Firestorm wrote:
the beloved Guardian told us that if he had something to say to everybody, he did.
and if he had advice for a person, he did, but it had no binding nature.
A very good post, Firestorm.
It brings to mind the general question -- and my response is to all the folks on this
I take very seriously what `Abdu'l-Baha said about not having that book under one's
roof. It's an unusually strong warning.
I don't personally think that the fact that it's over a century old, means that it is
incapable of taking the burnish off of one's devotion to the Master.
I don't buy
Is there someone on this list in Sacramento, California who can assist me with a brief
research matter?
Thanks
Brent
attorney (at) cybermesa dot com
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Some disconnected thoughts, I haven't worked all of this through.
1. The Guardian stated that he is not infallible in economics or science. Somehow,
history got added to that list. It is entirely possible that he is *not* infallible
in writing or editing history; my point is that he didn't
.
Brent Poirier, President
People United Against Plate Tectonics
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I understand troops to mean significant groups of people, comparable to the
incidents in the Acts of the Apostles when hundreds and thousands became believers at
one time (Acts 2:41, 4:4).
It is my understanding that the dawn of entry by troops was in 1953:
Rejoice to share with Bah'
It might be useful to review with your friend the chapter in Some Answered Questions
in which the Master interprets the 11th Chapter of the Revelation of St. John. In
this, He shows that the Prophet Muhammad is promised in the Bible in holy and
santified terms as one of the two Witnesses; but
The word jihad literally means to make the greatest effort. It is my impression
that it gradually came to mean to make war; and this may even be a complete distortion
and hijacking of the word's original intent (I'm interested in knowing if that is the
case). As an Arabic word, it does not
My recollection is that Hand of the Cause Bill Sears wrote in God Loves Laughter that
he read the Dawn-breakers, and informed Marguerite that he was a Babi.
This lasted for some time, and then he read about Baha'u'llah. Likewise I don't think
this lady did anything but a noble thing.
The Bab
I heard that Shoghi Effendi at one point removed a person from the Cause without
declaring him an enemy of the Faith or a Covenant-breaker, based on the verse leave
that soul to himself. That is, that there was precedent for the House of Justice
removing a person from the rolls.
Brent
This interpretation of corrupt religious leaders as merchants
That's a very interesting interpretation. And to me, it does not in the slightest
degrade the profession of merchant.
Similarly, in the Book of Revelation the new Law is foreshadowed as a woman (12:1);
and corrupt religion as a
There's a website devoted to people who lead these scammers down the garden path. The
ones who say that they were at a diplomatic reception and got your name from the
ambassador; or that they know you are a good and decent Christian, and will treat the
matter with discretion, so here's how to
- Original Message -
Forwarded From: Varqa Magazine Secretariat
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 9:21 AM
Subject: Please help us help your children
Subject: Please help us help your children
Dear Baha'i Friend
Once more we write to request that if you intended to subscribe to
This prayer, or ode to the Shrine of the Bab written by Shoghi Effendi, is a part of
his Naw-Ruz 1955 Message to the Baha'is of Persia. The translation was approved by
the Universal House of Justice, and excerpts from it are included in Hand of the Cause
Khadem's article, The Mountain of God
Does anyone know of a Baha'i studying to become a Certified Financial Planner?
Please contact me directly
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mariposa at newmexico dot com
Thanks
Brent
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Also there are many websites where you can hear the verses of the Qur'an recited:
This is the chapter you requested:
http://www.jannah.org/quran/ghamdi_fatiha.ram
Also: http://www.jannah.org/quran/
Also: http://www.hamoislam.com/quraan.htm
Also: http://www.jannah.org/mamalist/Audio/
Brent
A woman at this morning's fireside asked for a scholarly treatment of Progressive
Revelation. I would be grateful for your recommendations.
