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There was a case in the LSA where it was decided that one of the members would
give a deepening. This member later indicated they weren't comfortable with
doing it and would not.
Right at this time we had an offer from an ABM assistant to do the deepening
for us. I in
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Is there an official Baha'i interpretation regarding the passage in the Qur'an
about the women keeping her body covered? What does it really teach about the
extent to which a Muslim women must be covered? Do we know what the original
female followers wore? Regards
Dav
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I was reading parts of 'Abdu'l-Baha's talks regarding what proves whether a
person is a Prophet/Manifestation of God. It looks to me that if the same
criteria are applied to the Bab and Baha'u'llah they wouldn't classify as
Manifestations of God.
Consider the passag
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>From the 10 July letter from the House:
'Unless specifically abrogated by these new provisions, previous guidance
and clarifications pertaining to the calendar and the observance of the
Nineteen
Day Feast and Holy Days remain binding...'
Previous guidance from who
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I'm interested to know whether what we've found over here is true all over the
place. It's been very difficult getting decent numbers to cluster meetings for
quite a few years. There was a discussion about the subject at a recent
meeting where a couple people expres
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I just read an article, which seems to have been reported widely, on the second
biggest religion in each U.S. state. I was shocked to see that the Baha'i
Faith is second in South Carolina! Of course, I don't live in the U.S. but
just wondering if this comes as a sur
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http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/handheld-sigmo-offers-real-time-language-translation-for-25-languages/#!MdOSw
If you didn't already know, we now have devices by which people can speak (or
at least a machine speak for them) to people in foreign countries without
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We now have regional deputization funds, which can support living costs for
pioneers. My suspicion is that sooner or later the system will be abused,
prompting more scrutiny in how funds are distributed.
My main concern is that some non-Baha'is will find out about th
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'I ask of Thee by Thy Self and by him who hath
fasted out of love for Thee and for Thy good-pleasure-and not out of self and
desire...'
This implies some people fast for selfish reasons. Can anyone elaborate on why
a person might fast with the wrong motives?
David
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In recent years the House has called for a series of 41 regional conferences
(20 Oct 2008) and another series of youth conferences. I was just thinking
about this and am wondering whether the House may not ever call for another
Baha'i World Congress. Presumably if t
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There seems to be a pervasive belief amongst Baha'is that if a lot of Baha'is
pray in unison for something (from wherever they are at the time) the effect is
far more powerful than if they pray at different times. Is there any
foundation for this in the Writings, tho
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'A mechanism of
world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole
planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning
with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity.'
I've heard Baha'is say this prophecy has already been fulfilled by
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If humans are supposed to be heterosexual, as the Baha'i Writings say, why are
so many animals homosexual? Did God intend many animals to be so? If He did
then God is okay with homosexual animals but not humans, which I'd like an
explanation for. Here is the Wikipe
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There is stuff in Baha'i literature about diversity of races/skin colour being
a good thing, but also approving of intermarrying between different races. But
if intermarrying becomes very common the time will come when everyone looks the
same. Is physical diversity
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Someone in my community recently asked if I knew of a source where he could
find talks from members of the Universal House of Justice. He didn't specify
format so it could be written. If anyone knows of a source I could point him
to it would be appreciated.
Regard
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"The founder of Buddhism was a wonderful soul. He established the Oneness of
God..." (SAQ)
I'm not looking to discuss whether or not Buddhist Writings actually mention
God. Is there any historical evidence that Buddha established the Oneness of
God, though? I can'
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I was just at a talk by a teacher at the Baha'i university in Iran. He said
that the common figure of 300,000 Baha'is in Iran was the government figure and
that the true total is between 1-1.5 million. I think I've heard it claimed
that the figure is higher than usu
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What I've seen of 'Abdul-Baha's comments on animal nature appears to agree with
the common view that animals act according to nature and act selfishly. I have
been seeing more and more evidence of animals often acting selflessly, like
risking their life saving an own
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>Yes it's being done that way in other countries.
Okay, so this is done per the advice of the House of Justice?
David
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I just saw this:
'The National Spiritual Assembly is delighted to advise that, after considering
the outcomes of the ballots held for Local Spiritual Assembly members, and with
the valuable support and views of the Counsellors in Australia, it has
appointed the Regi
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This is a response I just got from the first letter I've sent to the House for
a couple years.
Dear Bahá’í Friend,
The Universal House of Justice has received your email letter of 10 April 2012
seeking
clarification of a passage in its message to the Bahá’ís of the
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Do the laws currently applying only to Persians apply to half Persians, people
with only one Persian parent? My understanding is that they don't.
Regards,
David
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>Jesus, for example, did not prohibit polygamy, but
abolished divorce except in the case of fornication;
Muhammad limited the number of wives to four, but
making plurality of wives contingent on justice, and
reintroducing permission for divorce; Bahá'u'lláh, Who was
reve
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>I don't agree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECTUQVrvzE&feature=plcp
What I'm referring to is at 0:56-57 in this video. A couple of popular lyrics
sites say the word is Baha'u'llah. There are other sites which have 'my love',
but that is obviously the other ve
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECTUQVrvzE&feature=plcp
A couple of family members were sure the Bee Gees mentioned the name
Baha'u'llah in the song Words. The above link shows they are correct.
