Dear Mark: You ask if there are any texts which state that the institution of the Guardianship can exist without a living Guardian. Of course the physical presence of the Guardian as President of the Universal House of Justice is dependent upon there being a line of living Guardians. However, inasmuch as the main role of the Guardian was to provide interpretation of the Baha'i Writings and Teachings, perhaps the abiding influence of the Guardianship is attested in the following statement:
Future Guardians cannot "abrogate" the interpretations of former Guardians, as this would imply not only lack of guidance but mistakes in making them; however, they can elaborate and elucidate former interpretations, and can certainly abrogate some former ruling laid down as a temporary necessity by a former Guardian. (Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'í News #197, p. 6) With warm regards, Peter ---------- 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)
