Truthseeker
Non-debating member when I can help myself
This poem, or whatever you want to call it was written about 40 years ago. I don't expect anyone to be converted to the Baha'i Faith by this. This is just my personal view of the developments of the last 2000 years of Western civilization and were it is headed ultimately. For those Muslims here, I hope you are not offended I didn't include Islamic contributions to Western civilization. Without Islam Western civilization would not have had the Renaissance, I believe, leading to some developments I outline in the poem. This doesn't include the development of history outside of the Western world. So the scope is limited.
The spirit is willing, but the Covenant is weak;
I feed myself with inner blessings.
I shall learn, and I shall grow;
I plant the seeds for His return.
No, I have to disagree.
It seems to me that you people are following a man-made order,
and forgotten about the Word of God.
I cannot see the church as Divine,
rather it is the anti-Christ.
Christ has to be re-discovered,
and I'm the one to do it.
No, I have to disagree.
You are out of harmony with the natural world.
Pay attention to what it says!
Cannot you hear the whisperings of God there?
This reality must be uncovered.
You have been listening to your own unfruitful arguments
too long.
No, I have to disagree.
Your rules of morality no longer hold me.
What have they to do with the reality today?
I've outgrown your petty morality.
I shall discover a new way to live.
Let me repeat the first stanza:
The spirit is willing, but the Covenant is weak;
I feed myself with inner blessings.
I shall learn, and I shall grow;
I plant the seeds for His return.
Every revealed Abrahamic religion has a Covenant. It can be to follow the Commandments of God, for instance, and the Baha'i Covenant includes that, but in this context, when I mention Covenant, I am referring to the designation of a series of successors to the Founder of the Faith.
Of course the first line plays off the saying of Christ “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. The Baha'i view is that at that time in history mankind was not ready for a strong Covenant. That is why Christ did not give a strong Covenant in the sense of an unquestioned line of successors to Christ.
I think the rest of the first stanza can be understood by all of you.
No, I have to disagree.
It seems to me that you people are following a man-made order,
and forgotten about the Word of God.
I cannot see the church as Divine,
rather it is the anti-Christ.
Christ has to be re-discovered,
and I'm the one to do it.
This refers to the Protestants, especially Luther, who was the first one.
No, I have to disagree.
You are out of harmony with the natural world.
Pay attention to what it says!
Cannot you hear the whisperings of God there?
This reality must be uncovered.
You have been listening to your own unfruitful arguments
too long.
This refers to the so-called enlightenment, and especially the deists of that time.
This is the western world today, the inhabitants who have learned a lot and grown in some ways, and it is implied this is the result of having a weak Covenant, but have lost their way spiritually.
Outline of Western History
The spirit is willing, but the Covenant is weak;
I feed myself with inner blessings.
I shall learn, and I shall grow;
I plant the seeds for His return.
No, I have to disagree.
It seems to me that you people are following a man-made order,
and forgotten about the Word of God.
I cannot see the church as Divine,
rather it is the anti-Christ.
Christ has to be re-discovered,
and I'm the one to do it.
No, I have to disagree.
You are out of harmony with the natural world.
Pay attention to what it says!
Cannot you hear the whisperings of God there?
This reality must be uncovered.
You have been listening to your own unfruitful arguments
too long.
No, I have to disagree.
Your rules of morality no longer hold me.
What have they to do with the reality today?
I've outgrown your petty morality.
I shall discover a new way to live.
I am confused.
What is reality anymore?
I don't know how to live.
The roots of reality are too deep for me to tap.
There are so many fractured pictures of Christ
that I doubt his Reality.
I have grown, I have learned a lot.
But I have lost my center, my soul.
The spirit is willing and the Covenant is strong.
We shall all feed each other
We shall learn and we shall grow,
we are fulfilled as we eat the fruits.
Yes, we all agree.
We are following an order created by God,
and the Word surrounds us.
We all interact uniquely within this order,
and fulfill our inner potential.
We must discover Baha'u'llah for ourselves,
telling no one else how to do it.
Yes, we all agree.
This Faith is in balance with the created world.
When the revealed Word interacts with investigated reality,
We have such a fascinating mosaic!
The knot is untangled and turned inside out;
We exist to reflect eternal truths.
Yes, we all agree.
Morality has to be strict.
Terrors are unleashed when the bonds of morality are relaxed.
Baha's morality is vital to our civilization,
We shall discover a new joy in living.
We are fulfilled.
Reality continues to unfold itself.
We are learning every day how to live.
Life is ever deeper, more wonderful.
All facets of life reflect the Glory of God.
