Sunday, January 20, 2008

Spiritual Civilization


I chose two excerpts today that are by the same Author and might be seen as contradictory.

I feel the key to harmonizing their meanings is to focus on the words "ever-advancing" and "moderation".

"The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men….If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CLXIV, pp. 342-343

"All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 214