I have not followed all the postings on this, but have several questions:
Is there anything from the Central Figures of Shoghi Effendi that defines the
scopes and limits of legislation by the House of Justice (other than the 13th
Glad Tidings passage)?
In that passage, Baha'u'llah states: "All matters of State should be referred
to the House of Justice, but acts of worship must be observed according to that
which God hath revealed in His Book."
However, commenting on this passage (and I don't have the text handy), Shoghi
Effendi through a secretary (as I recall) stated that the scope of what the
House can rule on includes rulings on the Obligatory Prayers.
Now I think we can all agree that Obligatory Prayer is not affair of the State,
but rather it's an act of worship. Further, the House of Justice *has*
legislated on certain aspects of performance of Obligatory Prayers, such as,
whether a particular verse is to said once with hands raised 3 times, or vice
versa, etc.
So, when Shoghi Effendi explained the scope of UHJ included legislation on
Obligatory Prayers, did he have in mind a House of Justice that had a living
Guardian serving on it, who could interpret the intent of Baha'u'llah?
In other words, in this instance, is there a difference between the scope of
House of Justice without a living Guardian and one with a living Guardian?
Regards, Ahang.
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