We have found our center, our Covenant.
We shall all feed each other
We shall learn and we shall grow,
we are fulfilled as we eat the fruits.
Yes, we all agree.
We are following an order created by God,
and the Word surrounds us.
We all interact uniquely within this order,
and fulfill our inner potential.
We must discover Baha'u'llah for ourselves,
telling no one else how to do it.
Yes, we all agree.
This Faith is in balance with the created world.
When the revealed Word interacts with investigated reality,
We have such a fascinating mosaic!
The knot is untangled and turned inside out;
We exist to reflect eternal truths.
Yes, we all agree.
Morality has to be strict.
Terrors are unleashed when the bonds of morality are relaxed.
Baha's morality is vital to our civilization,
We shall discover a new joy in living.
We are fulfilled.
Reality continues to unfold itself.
We are learning every day how to live.
Life is ever deeper, more wonderful.
All facets of life reflect the Glory of God.
We have found our center, our Covenant.
Let me repeat the first stanza:
The spirit is willing, but the Covenant is weak;
I feed myself with inner blessings.
I shall learn, and I shall grow;
I plant the seeds for His return.
Every revealed Abrahamic religion has a Covenant. It can be to follow the Commandments of God, for instance, and the Baha'i Covenant includes that, but in this context, when I mention Covenant, I am referring to the designation of a series of successors to the Founder of the Faith.
Of course the first line plays off the saying of Christ “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. The Baha'i view is that at that time in history mankind was not ready for a strong Covenant. That is why Christ did not give a strong Covenant in the sense of an unquestioned line of successors to Christ.
I think the rest of the first stanza can be understood by all of you.
No, I have to disagree.
It seems to me that you people are following a man-made order,
and forgotten about the Word of God.
I cannot see the church as Divine,
rather it is the anti-Christ.
Christ has to be re-discovered,
and I'm the one to do it.
This refers to the Protestants, especially Luther, who was the first one.
No, I have to disagree.
You are out of harmony with the natural world.
Pay attention to what it says!
Cannot you hear the whisperings of God there?
This reality must be uncovered.
You have been listening to your own unfruitful arguments
too long.
This refers to the so-called enlightenment, and especially the deists of that time.
No, I have to disagree.
Your rules of morality no longer hold me.
What have they to do with the reality today?
I've outgrown your petty morality.
I shall discover a new way to live.
I am confused.
What is reality anymore?
I don't know how to live.
The roots of reality are too deep for me to tap.
There are so many fractured pictures of Christ
that I doubt his Reality.
I have grown, I have learned a lot.
But I have lost my center, my soul.
This is the western world today, the inhabitants who have learned a lot and grown in some ways, and it is implied this is the result of having a weak Covenant, but have lost their way spiritually.
The spirit is willing and the Covenant is strong.
We shall all feed each other
We shall learn and we shall grow,
we are fulfilled as we eat the fruits.
Yes, we all agree.
We are following an order created by God,
and the Word surrounds us.
We all interact uniquely within this order,
and fulfill our inner potential.
We must discover Baha'u'llah for ourselves,
telling no one else how to do it.
Yes, we all agree.
This Faith is in balance with the created world.
When the revealed Word interacts with investigated reality,
We have such a fascinating mosaic!
The knot is untangled and turned inside out;
We exist to reflect eternal truths.
Yes, we all agree.
Morality has to be strict.
Terrors are unleashed when the bonds of morality are relaxed.
Baha's morality is vital to our civilization,
We shall discover a new joy in living.
We are fulfilled.
Reality continues to unfold itself.
We are learning every day how to live.
Life is ever deeper, more wonderful.
All facets of life reflect the Glory of God.
We have found our center, our Covenant.
We shall all feed each other
We shall learn and we shall grow,
we are fulfilled as we eat the fruits.
Yes, we all agree.
We are following an order created by God,
and the Word surrounds us.
We all interact uniquely within this order,
and fulfill our inner potential.
We must discover Baha'u'llah for ourselves,
telling no one else how to do it.
Yes, we all agree.
This Faith is in balance with the created world.
When the revealed Word interacts with investigated reality,
We have such a fascinating mosaic!
The knot is untangled and turned inside out;
We exist to reflect eternal truths.
Yes, we all agree.
Morality has to be strict.
Terrors are unleashed when the bonds of morality are relaxed.
Baha's morality is vital to our civilization,
We shall discover a new joy in living.
We are fulfilled.
Reality continues to unfold itself.
We are learning every day how to live.
Life is ever deeper, more wonderful.
All facets of life reflect the Glory of God.
We have found our center, our Covenant.
