We are like ploughmen each of whom has his team to manage and his plough to direct, and in order to keep his furrow straight he must keep his eye on his goal and concentrate on his own task. How cadaverous looking!' He further argued that in the case of "Baha'ism, with its rather vague doctrines as to the nature and destiny of the soul of man, it is a little difficult to see whence the driving force to enforce the ethical maxims can be derived. The individual believer should seek to do this, whether he is consulting a friend, Bah or non-Bah, or whether the friend is consulting him. While Bah teachings assert that men and women are spiritually equal, some areas of differentiation remain. Heaven and Hell and the Baha'i Faith. For most Muslims, the prophet Muhammad was the last and final prophet. Ironic, considering that many Bahais have non-Bahai parents who may even be racist, and thus object to their children marrying members of a different race. (2) The absence of personal requirements (Baha'i demands) for the Manifestations. "[25] Excommunication among Bahs is rare and reserved for those actively promoting schism. Baha'u'llah, whose name means Glory of God in Arabic, was born in Tehran in 1817. One of the first Bah institutions in the U.S. was established in Chicago and . He was released in 1853 and exiled to Baghdad, where his leadership revived the Bb community. [35], Christian Research Journal, Winter/Spring, 1989, p. 2. ", " Vicious criticism is indeed a calamity. But there are always some who enter and, becoming intoxicated with the splendor of what they behold, remain for life to tend the garden.. In this two-part article we will briefly examine: (1) the Baha'i approach to other religions; (2) the absence of the personal requirements Baha'i demands for the Manifestations; (3) anachronistic Baha'i scriptures; (4) the Miller analysis of the Baha'i faith; (5) moral concerns; (6) some Baha'i errors; and (7) failed prophecy and Baha'i misuse of Actually, Baha'is have been imprisoned and martyred since their Faith began in Persia, because of the persecution of the powerful Islamic clerics who consider the Baha'i Faith and its progressive principles a threat. Vangelis was a Living Legend.and he Remains a Legend Forever! Baha'u'llah's writings form the foundation of the Baha'i faith. ". The government released Baha'u'llah in 1853, and exiled him to Baghdad, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Bahaullahs revelation has been recognized as an independent global Faith in most of the countries of the world. Assistant Professor of History and Middle East Studies, Idaho State University. An unethical teaching from the Caleb and Sophia Series December 24, 2022. ", "I desire distinction for you. Im lazy. "he suggests you write the National Spiritual Assembly in a loving spirit, and point out to them how it distresses you to think that, after so many years of service, statements about you which you consider unjustified should be preserved. To put you in touch with a Bahai in your area who can answer your questions, we would like to kindly ask for a few details about yourself. In the West, liberals have criticized the Bah Faith for some of its conservative social practices, notably the prohibition on premarital or homosexual intimacy for Bahs. In any case, good luck to you and God Bless. In the summer and fall of 2004, I gradually came to the conviction that the Bahai Faith was no longer worthy of my allegiance. This is the conduct and the manner of the real Bahais (Bahs). When Criticism and Harsh Words Arise "When criticism and harsh words arise within a Bah' community, there is no remedy except to put the past behind one, and persuade all concerned to turn over a new leaf, and for the sake of God and His Faith refrain from mentioning the subjects which have led to misunderstanding and inharmony. The faith has no priesthood and does not observe ritual forms in its worship. Someone from the Bahai community will contact you shortly. Once they are ADULTS, they should be treated like adults, period. The Bahs must be distinguished from others of humanity. Even if what is said against another person be true, the mentioning of his faults to others still comes under the category of backbiting, and is forbidden.". Baha'is are followers of the teachings of Baha'u'llah, who brought an entirely new, worldwide Faith to humanity. Pingback: Why I Rejected the Bahai Faith, 4th Edition | Dale Husband's Intellectual Rants, Your email address will not be published. [27] For example, Juan Cole converted to the Bah Faith in 1972, but later resigned in 1996 after conflicts with members of the administration who perceived him as extreme. Instead, I asked her to join with me in First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church, which I had belonged to before. Actually, Bahais have been imprisoned and martyred since their Faith began in Persia, because of the persecution of the powerful Islamic clerics who consider the Bahai Faith and its progressive principles a threat. Cults have charismatic leaders, and Bahais have no clergy or leaders at all. Throughout his life, Bah'u'llah penned over 100 volumes in Arabic and Persian. Im glad to know that you have found a better life after moving on, as have I. One of the Bbs earliest disciples and strongest exponents was Mrz osayn Al Nr, who had assumed the name Bah Allh when he renounced his social standing and joined the Bbs. Large-scale persecutions of his adherents, the Bbs, followed. ", " If any soul speak ill of an absent one, the only result will clearly be this: he will dampen the zeal of the friends and tend to make them indifferent. When people say that the Bahai Faith has something to do with Judaism, its often a result of confusing the word Bahai with Bnai Brith, a service organization dedicated to the social and educational betterment of Jews. Bahu'llh's claim of divine revelation is in direct conflict with this common