North Fulton Baha’i getting out message of...

Religion news

GEOFF SMITH
9/18/2002

The five Baha’i communities in North Fulton are coming together to send out a message aiming to bring people of all faiths together in an understanding.
They are joining hundreds of others across the world to help push out religious intolerance. The Chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i of Roswell, Tom Mennillo, said he will contact other religious leaders in the community and tell them the Baha’i message.
"It’s for folks of all faiths not just to tolerate each other, but to go beyond that and truly understand and appreciate each other and work together with each other,” Mennillo Said. "Because really the basis of all the religions is the same. What differs are the laws and customs that are tailored to the time in which a faith was revealed.”
Mennillo said that Baha’is believe all religions have the same roots, and they only differ when used for the purposes of self promotion.
"The basic messages are the same and have been the same over the years. The problem is that the basic messages of the faiths get distorted over time as people take it and use it for their own purposes,” said Mennillo. "I can see how Islam has been distorted by some folks to use violence and terrorism.”
The basic Baha’i religion began about 100 years ago by Baha’u’llah, who proclaimed the world had matured and the unity of humankind was to be established "as the foundation of the great peace that would mark the highest stage in humanity’s spiritual and social evolution.”
Baha’is believe that America will unify the world and bring justice and leadership to all people. It is based out of Hifa, Israel on the top of Mount Carmel. Another interesting fact is that the number nine is very important. They meet every 19 days and most of their buildings are nine-sided.
"Nine is a symbolic number for us. It is the highest single integer and connotes completeness, the highest aspirations of people,” said Mennillo.
For more information log onto www.us.bahai.org, or call 800-22-UNITE.