Moojan Momen's The Phenomenon of Religion is in the right spirit and has the
scholarly approach, but its focus is more on comparative religion, a thematic
I thought James did a great job of answering from the Bible. If the show had not done
a hatchet job of editing out when the Baha'is made sound points, what we read would be
very different. But the purpose of Mr. Ankerberg is to show the errant ways of
everybody else but him. If it were a fair
I am also interested; but I am also quite busy with existing projects.
My own take on the Ruhi approach, is that the House is more interested in instilling
the *methodology* than in the *content* of the Ruhi program. That is, the House
wanted to break two molds. One mold, the more important
Baha'u'llah explains in His Writings (Iqan 139 ff., ESW 115 ff.) that the Scriptures
of all Faiths promise the Presence of God on the earth. This is one of those verses:
'Where is the Lord your God?' . . . In that day He shall come to you from Assyria and
the fortified cities, from the
The US NSA has taken out a full page ad in today's New York Times, page 17 in the
first section. It is described in this article from the World Center.
Brent
- Original Message -
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 7:05 AM
Subject: New Baha'i World News Service
In studying this passage I realized it wasn't the
common understanding of the words in the sense of turning
away. No, he had to deviate from the path he was on, go out of the way,
detour, and purposely seek out what this was, altering his course from then
on.
This reminds me of something one
1. Okay, but, in all seriousness, why should anyone care about the supposed
findings of tutors?
Because the feedback process is extremely valuable. It moves a group from
theory into actuality. It is an established part of good planning -- evaluate
how you're doing. My impression of the Ruhi
Ron wrote:
I brought up two examples of areas where a strictly literal view of the
infallibility of the Writings (in this case the Writings of Abdul Baha) leads
some Baha'is to see the necessity to dis-believe in the science of evolution
and quantum physics. Do you believe in the need to come
Dear Ron:
Its my understanding that Bahaullah demonstrates a hundred times in the
course of the Iqan that a literal approach to Scripture is a superficial one.
But I see that as entirely different from what you have said here about the
Book. You seem to me to be conflating a non-literal
Our friend Gilberto wrote:
There are also scathing condemnations of Muslims as a community
In the Baha'i Writings there are criticisms of Jews who did not recognize Jesus
Christ, and Christians who did not recognize Muhammad, and Muslims who did not
recognize the Bab and Baha'u'llah, and have
I do not believe in what I call physical miracles; that is,
violations of the scientific laws of the universe (such as gravity).
That does not make spirituality and religion any less wonderful. Far from it.
This reminds me of poets who also know the scientific basis of beautiful
natural
Khazeh wrote:
My dear Brother Brent, May I openly thank you for your postings
You know, one of the things that happened in Baha'i history is that the Baha'is
in Ishqabad, who had been attacked by Muslim mobs, spoke up at the trials of
the Muslims and requested the court to reduce their
Tutor: I don't think any of the ideas you have described is wrong or
undesirable in principle. The problem is .that referring to them as elements of
a Ruhi method introduces rigidity into a process that is otherwise simple,
joyful, and sensitive to a diversity of needs. For example, you all
I am only aware of one Baha'i law that is directly derived from the Qur'an:
And in the matter of Zakat, We have
likewise decreed that you should follow what hath
been revealed in the Qur'n.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablet of Questions and Answers No. 107, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p.
140)
There are other Baha'i
1. As far as Thief in the Night, my recollection is that Mr. Sears told us that
he wrote that book when he was a Catholic. I know from his wife Marguerite
that he left behind a good number of unpublished works including plays that
were fully scripted. So he was a prolific writer, and
Let's say that for whatever reason certain religious militant
fundamentalists look at the Bahai faith's global ambitions and claims to have
superceded the previous religions and see the growing Bahai faith as a threat.
First it should be said that there is precious little in the Baha'i Writings
That is interesting. Do you have the specific reference for that?
Especially the ban on holy war.