interpretation of Islam. Does it really matter? Get in touch with the Bahais in your community. The great bulk of Bah teachings is concerned with social ethics. The Bah's are fully entitled to address criticisms to their assemblies; they can freely air their views about policies or individual members of elected bodies to the assembly, local or national, but then they must whole-heartedly accept the advice or decision of the assembly, according to the principles already laid down for such matters in Man must be a lover of the light, no matter from what dayspring it may appear. There were several completely inactive Bahais in the North Richland Hills, Texas locality who I never saw in the years I was a Bahai, but there was no talk of them not having administrative rights. If you dont recognize Bahaullah as a manifestation of God then you arent really a Bahai whether or not you happen to be part of the Bahai Administrative Order. The friends must overlook their shortcomings and faults and speak only of their virtues and not their defects. From my understanding, Baha'i Faith is an offshoot from Islam but still believes in Muhammad. Eventually, what started as a compromise between us grew into a case of full blown allegiance to the UU church for both of us. Its six years since I declared and four or five since I became an ex Bahai. p. 192) Bahullh says in the Hidden Words: 'Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art a sinner. Knowing you seem similar to my mindset from a brief review of your site, I might be more inclined to try the UU route. While its true that a Bahai House of Worship exists on each continent, and several local Houses of Worship are also being built, theyre all meant as places where anyone can come to pray and meditate. In the temples there is no preaching; services consist of recitation of the scriptures of all religions. The principal Bah tenets are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. My life and Cheris together are proof that it can work! A Question About Translating the Baha'i Writings December 11, 2022. SOLanding, a Possible Cryptocurrency Scam Site? Its first leader, the Bb, was imprisoned and executed for heresy in 1850, and Bahu'llh, another central figure, was exiled from Iran and both the Ottoman and Persian Empires tried to destroy his movement. [16] Thus, authorities in the Muslim world have rejected the Bah Faith and regard Bahs as apostates if they had been Muslims before conversion. The first is that they equate Krishna to many other prophets, as if somehow Krishna in either case is the main god or spokesperson or prophet of Hinduism as a monolithic religion. ", "When criticism and harsh words arise within a Bah community, there is no remedy except to put the past behind one, and persuade all concerned to turn over a new leaf, and for the sake of God and His Faith refrain from mentioning the subjects which have led to misunderstanding and inharmony. Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Baha'i Faith) wrote about this. The Bah Faith is a relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.. Many of the Bahai writings are mystical and tell us a great deal about spiritual reality but others lay the foundation for an elegant and very practical democratically-elected global administrative order, designed to gradually unfold and help bring humanity to a permanent world peace. 2,070. The belief in fulfilled prophecies is presented by Bah' authors to demonstrate the validity of Bah'u'llh 's claim to divinity. He must be a seeker of the truth, no matter from what source it come. The Baha'is are among the most persecuted religious minorities in the world. He appointed his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi Rabbn (18971957), his successor. Throughout his life, Bah'u'llah penned over 100 volumes in Arabic and Persian. Still others encircle this garden inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, having enjoyed its full beauty, pass out again by the same gate. The Bah Faith and its predecessor, the Bb religion, originated in the nineteenth-century Persian Empire, arousing considerable opposition, initially on purely theological and doctrinal grounds; it was perceived by many Iranians as threat to established power and authority in Persia.. Goodbye. What are my imperfections?and try to remove them. I sometimes hear, from those without much knowledge of the Bahai Faith, that it is syncretic. In Acre in northern Israel, a former prison city of the Ottoman Empire, the barracks where Bahullh was imprisoned starting in 1868. On January 18, a court in Iran's Mazandaran province ordered that property belonging to Bahai citizen Sheida Taeed be confiscated and transferred to the "Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order," a committee controlled by . Thornton Chase was the most prominent among the first American Baha'is and made important contributions to early activities. The Baha'i Faith is not just a collection of philosophical principles or an attempt to combine or conflate religions. Importantly, the Bahai Faith first emerged in a Muslim culture in what is now Iran, so Islam could be said to be its parent Faith in the same way that Judaism was the parent Faith of Christianity. read more. Yes, the Road to Serfdom is Indeed Paved by Conservatives, you Libertarian Idiot! Deborah Clark Vance earned a Ph.D. from Howard University in Intercultural Communication and served as Assoc Prof. and Chair of the Dept of Comm & Cinema at McDaniel College. It is the world's second-most widespread religion after Christianity, spanning the globe and working to unite it. Since the Bahai Faith is a relatively young religion founded by Bahaullah in the middle of the 19th century not everyone knows a great deal about it, and some people have incorrect information. , as have i have no clergy or leaders at all assert that men women! 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