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I read that Monism and Pantheism form a majority of the backbone of Sufi teachings. I know that the Baha'i Faith rejects those parts of Sufism. Here's where things get complicated I read in a book the the Baha'i Faith rejects both Monism and Dualism. Well, the autohor was non-authoritative so I want to know the official position. There are alot of misconceptions of Dualism. 1. God is not omni-present in Dualism. (Actually, Dualists do believe that God is omnipresent, but the everything remains distinct. Also, Dualists believe that God is all-pervading and penetrates all existence while remaining a distinct reality.) 2. Things can exist independent of God in Dualism. (Actually, Dualists believe everything depends on and is under the control of God, but that is not grounds for claiming identity.) 3. Dualists do not believe in universal salvation. (Actually, this belief is true as eternal damnation for some is part of Dualism. The Baha'i Faith does believe in unforgiveable sin.) 4. Dualist believe in the God with rather than without attributes. (Actually, Dualist believe in the God who transcends attribute while still having use for them. A Baha'i prayer implies this view too.) 5. Dualists beleive that God is unkowable. (Yes, but they mean God is too infinite for humans ever to fully understand.) 6. Dualist contradict themselves when they use Monistic or Monistic-Dualistic metaphors. (Yes, Dualist do tend to have beliefs that involve using metaphors that imply Monism, but the imlpied Monism collapsed into Dualsim when you pry into their meanings. There not a contradiction. Examples include: Fire and sparks, Sun and Rays, Object and reflections, Ocean and waves, Original and copies, etc...) 7. Dualists beleive that God is a person. (Yes, I have put in several true points to make sure everyone pays attention. God is the supreme being. Monisits, some not all, believe that for that to be true God has to be an impersonal Absolute.) 8. Dualists believe that God is the efficient cause of everything. (Yes, Dualists beleive in materia theory, the world being co-etrnal with God. The Baha'i Faith implies the same. Monists beleive that God is the material cuase of everything.) Etc... I will list more miscopnceptions later, but you can see how many misconceptions people have about Dualism. What is wrong with Dualism to reject about? __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[email protected] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [email protected] Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[email protected] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [email protected] Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[email protected] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [email protected] Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