However, it appears there are two versions of the song, the other subs
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I'm glad we normally say it in Arabic. A common Baha'i greeting is
"Alláh'u'Abhá. How are you?" I'd feel weird about going up to someone and
saying "God is the Most Glorious. How are you?" It's like going up to someone
and saying "Berlin is the capital of Germany
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Be ye assured that in place of these contributions, your agriculture, your
industry, and your commerce will be blessed by manifold increases, with goodly
gifts and bestowals. He who cometh with one goodly deed will receive a TENFOLD
>REWARD.
>(Baha’i Prayers, p. 83)
>
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Hi Sen,
It looks to me that that quote is a reference to the Muslim divines rather than
Baha'is, and that is probably why there is nothing else on the subject.
Regards,
David
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I am a rare Baha'i who is generally skeptical of Baha'i dreams, i.e., whether
they are from God. Many assume that if you have a Baha'i dream, like about the
Central Figures, it has to be sent from God.
I find this to be nonsense. People have dreams about people the
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How much clear advice does the House give NSA's about when voting rights should
be removed? Maybe it's changed since I left, but the NZ NSA seemed pretty
'soft' on this, generally giving endless warnings. Australia seems to be much
different. Someone had their voti
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Hi Mark (I'm behind in reading messages),
>One of the more intriguing aspects of Miller’s eschatology (end-times
>theology) is that, even though his method of >interpretation was entirely
>different from the one in ʿAbduʾl-Bahá’s Some Answered Questions, Miller
>som
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I was talking to the secretary of the NSA at Summer School, and he mentioned
there being a new office at the World Centre. This office answers frequently
asked questions. It can be written to directly, and will only pass the message
on to the House if the query cann
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I heard someone say recently that a cluster cannot be downgraded, as in an A
cluster will remain so no matter what happens. I'm pretty sure this is true,
but just want clarification whether this is so.
Regards,
David
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Actually it must have been the American Psychiatric Association's position I
was referring to. I remember APA.
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I read an article in the newspaper a little while ago on this issue, and it
mentioned the American Psychological Association's position on this. They said
there is little evidence that efforts to overcome homosexuality work, and that
people often become suicidal who
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There's a lot in Baha'i literature about entry by troops. I don't know that it
is ever really defined, though. How do we know if strong membership growth is
enough to be regarded as entry by troops or whether, while impressive, it isn't
entry by troops? Is there an
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>I think we do have a fairly accurate figure for the number of *active*
>Baha'is in India. It is about 90,000.
I had no idea. If we're only counting active Baha'is, which country in the
world has the most Baha'is?
Regards,
David
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Dear Susan,
> Given that the House is struggling to keep up now how will they do so in
> future?
>It is struggling to keep up with what?
Their workload. I seem to remember you saying this when you said why more and
more Baha'is are getting responses from the Worl
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The Faith will increase in numbers vastly in the future. Given that the House
is struggling to keep up now how will they do so in future?
David
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Do the same principles Baha'is apply to Baha'i elections apply to Baha'is in
other elections? Prior to Baha'i elections we are not to try to convince
others to vote for certain people. Let's say two Baha'is are married in the
US, and the election for President is co
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I've noticed a number of Baha'is on Facebook who have 'Barack Obama' as one of
their 'Likes'. Baha'is are not supposed to take sides in political disputes.
Isn't indicating your support for a politican doing just this? Ah, you might
say, they are just saying they l
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The House appoints Counsellors and trustees of Huququllah. A lot of the time
they are reappointing people whose job performance they have been able to
assess. I'm interested in how they go about new appointments. I'm sure much
of the time members of the House don't
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The Office of Huququ'lláh has been established in the Holy Land under the
direction of the Chief Trustee of 175 Huququ'lláh, the Hand of the Cause of
God 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, in anticipation of the worldwide application of the
Law of Huququ'lláh next Ridvan. Concurr
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Dr Varqa was the International Trustee, but my understanding was that he had to
appoint a successor in his will. Who is currently in this role?
David
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Sincerity is the foundation-stone of faith. That is, a religious individual
must disregard his personal desires and seek in whatever way he can
wholeheartedly to serve the public interest; and it is impossible for a human
being to turn aside from his own selfish advan
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Just wondering if there has been anything from the House or an NSA on Baha'is
borrowing money from other Baha'is. I have heard of the occasional Baha'i
going around asking for money and it has been a problem.
David
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I've heard Baha'is talk about the halo seen in various pictures of
'Abdu'l-Baha. I'm just wondering, is there a skeptical Baha'i view of this, or
do all agree this is amazing?
