The Sikh System of Symbols
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Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
America's Baha'i temple
Let me start off by saying that I like the Baha'i faith. I have a lot of appreciation for how welcoming the Baha'is are to people of the world and I like how finds harmony in building off of multiple past religions, because I do think it's stupid how people of different religions fight over dogma when the prophets they follow all had similar messages. Plus, I have been interested in visiting the Baha'i temple ever since my brother went about a year ago.
That being said, there were a few things about the Baha'i temple's website that gave me pause, most of which were reflections of Western culture that I think somewhat degrade the Baha'i temple and take emphasis away from what it is--a house of worship.
The thing that stood out to me while listening to the audio tour, is that there are informational videos and guided tours in the Visitor Center. From some further looking around on the website, the temple will have a new Welcome center opening in 2011. It's strange to see pictures of a Visitor Center in a place of worship with big displays that look like they belong in a museum. Clearly, the temple is more that just a place of worship to many people--it also acts as a North American landmark. While I can understand people being drawn to the temple for non-religious purposes, I do think it's unfortunate to have so much construction going on in a place that is supposed to be about finding serenity. It just seems like a bit of a hindrance to the temple's purpose of being "an oasis for serenity" to have construction crews, machinery, and dirt tearing up the gardens and beautiful temple.
I also noticed that while there are daily devotionals, more formal Sunday devotionals were added, not because of any Baha'i doctrine, but because as Americans living in a predominantly Christian nation, we expect Sunday worship. Now, the Christian belief system is part of the Baha'i belief system, so it's really not that big of a stretch to justify Sunday religious services. However, when I looked on the websites of other Baha'i houses of worship, like the one in India, they do not have the same prayer schedule centered around a Sunday service. Because the Baha'i faith is so conforming to other religions and welcoming to all people, whether the worship follows a Christian structure or a Muslim one, it still fits within the Baha'i ideals. I also noticed that the temple in India also has an information center, which just goes to show how important it is to the Baha'is to inform people about their religion.
That being said, there were a few things about the Baha'i temple's website that gave me pause, most of which were reflections of Western culture that I think somewhat degrade the Baha'i temple and take emphasis away from what it is--a house of worship.
The thing that stood out to me while listening to the audio tour, is that there are informational videos and guided tours in the Visitor Center. From some further looking around on the website, the temple will have a new Welcome center opening in 2011. It's strange to see pictures of a Visitor Center in a place of worship with big displays that look like they belong in a museum. Clearly, the temple is more that just a place of worship to many people--it also acts as a North American landmark. While I can understand people being drawn to the temple for non-religious purposes, I do think it's unfortunate to have so much construction going on in a place that is supposed to be about finding serenity. It just seems like a bit of a hindrance to the temple's purpose of being "an oasis for serenity" to have construction crews, machinery, and dirt tearing up the gardens and beautiful temple.
I also noticed that while there are daily devotionals, more formal Sunday devotionals were added, not because of any Baha'i doctrine, but because as Americans living in a predominantly Christian nation, we expect Sunday worship. Now, the Christian belief system is part of the Baha'i belief system, so it's really not that big of a stretch to justify Sunday religious services. However, when I looked on the websites of other Baha'i houses of worship, like the one in India, they do not have the same prayer schedule centered around a Sunday service. Because the Baha'i faith is so conforming to other religions and welcoming to all people, whether the worship follows a Christian structure or a Muslim one, it still fits within the Baha'i ideals. I also noticed that the temple in India also has an information center, which just goes to show how important it is to the Baha'is to inform people about their religion.
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