David, At 10:00 AM 1/5/2004 +0000, you quoted: >>I tend to take prophecy stuff with a grain of salt. If the Baha'i Writings say X is >>fulfilled, fine. But if you want to "refute" them, sometimes they're pretty easy.<<
I agree with this person's assessment of prophecy. As I see it, prophecy (navuuwa.t), literally "warning," can be either typological or refer to single events. It can be either conditional (impending) or decreed (ordained). The immediate function of prophecy is to orient people to a certain type of thinking. For instance, how could I work toward world peace if I did not know it was prophesied? However, the prophecy is generally only understood, in any significant sense, after it has been fulfilled and then (authoritatively) interpreted. Rationally, however, interpretations of prophecy, including those given by `Abdu'l-Baha in _Some Answered Questions_, can easily be refuted. I have never had much of a problem doing it myself! However, I accept His interpretations, not because I am persuaded by them, but because I recognize His authority to make them. Aside from that, I try to avoid prophecy as a "proof" of the Baha'i Revelation. Mark A. Foster * http://MarkFoster.net http://CompuServe.m.foster.name __________________________________________________ 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: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.net/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