We should also bear in mind that the distinguishing character of the Bah'
Revelation does not solely consist in the completeness and unquestionable
validity of the Dispensation which the
Although Shoghi Effendi said that abortions should not be permitted unless
authorized by the woman's physician
I suggest that is an incomplete statement of the teachings on the subject. I
have posted some quotes below that put the matter of consulation with the
physician into a context.
there
The Baha'i Writings are filled with praise of the previous Revelations sent
down by God. Similarly, the Writings of all of the Prophets praise the
Revelations that preceded Them.
At the same time, a Revelation is sent for a specific season. When that season
is finished, the force of the
Each Universal Cycle has two stages. The first is the Cycle of Prophecy, and
the second is the Cycle of Fulfillment.
Abdu'l-Baha stated that the Bab signalized the termination of the 'Prophetic
Cycle' and the inception of the 'Cycle of Fulfillment'. (God Passes By, p. 57)
Adam was the first
It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is
divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed
Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that
have preceded it. The designation Seal of the Prophets fully
As we strive to grasp the meaning of omniscience at will, I personally think
that the starting point is that this is manifestly beyond our ability to grasp.
As in one of the quotes from the Master from SAQ, He states that there are
matters beyond the capacity of man to know. So symbols are
It is my understanding that there was no Maiden. Shoghi Effendi writes of
Baha'u'llah's vision of the Maiden in the Siyah-Chal that the Maiden, and all
the other images used for the earlier Manifestations of God, were symbols:
...at so critical an hour and under such appalling circumstances
As to the ways Baha'u'llah aids us in the Iqan to recognize the Manifestation,
and whether logic is involved.
In my personal view, one needs to approach the Iqan without preconceptions as
to what Baha'u'llah will offer as proofs. Instead, to see what He actually
presents as proofs and
for
instance, the famous passage where Bah'u'llah sees tablet in His mind,
i do nopt thhink He actually 'sees a Tablet but He chose that phrase
and image to try to communicate His reality to us.
There is an interesting record of a conversation in one of Stanwood Cobb's
books, I don't recall
Could anyone else tell me, what stands out in your mind about why you
converted. What was the thing that grabbed you adn convinced you. The other
thing I keep wondering about is certainty. I freely admit, I have little
certainly about anything. I really am amazed at the degree of certainty
Two of Cobb's books are on line, The Unity of Nations and Islamic
Contributions to Civilization.
http://bahai-library.com/etc/author.html
Brentcito
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I remember reading a statement from the Universal House of Justice in which it
said that the rank of the Trustees of the Huquq is higher than that of the
Counsellors. I can't locate it, and wonder if any of you know where it is.
Thanks
Brent
__
Thank you for looking that up, Richard.
The House wrote a letter dated March 22, 1978, Elucidation of Bah' Teachings
on Ranks and Stations (Messages from The Universal House of Justice 1963-1986,
pp. 375 ff.)
Among the statements in that letter:
the Boards of Counsellors outrank the National
As to reserving a hotel, the Office of Pilgrimage sends out a list, about a
year ahead of time, giving the hotels recommended by the House of Justice.
You can make arrangements directly with the hotel. We instead opted, at the
suggestion of one of the friends, to use the services of Palex
The Tradition of the Thirty-six Hidden Just Men,
Vahid, do you, or does anyone else, see a relation between this tradition and
this somewhat mysterious statement of Baha'u'llah?
Brent
Behold, Bah'u'llh further explains in the Kitb-i-Badi', one of His works
refuting the arguments of the
Actually it was a Universal House of Justice
decision that ruled that women could not be on the UHJ.
I would like to offer my own take on this.
I think that what the House decided, was that it is not a matter on which it
can legislate, as the Text has already addressed the subject. The House
Let's face it, we can discuss this stuff for centuries, but it all comes down
to this. To anyone who reads the Bible the way we Baha'is read our Writings,
then Islam is false. To anyone who reads the Quran the way we Baha'is read
our Writings, it is clear that Baha'u'llah is false. It can be
Why would the punishment be in the book if it wasn't ever supposed to be
enforced?
