ONE FAMILY PLAN
Religious Commons
KNOWLEDGE
"Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge." (Proverbs 23:12)
"By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided."(Prov 3:19-20a)
"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." (Prov 24:3-4)
"Knowledge is as wings to man's life, and a ladder for his ascent. Its acquisition is incumbent upon everyone." (Baha'i, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 51)
"He who in early days was unwise but later found wisdom, he sheds a light over the world like that of the moon when freed from clouds."(Buddhism, Dhammapada 13:172)
"In this world, there is no purifier like knowledge." (Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 4:38)
"To acquire knowledge is binding on all believers, both men and women." [Islam, Hadith (Ibn Maja)]
ANTI-MATERIAL WORLD/IDOLS OF THE HEART
"None of you can be a disciple of mine without parting with all his possessions." (Luke 14:33)
"No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth."(Baha'i, Kitab-i- Iqan, p.3)
"Empty the boat of your life, O man; when empty it will swiftly sail."(Buddhism, Dhammapada 25:369)
"He unto whom all desires enter as waters of the sea, which, though ever being filled is ever motionless, attains to peace and not he who hugs his desires." (Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 2:70)
"What little has been given you is only for a while: but that which is with God is greater and more lasting." (Islam, Qur'an 42:36)
"Do not rely upon property and the goods of this world, for property and the goods of this world are like a bird that flies from one tree to another and stays on none." (Zoroastrianism, Pahlavi Texts)
DO GOOD
"Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."(Christianity, Romans 12:9)
"Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live." (Judaism, Amos 5:14)
"Forsake all evil, hold fast that which is good." (Baha'i, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p.138)
"Do not what is evil. Do what is good." (Buddhism, Dhammapada 14:183)
"Do whatever you know to be good and do not do anything that you know to be not good." (Zoroastrianism, Pahlavi Texts)
LESS TALK- MORE WALK
"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead."(Christianity, James 2:17)
"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed." (Judaism, 1 Samuel 2:3)
"The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds."(Baha'i, Tablets of
Baha'u'llah, p. 156)
"If a man speaks many holy words but he speaks and does not, this thoughtless man cannot enjoy a life of holiness..." (Buddhism, Dhammapada 1:19)
"God does not accept belief if it is not expressed in deed, and does not accept deed if it does not conform to belief." (Islam, Hadith, Prophet Muhammad and His Mission, p. 83)
FORGIVENESS
"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men..."(Christianity, Mark 3:28)
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Judaism, Isaiah 55:7)
"Return ye to God and repent, that He, through His grace, may have mercy upon you,
may wash away your sins, and forgive your trespasses."
(Baha'i, Gleanings, p.130)
"I will make thee free from the bondage of sins. Fear no more."(Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 18:66)
"Despair not of God's mercy, for all sins doth God forgive. Gracious, merciful is He. And return ye to your Lord, and to Him resign yourselves..." (Islam, Qur'an 39:54-55)
THE GLORY OF GOD
"Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever."
(Philippians 4 :20)
"The heavens declare the glory of God." (Judaism, Psalms 19:1)
"The whole earth is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God's revelation." (Baha'i, Gleanings, p. 96)
"Behold the universe in the glory of God." (Hinduism, Isa Upanishad 1:1)
"The earth reflecteth the glory of its Lord." (Islam, Qur'an 39:69)
"The light of the sun, the sparkling dawn of the days, all this for Your praise, O Wise Lord." (Zoroastrianism, Gathas, Yasna 50:10)
SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND
"For everyone that asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:8)
"And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, When ye search for Me, with all your heart." (Judaism, Jeremiah 29:13)
"No man that seeketh Us will We ever disappoint, neither shall he that hath set his face towards Us be denied access unto Our court..."(Baha'i, Gleanings, pp. 271-272)
"Howsoever men approach Me, even so do I seek them."(Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 4:11)
"Whoso maketh efforts for Us, in Our ways will We guide them..."(Islam, Qur'an 29:69)
I DO NOTHING OF MYSELF
"I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:28)
"I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." (Judaism, Exodus 4:12)
"Not of Mine own volition have I revealed Myself, but God, of His Own choosing, hath manifested Me." (Baha'i, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p. 1)
"I but follow what is revealed to Me." (Islam, Qur'an 6:50)
"Do Thou teach Me, O Wise Lord, to proclaim according to Thy spirit..." (Zoroastrianism, Gathas, Yasna 28:11)
ONENESS OF HUMANITY
"[God] has made of one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." (Acts 3:195)
"Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another?" (Judaism, Malachi 2:10)
"Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch...."(Baha'i, Gleanings, p. 218)
"Many do not know that we are here in this world to live in harmony. Those who know this do not fight against each other." (Buddhism, Dhammapada 1:6)
"I command ye all to be equal under one holy command, I bring ye up all alike...Be united in your purpose, let your hearts be as one heart, minds of all as one mind so that your affairs may be cooperatively well organized." (Hinduism, Rig Veda 8:7)
"Ye are all parts one of another." (Islam, Qur'an 3:195)
THE ONLY WAY
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
"He that hath Me not is bereft of all things. Turn ye away from all that is on earth and seek none else but Me." (Baha'i, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 169)
"This is the path. There is no other that leads to vision."(Buddhism, Dhammapada 20:274)
"Abandoning all duties, come to Me alone for shelter." (Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 18:66)
"Whoso seeks guidence elsewhere, God will lead him astray."(Islam, Imam'Ali, Hadith)
"There is only one religious way. THIS ONE WAY IS THAT OF GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS, AND GOOD DEEDS, THE WAY OF HEAVEN, OF LIGHT AND OF PURITY, of the infinite Creator." (Zoroastrianism, The Teachings of the Magi, p.22)
PEACE
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
"...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3)
"These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come." (Baha'i, Baha'u'llah, cited in 'The Promissed Day is Come' by Shoghi Effendi, p. 116)
"Let us now abstain from taking life. That is a good thing that we may take up and do. And they will abstain from slaughter, and will continue in this good way..." (Buddhism, Dialogues of Buddha)
"The believers are but a single Brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation between your two [contending] brothers; and fear God, that ye may receive mercy." (Islam, Qur'an 49:10)
"O God, Holy Spirit, before all I pray to you in all humility with hands uplifted, for abiding peace, that all my deeds be inspired by righteousness; and for the wisdom of a good mind, so that I may bring peace to the soul of a good mind, so that I may bring peace to the soul of existence." (Zoroastrianism, 1992 Multifaith Calendar)
AS A MAN THINKS
"For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is." (Proverbs 23:7)
"Let one therefore keep his mind pure, for What a man thinks that he becomes." (Hinduism, Maitri Upanishad 6:34)
"The reality of man is his thought, not his physical body." (Baha'i, Abdu'l-Baha in 'Paris
Talks' p. 17)
"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind." (Buddhism, Dhammapada 1:1)
UNITY OF GOD
"The Lord our God is one Lord." (Mark 12:29)
"I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me."(Isaiah 45:5)
"Bear thou witness that verily He is God and there is no God but Him, the King, the Protector, the Incomparable, the Omnipotent."(Baha'i, The Tablet of Ahmad)
"But just how many Gods are there? 'One.'" (Hinduism, Upanishads)
"He is God alone: God the eternal...and there is none like unto Him."(Islam, Qur'an 112:1-2,4)
