Could it be dear Brent that in the Babi Revelation the Lesser and Greater Covenants were fused into one
please peruse the passage below re Every Letter... solely... ***Consider likewise the Day of the Revelation of Him Whom God shall make manifest, He in Whose grasp lieth the source of proofs, and let not erroneous considerations shut thee out from Him, for He is immeasurably exalted above them, inasmuch as every proof proceedeth from the Book of God which is itself the supreme testimony, as all men are powerless to produce its like. Should myriads of men of learning, versed in logic, in the science of grammar, in law, in jurisprudence and the like, turn away from the Book of God, they would still be pronounced unbelievers. Thus the fruit is within the supreme testimony itself, not in the things derived therefrom. And know thou of a certainty that ****every letter revealed in the Bayan is solely ****intended to evoke submission unto Him Whom God shall make manifest, for it is He Who hath revealed the Bayan prior to His Own manifestation. V, 8. (The Bab: Selections from the Bab, Page: 104) single letter... ****Indeed those who will bear allegiance unto Him Whom God shall make manifest are the ones who have grasped the meaning of that which hath been revealed in the Bayan; they are indeed the sincere ones, while those who turn away from Him at the time of His appearance will have utterly failed to comprehend a single letter of the Bayan, even though they profess belief and assurance in whatever is revealed in it or observe its precepts. (The Bab: Selections from the Bab, Page: 138) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brent Poirier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 06 November 2003 06:33 Subject: The Lesser Covenant of the Bab > > My second question derives from the same sentence of the Guardian, in > which he describes the fruit of the Bab's three-year banishment to the > mountains of Adhirbayjan: > > "Little did he [Aqasi] imagine that the very isolation he was forcing upon > his Prisoner would enable Him to evolve the System designed to incarnate > the soul of His Faith, and would afford Him the opportunity of > safeguarding it from disintegration and schism..." > (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 18) > > "The last three and most eventful years of the Báb's ministry had, as we > have observed in the preceding pages, witnessed ... the establishment of > that Lesser Covenant which was to safeguard the unity of His followers and > pave the way for the advent of an incomparably mightier Revelation." > (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 30) > > "The Covenant of the Báb, to which reference has already been made, with > its immutable truths, incontrovertible prophecies, and repeated warnings, > stood guard over that Faith, insuring its integrity, demonstrating its > incorruptibility, and perpetuating its influence." > (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By p. 170) > > The House of Justice has explained that the Lesser Covenant of a > Manifestation concerns maintenance of the unity of the Faith during His > Dispensation: > > "There is, for example, the Greater Covenant which every Manifestation of > God makes with His followers, promising that in the fullness of time a new > Manifestation will be sent, and taking from them the undertaking to accept > Him when this occurs. There is also the Lesser Covenant that a > Manifestation of God makes with His followers that they will accept His > appointed successor after Him. If they do so, the Faith can remain united > and pure." > (The Universal House of Justice, letter to an individual believer dated 23 > March, 1975, Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, p. 111, Compilation on > the Covenant) > > So to summarize, the Greater Covenant concerns the next Manifestation, and > the Bab's promise of Baha'u'llah was, then, His Greater Covenant. > > The Lesser Covenant concerns the Successorship and maintains the unity of > the Faith during the Prophet's Dispensation. Shoghi Effendi states in the > above three quotes that during His banishment the Bab revealed His > Covenant which safeguarded His Faith from schism; established His Lesser > Covenant which safeguarded the unity of His followers; and that the > Covenant of the Bab insured the integrity of His Faith. These three > quotes sound like the function of the Covenant concerning the > successorship. > > However, as Shoghi Effendi has written: > > "A successor or vicegerent the Báb never named, an interpreter of His > teachings He refrained from appointing." > (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 28) > > What, then, constituted the Lesser Covenant of the Bab? > > Brent > > ---------- > You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Baha'i Studies is available through the following: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st > news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st > http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) > http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public) > ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
