Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness & the Kingdom: A Historical Perspective
by James B. Thomas
Overview
The basic purpose is to enhance knowledge regarding the importance
of our time in history and to instill motivation to service for building
the Kingdom. It is important to understand the origins of liberty and
the spiritual consequences of its attainment, in both a positive and
negative sense. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has some provocative things to say about
this subject. His comments are eye opening as they clarify the path
toward the Kingdom of God on earth.
Abstract
The presentation is structured in three parts to be given in preferably
1.5 hours:
First, with the aid of view graphs we study historically, the evolution
of our concept of liberty from the 11th century through the Magna Carta,
the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution,
the National Anthem, the Civil War, the suffrage movements to the time
just prior to the epic journey of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the United States.
We discover that, in spite of the great sacrifices made over a long
period of time, the ideals of liberty and freedom are a far cry from
their reality even in this day. The Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty
are identified as the great symbols of liberty and freedom but with
each comes a paradox.
Second, in the workshop session we find a whole new meaning of the
word liberty from the talks given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as
he takes us progressively into deeper meanings of true liberty. The
participants are then divided into small groups that analyze the quotations
and then report summations to their fellow attendants. We then conclude
with the writings of Bahá’ú’lláh wherein
He shows how true liberty can only be achieved through servitude, that
this is actually the “pursuit” that leads to happiness of
a sublime nature.
Third, an open discussion is facilitated allowing individuals to briefly
share their experiences of service and what it meant to them. Finally
we identify what the Kingdom Project is and then direct the dialogue
toward ways and means by which we can all participate in this historic
prophetic project. It is strongly emphasized that love and unity are
at the core of every effort undertaken. We close with the realization
that this generation of Bahá’ís have the extraordinary
bounty of actually bringing into reality “the Kingdom” that
was promised so long ago by His Holiness the Christ.
