Continuing on with my review of Reason and Revelation: Perhaps the richest essay in this collection is Frank Lewis' "Scripture as Literature." Dr. Lewis argues that understanding the background of many of the literary genre found in the Baha'i Writings can contribute immensely to our knowledge of the meaning the text. By understanding these texts meant within the context in which they were written we can better determine how to apply them to our own time. Lewis provides several examples of this comparing for instance the style of the Kitab-I Aqdas to that of the Qur'an, the Hidden Words to the hadith-I qudsi literature of Islam, the Kitab-i Iqan to the tafsir or Qur'anic commentaries. He also examines certain tropes found in Baha'u'llah's Writings such as the miraj or night journey of Muhammad, of Baha'u'llah's description of the puppet show found in the Lawh-I Rais which can be compared to a similar story by Attar. Each one of these themes could have been an article in and of itself, but even in this short space Lewis admirably demonstrates how knowledge of this background illuminates the meaning of these texts. One would think that this simple truth that any text, including scripture, must be understood within its context would go without saying. Unfortunately, as Lewis points out, so many Baha'is do not see this background of any great importance when it comes to their practical application. Lewis does us a great service by providing some concrete examples which demonstrate the contrary.
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