For emphasis, to show divine displeasure with the prohibited deed.
If the law was intended to be enforced, Baha'u'llah would not have provided an
alternative -- life imprisonment without parole.
This is a very
As far as letters from the Secretariat on behalf of the House of Justice, as
distinguished from letters signed The Universal House of Justice: My feeling
is that this may be more of an honorific matter. Letters from the Universal
House of Justice itself, must be signed by a member of the
Brent wrote: For example on page 6 of the Constitution, quoted from WOB
153, the Guardian states that the House is divinely guided whether it is
making legislative, administrative, or judicial decisions.
Susan Wrote: What passage from the World Order of Baha'u'llah are you
referring to
Hi Susan, you wrote:
That particular passage does not strike me as saying anything different than
what is true of all of our elected institutions...
It seems to me that that entire passage from the Guardian quoted by the House
in its Constitution is an elucidation of the verse God will verily
Hi Susan, you write:
I'm still not persuaded that the Guardian is making a point about any
'uniqueness' to the divine guidance of the House of Justice in this passage. It
seems to me he is describing the same process that all our elected insitutions
are expected to follow. Mind you, I do think
Because Baha'u'llah makes no mention of the Institution of the Guardianship by
name in His Writings; and because even those references in His Writings to a
hereditary successor are limited to Him Who hath branched from this mighty
Stock, Him Who hath branched from this Ancient Root, and the
Abdu'l-Baha envisioned a Universal House of Justice that would have a living
Guardian serving on it at all times, and as its Head. In that formulation,
why wouldn't the infallibility of the House come through the Guardian?
I would like to offer some thoughts on this subject raised by Haji
I wrote: Why would the Master and Baha'u'llah establish such a provision,
if in Their divine wisdom and foresight they knew it would never come about?
Susan replied: First off, as you know it was Abdu'l-Baha, not Baha'u'llah
who made this provision. But on what do you base you assumption
The Master wrote:
As for the reference in The Hidden Words regarding the Covenant entered into
on Mount Paran, this signifieth that in the sight of God the past, the present
and the future are all one and the same -- whereas, relative to man, the past
is gone and forgotten, the present is
As someone who enjoys reading history, I would be a bit careful with such
sources as Priceless Pearl. Often in their enthusiasm, some authors read back
events into what actually was said or had occurred. For instance, why would
Baha'u'llah be telling Abdu'l-Baha to look among His *grandsons*
Susan, you ask what provision the Master made for the House of Justice to
function without a Guardian.
In looking at the first part of the Master's Will (p. 14) we see that the
Master provided for the Guardian to be a member of, and to chair, the House of
Justice. This is what I would term
On the other hand I think you go far beyond anything which is
expicitly found in the Writings when you assert that Abdu'l-Baha
established a Guardianship knowing it would end with Shoghi Effendi.
That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that the Master designated the House of
Justice to
If God planned our marriages, then what was He thinking when He planned over
900 wives for Nasiri'd-Din Shah?
Baha'u'llah said that if the Shah opposed Him, judgment would be rendered
against him!
Brent
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I would like to illustrate from another passage of his writings where his
intention is perhaps clearer, what Shoghi Effendi means by the term mutilated.
In his introduction to God Passes By he explains that the periods of Baha'i
history must be understood as one inseparable whole; to divorce
Tim wrote:
Surely, near the end of his life, Shoghi Effendi must have
realized there would not be any Guardian after him.
After twenty years of marriage, he had no children,
and Ruhiyyih Khanum was nearing the end of child-bearing
years. By that time, all of the other Aghsan had broken
the
I am loving this.
For one thing, every time I read about the Druze I read that their beliefs are
unknown and undiscoverable; so it is very helpful to read this summary.
Secondly, up until Dr. Younis Khan's Memoirs were recently published, the only
information we had in English about the
Check these two links:
http://www.bnasaa.org/LINKSPAGE.htm
http://www.bamhp.org/
Brent
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Tim, my own view is the same as yours, as far as the reason for repetition.
