On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 17:57:57 -0600, Mark A. Foster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Gilberto, > At 05:19 PM 1/24/2005, you wrote: > >>I guess one of the things which makes me say what I said, especially with > >>regard to prophets is the notion of sinlessness.<< > However, sinlessness by what standard? Moses was allegedly called a murderer. > Some Christians accuse Muhammad of having been a pedophile. Ultimately, all > that matters is the divine standard relative to a particular place and moment > in time.
Gilberto: Personally I don't see the above issues as requiring or suggesting relativism. In the case of Moses one could argue that the death was in self-defense. The issue of Muhammad and Aishah might be addressed by pointing out that marrying a young woman, while atypical, is ultimately not a moral issue. > > >>There are a couple of different reasons for this idea, but I think that one > >>of them is that since God expects us to follow the prophets, the prophets > >>are supposed to act in ways worthy of emulating. Somehow their good > >>character helps us to recognize them.<< > I did not accept Baha'u'llah based on His character. In fact, I knew next to > nothing about Him when I became a Baha'i in 1970. For whatever *reason*, my > heart responded to His claim, and I recognized His Station. However, in all > honestly, I can't remember the last time I ever thought about Baha'u'llah's > character. > Gilberto: That seems sort of odd. Peace Gilberto. > >>Otherwise, what criteria would you use to pick Bahaullah over David Koresh > >>or Jim Jones or the Heaven's Gate people?<< > > As I said, I am not much of an apologist. However, IMO, one should accept the > Soul and Spirit of the Prophet, not His historical personality (including His > character, etc.). At least that is how I see it. How do you access the soul and spirit if not through the historical personality? Peace Gilberto - "My people are hydroponic" __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
