from joseph woods

Joseph Woods, writing in the Baha'i Newsletter of Hamilton, comments:


Learning to Move Beyond Slogans and Cliches

Dear Friends,

In his wonderful and thought provoking book "Creating a New Mind:
Reflections on the Individual, the Institutions and the Community, Paul
Lample, a current member of the House of Justice, addresses many of the
challenges that face a community as it learns to develop a culture of
learning:


"A second obstacle is created when, in the course of our conversation about
how to progress, our words degenerate into slogans or cliches.
Bahá’u’lláh has endowed words with new meaning. Yet, our diverse
interpretations of reality can usurp the meaning of these words, depriving
them of their power to uplift. For example, teaching the Faith, the Bahá’í
writings explain, is “exalting the Word of God.” It is the manifestation of
the “quickening power of the spirit” and the cause of “rebirth and
regeneration.” Circular debate, countless calls to action and exhaustive
analysis can dull our understanding of the subject until, finally, teaching
is addressed merely in terms of sales techniques."