thanks for the correction Mark. I knew I was not completely correct there, but did not know how to make clear what I meant in another way.
about the Bahai faith: what I feel is that there are different ideas in the Bahai faith because people are different. My take is that one idea cannot develop in a different school of thought leading to schisms, just like in previous religions. Because when one believes in Baha'u'llah one has to accept His Will and Testament and accepting this will have to lead to the accepting of Abdu'l-Bahas Will and Testament. What happens after that, is a bit tricky because there is no official document other than what is written aboutthe functions of the Hands of the Cause which is as clear as those two Wills in who is going to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi. However, I think that logic plays a role here, in who is going to be the successor with regard to central point of the covenant.
I find it actually very interesting, this concept of each able to do their own interpretation of the writings and at the same time the establishment of a center of the covenant who/which can legislate, has the final say. In previous times and in this time, if we did not have the injunction of Baha'u'llah and the two written Wills, different interpretations led to different schools of thought and could end in schism.
I believe that each Bahai has their own version of the Bahai faith.
much love,
janine van rooij
"Mark A. Foster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi, Janine,
At 07:17 AM 1/24/2005, you wrote:
>>The problem I see is that various religions have different views on how things should be handled. all religions except the Bahai faith have priests and different schools of thought.<<
Actually, there are many religions which do not have clergy, including Hicksite Quakerism (Friends General Conference in the U.S.), Doukhoborism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Christian Science, the Theosophical Society, Christadelphianism, etc.
There may officially be no schools of thought in the Baha'i Faith. However, I think that the varied postings on the Internet would indicate the presence of several schools of thought, or "Baha'i faiths," among Baha'is.
Regards, Mark A. Foster � http://markfoster.net � [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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