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Melanie Andersen's Website God | Family | Health | Education | Environment |
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Family
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God I remember as a child pacing the school yard contemplating the existence of God and an after-life while my friends played somewhere else. I went through so many different philosophies: atheism, reincarnation... I had best friends who were of many different Faiths. I had a hard time believing that my Christian friends were going to heaven while my Hindu and Jewish friends were not. When I was in my late teens, a friend of mine (who impressed me with her genuine and sincere love) introduced me to the Baha'i Faith. When I learned that Baha'u'llah taught that there is one God and therefore one Faith and that the different religions are really simply a chronological unfolding of that one Faith (described in the Baha'i Faith as the principle of Progressive Revelation), I was blown away - because it seemed to answer so many of the questions I had had for so many years. But at the time, I was quite a firm athiest and certainly a skeptic of organized religion. I was sure that there were hypocritical ideologies tucked away somewhere. I spent about a year, passionately trying to uncover this hypocrisy. Many times, I was sure I had finally found it. I would question things, drill Baha'is on their beliefs regarding many issues such as: life after death, abortion, the coming of yet another Messenger from God after Baha'u'llah and therefore making the Baha'i Faith obsolete. I was again blown away by the answers I received. I eventually got to a place where I realized that I could not deny the Truth of this Faith. Baha'u'llah was indeed the most recent Messenger from God and the Baha'i Faith the Cause of God for this day. I very carefully and slowly planned my declaration of faith in Baha'u'llah. I worried that secrets lay hid on the other side of conversion. Well, I spent the next few years in spiritual ecstasy. Praying to God in tears, asking, "Why have I been given this blessing? Please let others experience what I have experienced. It's just not fair for anyone to be deprived of this ecstasy and joy." I have been a Baha'i now for fourteen years and I have to tell you it just keeps getting better and better! Sure the initial spiritual ecstasy has worn off like the passion of a new relationship. The honeymoon is over, but the marriage is so much more profound and meaningful and fulfilling. My life is so qualitatively different that I can't even describe it. It's like - beforehand, I was looking at a lake and imagining what it would be like to swim in it but that is nothing compared to the actual experience of submerging your body in the lake and feeling it and experiencing it. I've also come to realize that there is a God whether I or anyone else believes there is (even though I still occasionally question, and also have no idea what God actually is - I just know God exists). It's like - the physical laws of the universe effect our daily lives whether we are aware of them or believe in them (ex. the law of gravity exists and effects our daily life whether we believe in it or are even aware of it). There are similarly spiritual laws which we all live by whether we know about them or believe in them - they just are. Some people might think I'm crazy - that's okay. We're all on our own paths and need to feel confident about our own actions, beliefs, and choices in life. But I highly recommend it - look into it. www.bahai.org |
Health Education Environment |