Over the last half year, it has been a joy to regularly participate in The Church Lab’s ‘Dialogue’ group. As someone who endeavors to live a life of faith and service, balanced with an ongoing search for truth, the dialogue group’s mission of bringing together people from many faith (or no faith), cultural, philosophical, and political backgrounds holds very strong appeal. I love that each meeting’s different topic provides for a broad range of deep conversations.
Introducing myself, I am a Bahá’í, which is a Faith I learned of a number of years ago, while a student at The University of Texas, here in Austin. I grew up mainly Methodist, and in the Midwest. From a young age, faith has been important to me though, from around age 12, I’ve experienced some not-uncommon questions and dilemmas about certain ideas taught in church. In short, I wondered how a loving God could send good people of different faiths, especially those born into a different faith, to an afterlife of eternal punishment.
For me, it is the Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, discovered as a sophomore in college, that bring resolution for this dilemma. The Bahá’í concept of progressive revelation teaches that the founders of the world’s major religions are sent from the same loving God, kindling a process of divine education which spans human history. While initially this concept raised more questions for me, further investigation yielded answers which I found resonated with the God of the “still, small voice”, affirming that, while the "Kingdom of God" can be found within each person, God's Kingdom is also furthered as love and cooperation increase among all people. As more awaken to this truth, more of us become able and willing to work toward a bright future of justice and peace for all of God's children.
The Church Lab’s ‘Dialogue’ group, infused with spiritual growth via discussion and fellowship, is a tremendous example of the path to this inspirited future. Of discussions attended so far, the most powerful for me personally have been “When Faith Kept Me Afloat”, “Violence & Pacifism”, and “Grace & Forgiveness”. In each of these meetings I witnessed growth in attendees as they shared thoughts connected with the topics, and I am grateful to be pursuing growth here also. On a further personal note, in recent years I have spent time reflecting upon my father’s drafted combatant service in the Vietnam War. Dad passed in 2013 due to war-related health complications, and his final years were, sadly, difficult ones for himself and those close to him. TCL’s ‘Dialogues’ group is one venue that has provided me perspective on these life events. In the “When Faith Kept Me Afloat” conversation, I shared about connecting with, then later meeting, some men from my father’s infantry company, just over a year ago. My faith in a brighter future led me to these connections, which have brought context and healing for the pain of Dad’s final years, and early passing. During the “Violence & Pacifism” meeting, TCL Dialoguers shared a broad range of views about war, spanning from “necessary and inevitable”, to “we must end it”. I found remembrance that my own strong belief in peace is best-lived by viewing non-violence as an active endeavor, fueled by the conviction (as taught in Bahá’í Scripture) that cooperation and harmony are far better means of problem-solving than warfare and violence. Finally, I was moved by the “Grace & Forgiveness” conversation, where the group elucidated that Grace comes from God. While we humans only catch glimpses, we can reflect this divine attribute in the practice of forgiveness, a vital part of the spiritually-attuned life.
As conversations and lessons like these enlighten and transform hearts, I know that TCL’s Dialogue group is an integral part of creating a better world, and a group of which I am grateful to have become a small part.
Jay Braden, member of the Austin Bahá’í Community, has a Visual Arts Studies degree from The University of Texas at Austin. A free-lance artist and designer, he reads voraciously and loves to joke about being a “self-guided Grad. student in 5 or 6 different subjects”