Regards,
David
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There's no way Shoghi Effendi would allow his birthday to be celebrated if
'Abdu'l-Baha didn't allow His to be celebrated.
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I just realized I sent a message about my spam problem entitled Spam, probably
the worst title if I wanted a response! Here is the message again:
The Yahoo account I'm using is sending a lot of posts from here to the spam
folder. Is there any way to change my setti
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The Yahoo account I'm using is sending a lot of posts from here to the spam
folder. Is there any way to change my settings so that all messages from this
e-mail address go to my Inbox? This would save me a bit of time.
Regards,
David
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I have a question about the following:
Shaykh Abid, known by his pupils as Shaykhuna, was a man of piety and learning.
He had been a disciple of both Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim. "One day," he
related, "I asked the Báb to recite the opening words of the Qur'án:
'B
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Dear Susan,
>Baha'is perform ablutions before saying their obligatory prayers even
>if they have just had a bath, but the more thorough going ghusl in
>Islam is done after sexual relations or after a women's period. This
>is because semen and menstrual blood render one
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>I don't think Sen's letter was posted here.
It was about a day ago. You can see it in the archives. I'd reproduce it but
I know some people pay by the byte.
Regards,
David
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Dear Susan,
>Are you responding to a private message, David?
Oh, I see it could have been misleading. I was responding to Sen's post
including his letter to the House, though I didn't quote from it.
Regards,
David
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Dear Sen,
Good you wrote that letter to the House, and I'll be interested to see the
response. Have they responded yet? I wasn't sure if you were indicating they
had responded already or will in future.
Regards,
David
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Didn't she disagree with some UHJ decisions, though?
>that's the rumour, but the UHJ has never said so, and I've seen no
>evidence for it. It's easy to launch a rumour.
I'm fairly sure a while ago I saw a copy of a critical letter to them, probably
on her website.
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> 4. Alison is a Bahai, but Susan doesn't approve.
Didn't she disagree with some UHJ decisions, though? It makes no sense to
claim to be Baha'i if you don't support the UHJ, plus it means you don't meet
the qualifications of membership decided by Shoghi Effendi. Ag
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Another question. A non-Baha'i says to you "Barrack Obama is a terrible
President." How should you respond? The problem is that it's difficult to
respond without taking sides, or appearing to take sides. You could try saying
"uh huh" in a tone of voice that sounds
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Dear Janine,
>Are you saying (in your opinion) the Baha'i celebrity should decline to say
>who they voted >for, even if asked? Just trying to understand what you mean.
I could be wrong, but that's what I would think. If asked in an interview,
that is. If they sai
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>Sure, if we are teaching the Faith we should not bring it up, but as
>you know I teach at a HBCU (historically black college) and when my
>colleagues told me that when white people went into the poll booth
>they would not vote for a black man, I couldn't resist coming b
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Yes, I was not talking of the legality of revealing your vote. I guess we all
agree that if not asked we shouldn't say who we voted for. I had thought that
Baha'is shouldn't say if asked but recently I've thought differently. Perhaps
a Baha'i celebrity might be a d
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Baha'is may find themselves in the situation where a non-Baha'i tries to find
out their political views. Let's say you are an American and the 2008
Presidential election has just taken place. How should you respond to a
non-Baha'i asking "Who did you vote for?" If
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Say: O Yahya (Azal), produce a single verse, if thou dost possess
divinely-inspired knowledge... Judge thou fairly, I adjure thee by God, and
call to mind when thou didst stand in the presence of this Wronged One and We
dictated to thee the verses of God, the Help in
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'Abdu'l-Baha in London mentions a letter Tolstoy sent to 'Abdu'l-Baha. Do we
have a copy of it?
Regards,
David
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On the other hand no one should force one's own convictions on another
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 222)
There will be occasions where a Baha'i marries an atheist. The atheist is
required to say 'We will all, verily, abide by the will of God.' Just
wonder
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I've often found that after telling people things about the Faith that I would
have thought separate it from Christianity they say things indicating they
think Baha'i is a Christian denomination. Telling them about Buddha, Muhammad
and Baha'u'llah doesn't necessarily
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the partner who is the 'cause of divorce' will 'unquestionably' become the
'victim of formidable calamities'."
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 391)
This is an interesting prediction. Has anyone observed this with numerous
marriages?
Regards,
David
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It was brought to my attention that I missed the following letter:
1331. "...There is no Baha'i law requiring the removal of voting rights for
obtaining a civil divorce before the end of the year of waiting. It is, of
course preferred that civil divorce action be n
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Baha'is are not to divorce without a year of patience. This may not always be
possible, however. One may have a non-Baha'i spouse. Baha'i law can't be
imposed on them, so if they want an immediate divorce they can't be stopped.
Baha'i law is subordinate to civil l
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Another question, if a Baha'i gets engaged and one or both of their parents is
a covenant breaker, is parental consent waived?
Regards,
David
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Just to let you know, I changed my name from David Friedman to David Regal a
little while back. I have unsubscribed from the old address.
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