Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.91.960227115229.32316A-100000 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 11:54:20 -0700 From: T Hodges <mailto:thodges@FREENET.CALGARY.AB.CA> Subject: Announcing new www site for Social & Economic Development (fwd) To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Announcing the Noble-Creation Email discussion list
and World Wide Web Site
on
A Spiritual Context for Social and Economic Development
sponsored by
The Baha'i Computer and Communications Association
Purpose of the list:
Noble-Creation, the Baha'i Development Forum, is sponsored by the
Baha'i Computer and Communications Association (BCCA) and was
started February 1994. The purpose is to discuss social and
economic development (SED) issues, ideas, and projects in a
spiritual context with the aid of the Baha'i Writings on Social and
Economic development. The forum is open to all individuals
interested in this purpose, but is especially oriented to people
working in the social and economic development fields. The
following quote from the Baha'i Writings was the inspiration for
the name of the list and sets the spiritual context for human
development:
"O Son of Spirit! Noble have I created thee,
yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto
that for which thou wast created."
-- Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, Arabic #22
We believe the basic noble and spiritual nature of man must be
recognized, that consideration of 'spiritual principles' or 'human
values' is needed, for solving the problems humanity is facing. As
the Universal House of Justice wrote, in 'A Vision of World Peace',
"The essential merit of spiritual principle is that it not only
presents a perspective which harmonizes with that which is
immanent in human nature, it also produces an attitude, a dynamic,
a will, an aspiration, which facilitates the discovery and
implementation of practical measures."
We acknowledge that societies are made up of individuals whose
personal spiritual development is at the heart of all social
dynamics, but the emphasis of this list is less on personal
spiritual development and more on "social" i.e. group, community,
social systems, and its components. The focus is on how to use the
dynamic principles of the Baha'i Faith to:
1. Build a new society in which everyone's welfare and
well-being is assured.
2. Alleviate some of the pain of transition from our
current society to this future vision.
Development itself, its definition, its foundation and its
direction, is an issue of discussion. 'Abdu'l-Baha stated:
No matter how far the material world advances, it cannot
establish the happiness of mankind. Only when material and
spiritual civilization are linked and coordinated will
happiness be assured. -- Abdul-Baha, Promulgation of
Universal Peace, p. 109 --
Drawing on statements such as these, the Baha'i view of
development incorporates both the material and spiritual
advancement of humankind with the explict objective of creating
human happiness and 'an ever-advancing civilization.'
Sustainable agriculture is a fundamental component of stable and
equitable social and economic systems. Thus agriculture is a
major topic of discussion on the noble-creation email discussion
group. Some references from the Baha'i Writings on agriculture:
Special regard must be paid to agriculture. Although it hath
been mentioned in the fifth place, unquestionably it precedeth
the others.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 90)
The fundamental basis of the community is agriculture, tillage of
the soil.
(Promulgation of Universal Peace, page 217)
We look forward to learning from you and with you!
=============================================================
The World Wide Web Site
The URL for the web site is http://www.bcca.org/noble-creation
The Contents of the Web page:
What is Noble Creation
The Prosperity of Humankind and other SED documents from
Baha'i institutions
Links to other SED sites on the world wide web (coming soon)
Links to Sites on Gender issues and SED
Reports and papers on SED
Reports on Baha'i SED projects
Newsletters of the Agriculture Seminar of the Association for
Baha'i Studies
Links to other Agricultural Sites on the world wide web
Reports and papers related to Sustainable Agriculture
Short bios on Noble-Creation members (coming soon)
Tapes, videos, printed materials on SED & Sustainable Ag (coming
soon)
Subscribe to Noble-Creation discussion group
=====================================================================
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
To subscribe and unsubscribe to Noble-Creation, send your name and
address to:
mailto:Noble-Creation-request@bcca.org
To send messages to the group, including responses to a previous
message which you believe would be of interest to the entire group
use:
mailto:Noble-Creation@bcca.org
__________________________________________________
Note:
Be aware that many members of the list live in areas and countries
where they must pay per message. Please limit the size and number
of your messages to the group so these members can still afford to
participate. When replying to a message, include only those parts
of the previous message which are necessary as context for your
message.