The exclusion of same-sex marriage among Bahs has garnered considerable criticism in the Western world, where the Bah teachings on sexuality may appear to be unreasonable, dogmatic, and difficult to apply in Western society. If we allow our attention and energy to be taken up in efforts to keep others right and remedy their faults, we are wasting precious time. Updates? If the situation is of such gravity as to endanger the interests of the Faith, the complaint, as your National Spiritual Assembly has indicated, should be submitted to the Local Spiritual Assembly, or as you state to a representative of the institution of the Counsellors, for consideration and action. If, on the other hand, God's own nature is said to be contradictory, that is, that God is both one God and many gods, that God is both able and not able to have a son, personal and impersonal, etc., then the Bahai concept of God is reduced to meaninglessness. He was kept in an underground prison in Tehran, which Baha'u'llah describes in his writings as filthy, dark and foul beyond comparison.. [1] Consider, that He did not look at all at the defects of that animal; nay, rather, He searched well until He found the beautiful white teeth. There also exist in the Bah Faith appointive institutions, such as the Hands of the Cause of God and the continental counselors. "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. A primary theme of Baha'u'llahs teachings is achieving world peace through the establishment of unity, justice and equality. Vangelis was a Living Legend.and he Remains a Legend Forever! According to Bah' belief, there have been individuals throughout history who were Manifestations of God, who founded major world religions and had certain supernatural powers, such as the ability to prophesy. The stupidity of that idea should be obvious. My life has changed in ways that I had hoped the Bahai Faith would help me do, but in 35 years has not. Goodbye. Like all Bahai Houses of Worship, it welcomes everyone, and its nine entrances symbolize the many legitimate paths to the Creator. After Islamic fundamentalists came to power in Iran in 1979, the 300,000 Bahs there were persecuted by the government. [24] The religion has seen a few attempts at splintering, but they have remained extremely small and declined over time. (2) The absence of personal requirements (Baha'i demands) for the Manifestations. How cadaverous looking!' In such cases, of course, the name of the person or persons involved will have to be mentioned. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. I resigned myself on 07/07/07. I encourage you to look him up and see if it resonates with you. Every attempted Bah schism has failed to attract more than a few hundred individuals and declined over time. Though new, these beliefs originated in Twelver Shii Islam, which asserts a belief in the forthcoming return of the 12th imam (successor of Muhammad), who will renew religion and guide the faithful. That relationship ended long ago and now I am Orthodox, but this post kind of brought up some old memories. [32][33] He specifically criticized the work of individual Bah scholars he saw as defending Bah orthodoxy at the expense of historical rigour, including William S. Hatcher,[32] Muhammad Afnan,[32] Juan Cole[33] (although Cole subsequently left the religion), Nader Saiedi,[34] and Moojan Momen. Heaven and Hell and the Baha'i Faith. The criticism and challenges it has faced vary considerably in different regions of the world. The principal Bah tenets are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. 9 Politics: Here a number of criticisms about the Bahai faith aligning itself with different historical superpowers are listed. If that has changed recently Id like to see the reference. I was recently invited to participate on an interfaith panel where we all responded to this question: What are the truths and misconceptions about your Faith? 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. Abd al-Bah actively administered the movements affairs and spread the faith to North America, Europe, and other continents. Thornton Chase was the most prominent among the first American Baha'is and made important contributions to early activities. As a member of Irans nobility, Baha'u'llah was offered a government position. There are more than 100,000 local Baha'i communities in places as diverse as Chile, Cambodia and the United States. 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. Eventually, what started as a compromise between us grew into a case of full blown allegiance to the UU church for both of us. His son and successor, Abdu'l-Baha, traveled to Europe and the United States to spread the faith. Instead, the Bahai Faith operates administratively with a system of local, national and international nine-member governing bodies, all democratically elected without nominations or campaigns. Later, my mother, who was always hostile to the Bahai Faith because of her Baptist convictions, took those items and discarded them all without my consent. The seat of the Universal House of Justice is in Haifa, Israel, in the immediate vicinity of the shrines of the Bb and Abd al-Bah and near the Shrine of Bah Allh at Bahj, near Akko. For the first few months of our marriage, Cheri and I shared a home with my parents, until we had enough money to move out on our own. Maybe there is a wisdom in asking for parental consent after all, reading how this marriage of two adults ended up. 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.". Conservatives among Unitarian Universalists Still Feel Like Victims. Perhaps youll be inspired to organize a similar discussion where you live. But. ", "Indeed the believers have not yet fully learned to draw on each other's love for strength and consolation in time of need. Christian apologist Francis J. Beckwith wrote of the Bah teachings: The fact that the various alleged manifestations of God represented God in contradictory ways implies either that manifestations of God can contradict one another or that God's own nature is contradictory. opinion. A Statement About Mental Disorders and Domestic Abuse. [4][5] These issues may be only marginal to the numerically dominant Bah community outside of Europe and North America. ", "One must see in every human being only that which is worthy of praise. He observed only the whiteness of the teeth and overlooked entirely the deformity of the body, the dissolution of its organs and the bad odour. Also, the lack of actual places of worship was another big shock. If some means were devised so that the doors of backbiting could be shut eternally and each one of the believers of God unsealed his tongue in the praise of the other, then the teachings of His Holiness Baha'o'llah (Bahullh) would be spread, the hearts illuminated, the spirits glorified and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity. But there are always some who enter and, becoming intoxicated with the splendor of what they behold, remain for life to tend the garden.. read more. 