I heard from a man who heard from Hand of the Cause Samandari, that Baha'u'llah
told Samandari words to the effect When you want your listener to remember
something, say it three times.
I cannot now locate a passage in
Do the sacred Texts speak of how to attain fanaa and baqaa?
Thanks
Brent
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Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in
An interesting parallel between being unswayed by the insinuations of the
rebellious, and being unmoved by slander; and the image of the Temple in both
quotations.
Brent
We, verily, have ordained this Temple to be the source of all existence in the
new creation, that all may know of a
In the Suratu'l-Haykal, Baha'u'llah writes of the Hands:
O Living Temple! Stretch forth Thy hand over all who are in heaven and on
earth, and seize within the grasp of Thy Will the reins of command. We have,
verily, placed in Thy right hand the empire of all things. Do as Thou willest,
and
One more thing about the Hands. I have always wondered why, when Shoghi
Effendi translated the Master's Will, he inserted the parenthetical phrase
(pillars) after the word Hands (pp. 3, 10, 11 and 25). This verse from the
Suratu'l-Haykal, part of the same passage I quoted in the previous
Hi Sandra. You ask where I see the Institution of the Hands referred to, or
perhaps foreshadowed, in this passage from Baha'u'llah.
There are two things. The first is to look at the entire section in context:
O Living Temple! Stretch forth Thy hand over all who are in heaven and on
earth, and
Vaughn, super job of locating other references to withholding. Thank you,
that's right on target and what I was looking for.
Sandra, I quite agree that in this Tablet the Manifestation is addressing His
own eyes, heart, ears and hands. But then, I believe He transitions into both
viewing the
Should you acquaint yourself with the indignities heaped upon the Prophets of
God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced by their
oppressors, you will surely appreciate the significance of their position.
Moreover, the more closely you observe the denials of those who have
In the course of the Suratu'l-Haykal, in the portion addressed to the Shah,
Baha'u'llah writes of the meaning of rendering assistance to God:
. . . what is preferable in the sight of God is that the cities of men's
hearts, which are ruled by the hosts of self and passion, should be subdued by
Other friends on this list have written:
In particular, let's consider the Master's emphatic statement which you
quoted, To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express
his particular conviction. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center
of the Cause and the House of
Have you ever seen any decision by the Universal House of Justice, that
forbids us to promote the inclusion of Women on the Universal House of
Justice, or a Guardian after
Shoghi Effendi, or any other view in particular?
Id like to address a few points. The first is the meaning of the word
In His Words of Wisdom Baha'u'llah admonishes us not to imitate others:
The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to
free himself from idle fancy and imitation... (Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)
Yet in another place, He urges us to follow the learned who possess
Check with the National Center. I believe that they will put interested Baha'i
couples in touch with mothers who wish their children adopted by Baha'is.
Probably the Office of Community Administration.
Brent
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Gilberto wrote:
So one possibility is that Bahaullah was the first in the sense that
perhaps his claims were the most explicit. But you are also willing to say
that it doesn't really mean anything in particular?
Well, there is more to it than that. While the essential unity of the
The Holy Qur'an says that this charging with insanity against the Sent Ones of
God is something that deniers bequeath to each other
The same spirit animates the deniers in every age:
No sooner did He [the Bab] reveal Himself, than all the people rose up against
Him. By some He was denounced as
This is a very hot item, in a very unstable and fluid situation. While I watch
with interest, and I'm sure that the House is carefully monitoring the
situation, I do not feel qualified to comment for a couple of reasons.
One is that I am not at all a constitutional law scholar. I think the
Yes.
Courts are where disputes are brought and resolved in our society. In some
instances there can be arbitration; but even in arbitration, the arbitrator's
decision is filed with the court, and the power of the court is used to enforce
it.
I recall reading, in Balyuzi I believe, that as a
The only way I know to respond, to perhaps be of service in your search for
answers, is to share my own personal experience.
