorthosia, Vol. II, p. 58) Comenius suggests here that in the interim period before all come to Christ that Christians should make every effort to eschew their present factionalism in order to make themselves worthy of the millennial events foretold in scripture that he believes the formation of a world government would set in motion.
There are many aspects of Comenius's program for religious reform that are either identical to or compatible with Baha'i religious principles. The only one that I have not found at all is the admittedly bold principle of Abdu'l-Baha that religion is a remedy, that is, if a certain belief causes harm or is superstitious that it is a religious act to reject and expunge it.
Other than that small lacuna, though, Comenius has clearly put a great deal of thought to the problem of fundamentalism and religious prejudice, which was if anything more intense and violent in his day than now. That is what I want to start into next time.
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