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. Bah Faith, religion founded in Iraq in the mid-19th century by Mrz osayn Al Nr, who is known as Bah Allh (also spelled Bahullh), which in Arabic means Glory of God. The cornerstone of Bah belief is the conviction that Bah Allh and his forerunner, who was known as the Bb (Persian: Gateway), were manifestations of God, who in his essence is unknowable. 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.. What are my imperfections?and try to remove them. "[25] Excommunication among Bahs is rare and reserved for those actively promoting schism. In all other levels of administration (other than the UHJ), however, women have always been eligible to serve, often contrary to prevailing cultural or societal norms. I am closer to God than I have ever been, and less confused than I have ever been. 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. There are no initiation ceremonies, no sacraments, and no clergy. Shouldst thou transgress this command ACCURSED ART THOU.' But its root is lack of faith in the system of Bahullh, i.e., the Administrative Orderand lack of obedience to Himfor He has forbidden it! I sometimes hear, from those without much knowledge of the Bahai Faith, that it is syncretic. The condemnation of backbiting could hardly be couched in stronger language than in these passages, and it is obviously one of the foremost obligations for Bahs to set their faces against this practice. The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith. He proclaimed a spiritual doctrine emphasizing the forthcoming appearance of a new prophet or messenger of God who would overturn old beliefs and customs and usher in a new era. Oral reports, although they exist, are considered too unreliable to be fully authoritative and are to . If manifestations are allowed to contradict one another, then there is no way to separate false manifestations from true ones or to discover if any of them really speak for the true and living God. ", "It is obvious that if we listen to those who complain to us about the faults of others we are guilty of complicity in their backbiting. Actually, when I was Bahai I was dating a nominal Christian, and I had suggested the UU church as a possible place that we could go for worship together if we got married. [27] Central to Cole's complaints is the Bah review process, which requires Bah authors to gain approval before publishing on the religion. This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 01:55. I understand that I can withdraw my consent at any time. [25] Jason Boyett wrote in 12 Major World Religions that, "The [Bah] condemnation of covenant-breakers is immediate, absolute, andin a religion promoting love and acceptanceprofoundly disconcerting. Unfortunately, not only average people, but average Bahs, are very immature; gossip, trouble-making, criticism, seem easier than the putting into practice of love, constructive words and cooperation. Bah Allhs peculiar function was to overcome the disunity of religions and establish a universal faith. On the contrary, it would make the dust to settle so thickly on the heart that the ears would hear no more, and the eyes would no longer behold the light of truth. Paradise and Paradigm - Christopher Buck 1999-01-01 Comparing paradise imagery in two Persian religions, early Syriac Christianity and the Baha'i Faith, this work contributes to religious studies methodology by introducing "symbolic paradigm analysis." The Baha'i Faith in Africa - Anthony Lee 2011-10-28 A few weeks later, the NSA replied that they had accepted my resignation and expressed hope that I would one day decide to return. One of the first Bah institutions in the U.S. was established in Chicago and . [14] For example, the perspectives of Subh-i-Azal, Mrz Muhammad Al, and Mason Remey, the most prominent covenant-breakers of the religion, were all upheld by Miller in an attempt to show its adherents as deceived, its teachings superficial or irrelevant, and its administration "a dictatorship". The Baha'i Faith is a dynamic world religion with several million adherents from a variety of different religious and cultural backgrounds. But even if these are not taken from the records it still does not make them either true or false. Finally, you must become distinguished for heavenly illumination and acquiring the bestowals of God. I understand that I can withdraw my consent at any time. Pingback: Why I Abandoned the (Haifan) Bahai Faith? Corrections? Its six years since I declared and four or five since I became an ex Bahai. It is one of the functions of the older and the more mature Bahs to help the weaker ones to iron out their difficulties and learn to really function and live like true believers!". In Iran and other parts of the Middle East, Bahs continue to be criticized for breaking with Islam and accused of conspiring with western powers, resulting in intense persecution and the loss of civil rights. Yes, intermittent fasting has become pretty trendy, for this physical fast is a symbol of the spir, At the beginning of the 20th century, what did a P, One must see in every human being only that which, Every tender heart wonders What can I do to hel, Act in such a way that your heart may be free from, While sorrow and suffering seem to be inescapable, What is the Best Way to Worship? Bah Allh was subsequently confined by the Ottomans in Adrianople (now Edirne, Turkey) and then in Acre in Palestine (now Akko, Israel). The local spiritual assembly has jurisdiction over all local affairs of the Bah community. 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. Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Baha'i Faith) wrote about this. "[13], William McElwee Miller (18921993) was a Presbyterian missionary in Iran who published a polemic titled The Baha'i Faith (1974), in which he attacked the religion by promoting the views of individuals opposing Bah leadership. Baha & # x27 ; i demands ) for the Manifestations although they,. Either true or false the government Bah institutions in the U.S. was established in and... Function was to overcome the disunity of religions and the continental counselors U.S. was established in and. 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