Speaker Jeremy Fox

Rotary Club of Stirling Meeting of 16/12/15

President Peter Mehta welcomed members to the club's Xmas lunch.
John Rankin advised us we have 30 tickets available for Bridge of Allan opera on 3/3/16. Our charity collection in the Thistle centre is on Tuesday 29th December.
Our speaker was Rotarian Jeremy Fox, his subject, the Baha'i faith. The religion emerged in Persia, in the mid-19th century, and it's founder was Baha'u'llah . He had been preceded by a John the Baptist like figure, the Bab, who prophesied the coming of a new religious thinker.
Baha'u'llah's views were not acceptable in Shiah Persia, resulting in the persecution of his followers and his expulsion into exile in the Ottoman Empire. After several moves, initially to Baghdad then Constantinople, he was eventually imprisoned near Acre, where he remained until his death. Although he never left the middle East Bahais spread throughout the world, and it is now, after Christianity, the second most disseminated religion on earth. It has three core principles: There is only one God source of all creation: All major religions have the same spiritual source, and all humans are created equal. The challenge is to move from division to unification of humanity. Sixty years after his death Bab's remains were interred in Haifa on Mount Carmel, which has become the spiritual and administrative centre for the religion. The UN has recognized the Baha'i International Community as an NGO.
An excellent  vote of thanks was given by Ian Richardson The next meeting of the club is on 8/1/16. Speakers host Derek Anderson, Visitors host Philip Allison.

Dr Ian Richardson