I hope all of you have survived the biggest flu season in the United States for many years! It was labeled epidemic only a few days before Christmas, guaranteeing that holiday travel would be extra hazardous, alas. So far, husband and I have managed to avoid even a Winter cold, although children and grandchildren did come down with one of the several strands of flu going around.

I have for many years held to the very unpopular opinion that flu shots are at best a placebo, and at worst, a triumph of advertising; so I never buy a flu shot. I mention this bit of personal history only to suggest that I have some experience with what happens to people voicing unpopular ideas, and not that I am an equal of Copernicus, Luther, or any other of the great thinkers of history who have been martyred for their ideas.

It doesn't seem to matter whether the issue is religious or philosophical or scientific: new information that threatens currently held notions will be resisted. In order to deal the explosion of data these days, humanity is going to need guidance and skills from both science AND religion in order to survive, let alone build a better world.

Here's the latest article from the Baha'i site at BellaOnline.com.

Why Science and Religion Work Together
Religion without reason is superstition; science without ethics is crass materialism. Each provides the other with necessary tools to succeed in building a prosperous and peaceful world. Science and religion are wings of the same bird.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art300559.asp

Do visit bahai.bellaonline.com for more articles on ways to change the world through improved parenting, education, and tools for character building, plus links to the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. You don't have to rely on only my understanding, when you can go straight to the source!

Join free online discussions, view time sensitive announcements and check out interesting external links in the site forum located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=321

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback.

Cheryll Schuette, Baha'i Editor
http://bahai.bellaonline.com

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