In 1968 during the Vietnam War, I was a Catholic, and after reading Tolstoy's
letters to Christian soldiers, based on his interpretation of the Gospel,
became a
(David, this is for you, I trust you will read it and weigh it carefully. --
Brent)
Comments on the Subject of Politics
7 July 1976
To an individual Bah'
Dear Bah' friend,
173.1 The Universal House of Justice received your letter of 15 May conveying
your thoughts on the need for Bah's to
Fear is a hard thing to let go of, and you continue to express fear that the
Muslims will suffer at the hands of the Baha'is, as the Jews suffered at the
hands of Nazis who claimed to be Christians. Such fear causes such
intellectual leaps, and enables oneself to perceive them as logical.
If you read pp 172-179 of The World Order of Baha'u'llah, you will see the
above quotation in context. In it, Shoghi Effendi outlines God's punishment of
the leaders and institutions of Islam, and he names who he speaking about.
I suggest that your fear of the Baha'is is misplaced.
You are
The institutions the Guardian and the Master write about, the International
Executive, the International Executive, the International Force -- none of
these are Baha'i institutions, none of these are under the governance of the
Universal House of Justice.
This is the secular stage of the
It's my personal understanding that when the Guardian states that the face of
the dead should be towards the Qiblih, that is what he means by the feet
pointing towards it.
I think it is a way of burying the body so that even the dead are symbolically
circumambulating the Shrine of Baha'u'llah.
As far as protests, or various political activities prohibited to Baha'is: We
do not urge all people to abandon the realm of politics. We recognize that the
role of some people is to participate in the political realm.
The role of the Baha'is is not to participate in the politics, but to have
Tim Nolan wrote:
While I agree with this, it occurs to me that Muslims may actually
be afraid to speak out against the persecution of Baha'is, for fear
that they themselves will become targets of the violence and venom
of fanatics. If a Muslim believes that speaking up in defense of
the Baha'is
Mark is a sociologist. I would compare this to a physician who holds strong
moral opinions and has a well-defined belief system. But when a patient is
before him and he is caring for him, he does not care what that person's
beliefs are; in fact does not care if the person is a criminal. He
Let's think through the question of whether Baha'u'llah chose His Name because
it was mentioned in the Revelation of John explicitly.
He assumed this name when He lived in Iraq; or was He still living in Iran?
Both countries 90% Muslim. If His intention was to posture His name to fulfill
I am curious what verses you folks feel the Bab may mean when He writes As is
divinely foretold in the Qur'an.
And from the moment when the Tree of the Bayan appeared until it disappeareth
is the Resurrection of the Apostle of God, as is divinely foretold in the
Qur'an; the beginning of which
This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you
and chosen for you Islam as a religion. - Qur'an 5:3
The stage of perfection of everything is reached when its resurrection
occurreth. The perfection of the religion of Islam was consummated at the
beginning of
22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him,
and saying, 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 22:37
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the
In a Baha'i liberation theology, what role, if any, should Baha'is play in
freeing the poor from oppressive capitalism? Will we be judged if we do not?
What did you have in mind as a means of freeing the poor from oppressive
capitalism?
I'll later return to the question of why are you limiting
Importers, such as the U.S., have little incentive to protest; and any outrage
is drowned out by the demand for cheaper goods
Mark, please clarify. I doubt there is a nation on the planet that is not an
importer.
Well, the economic abuse of migrant workers is still going on.
To remedy the
In the Holy Books, the recognition of the Manifestation is presented
symbolically in many different ways. Symbols using all five of the senses are
employed -- seeing the Prophet means recognizing Him (Luke 24:16 and 24:31);
as does eating His body (Mark 14:22) and touching His body (Luke 5:13;
These are all extracts taken from a memorandum of the Research Department to
the Universal House of Justice dated 14 December 1987.
Brent
...we cannot be sure how much or how little of the four Gospels are accurate
and include the words of Christ and His undiluted teachings, all we can be sure
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