Faith and Reason in the Baha'i Faith with Peggy and David Schlesinger

Conversation with the Rabbi

Rabbi Michael Beyo and Dr. Adrian McIntyre talk with Peggy and David Schlesinger about the origins of the Baha'i Faith and its outlook on the past, present, and future of our world.

Peggy and David Schlesinger are members of the Baha'i Faith, an independent world religion that began in Iran in 1844 and has spread to well over 200 countries and territories. The Prophet-founder is Baha’u’llah, which means Glory of God in English. Baha'is believe in the Oneness of God, meaning all religions stem from the same God; the Oneness of Religion, in that all religions are different installments of the same plan of God; and the Oneness of Humanity, i.e. we are all from the same family and need to eliminate prejudice of all kinds in order to achieve a peaceful and thriving society. They also believe in Harmony of Science and Religion, the equality of women and men, and the requirement of education for all. Learn more at https://www.chandlerbahai.org/

Peggy Schlesinger was a teacher of the hearing-impaired and worked in Fort Madison, Iowa and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her Masters of Business Administration at University of New Mexico and worked for Sandia National Laboratories for many years. She moved to Chandler 27 years ago and worked for Intel Corporation as an Enterprise Data Architect, analyzing and organizing data structures throughout the corporation, until she retired. She is married with one grown child. Peggy is a member of the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'i Faith does not have any clergy, but she has served many years on the Local Spiritual Assembly, an elected administrative body. In her hope to raise awareness of the importance of unity in diversity, which requires us to eliminate all forms of prejudice, she has served on the For Our City Chandler, Chandler Diversity Advisory Group, and Chandler-4-Change. She is one of the organizers for the Chandler Baha'i "Race 4 Unity" Family Fun Walk-Run annual event, which is hoped to resume next year at Tumbleweed Park. She also teaches children’s spiritual education classes on a weekly basis and hosts a monthly interfaith devotional, focusing on social justice.

David Schlesinger has been a Baha'i for many years, and lived in a number of different Baha'i communities across the nation. His career background includes public communications, writing, cinematography, marketing management, advertising, management consultation, TV and film production, and for the past twenty years, he has worked in the field of Information Technology and cyber security. His recent experience before retiring includes Intel Corporation, where he was Data Security Architect. David has a Masters in Organizational Management, authored two US government patents for innovative data security methods on behalf of Intel Corporation, and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He serves the Baha'i Faith as a volunteer at the Baha'i Internet Association Cyber-Security committee which publishes the Cyber Trends and Analysis Report. David is also a supportive husband and helps his wife in her volunteer projects. Currently, David is retired and lives in Chandler, Arizona with his wife Peggy, and a roomful of computers.

Conversation with the Rabbi is a project of the East Valley Jewish Community Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, neighborhood organization that has served individuals and families inclusive of all races, religions, and cultures since 1972. Visit us online at https://www.evjcc.org

The Conversation with the Rabbi podcast is supported by a grant from Arizona Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.

The show is recorded and produced in the studio of PHX.fm, the leading independent B2B podcast network in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more at https://phx.fm