tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.comments2023-03-04T21:45:48.627-05:00Reflections on the Baha'i FaithUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-87996427662332637022023-03-04T18:50:35.456-05:002023-03-04T18:50:35.456-05:00It is very helpful. I am using it for our communit...It is very helpful. I am using it for our community reflection meeting. Thank youBiswajit Sinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16219693466966089831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-78527031627507091482022-05-19T05:05:56.082-04:002022-05-19T05:05:56.082-04:00This is profound! Note how reference is made to th...This is profound! Note how reference is made to the gradual recognition of all the Prophets of God. In the case of His Holiness Jesus Christ, son of Mary, He is said to have, at a relatively young age, held discourse with learned Rabbi's in the Synagogue. Then, as a later time, He encountered money exchangers in the Chambers of the Synagogue, whereupon He is said to have physically forced them out of the premises of the Synagogue claiming it was His Father's House. Then, He begins to create miraculous events, such as enabling people to see, the mute to speak, and the deaf to hear. But 'Abdu'l-Baha is known to have said miracles in the Bible have spiritual connotations, meaning that, although they may have been observed to have occurred, yet the meaning is also that they recognized much clearer the Station of the Personage before them. Thus, something physical, like the earth, has a spiritual counterpart in the next world which is of a completely, substantively different in physical characteristics. And, finally, the Messenger of God is said to have risen form the dead. This also can be attributed to the awakening of people's hearts and minds as they began to better understand the true nature of the Carpenter's son. These could be seen to represent many stages of Revelation, each more significant than the former.Thozi Nomvetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10074862465747985304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-7159344899214338232021-02-26T18:30:36.438-05:002021-02-26T18:30:36.438-05:00Thank you for a great effort
Thank you for a great effort<br />OneWorldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210710874065603517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-64294855968785925042021-02-25T09:49:50.673-05:002021-02-25T09:49:50.673-05:00As to "the Bab revealed a tablet interpreting...As to "the Bab revealed a tablet interpreting the significance of the letter "Ha"", it would be interesting, as well, to know which tablet this refers to.Alex Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397606380053794409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-57259863266416195782021-02-25T09:46:14.229-05:002021-02-25T09:46:14.229-05:00This is an excellent starting point for investigat...This is an excellent starting point for investigating this encompassing "mystery" in creation, and encapsulates significant references about the letter "ha" - well done!Alex Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397606380053794409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-12776508145143143702020-06-06T02:36:28.858-04:002020-06-06T02:36:28.858-04:00Brent, I have an audio cassette of that presentati...Brent, I have an audio cassette of that presentation by Mr. Faizi on the Hidden Words. The sound quality is good. There is a reading of it online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbSmxvwDyw Paul Mantlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13267614256408540677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-10041262061485852642019-11-28T11:26:54.853-05:002019-11-28T11:26:54.853-05:00mufti of haifa is not the elderly sheikh with whi...mufti of haifa is not the elderly sheikh with white beard second from left ,,muti o haifa "sheikh muhammad murad is standing behind mr . badi bushrui with black beard and a gown,he was young at that time and not elderlyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02338491759944965128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-85936997935895009892019-02-20T11:05:41.687-05:002019-02-20T11:05:41.687-05:00Correction: they are placed between the month of D...Correction: they are placed between the month of Dominion (Mulk) and Loftiness ('Alá').Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898223094531105133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-45710484124523532962018-08-17T12:30:06.853-04:002018-08-17T12:30:06.853-04:00Thank you Brent, It had to have - and it has - a b...Thank you Brent, It had to have - and it has - a beautiful and elevated meaning which had been obscured by base & idle fancies made of clay. BillThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08646074065836350310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-6687501329918413952018-07-09T07:55:13.356-04:002018-07-09T07:55:13.356-04:00Thank you.Thank you.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863580244178100706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-32362662436445156562018-05-01T13:27:56.989-04:002018-05-01T13:27:56.989-04:00Sen, thank you for your comment. Are we also in ag...Sen, thank you for your comment. Are we also in agreement that when Shoghi Effendi writes that the Book of Certitude asserts the relativity of religious truth http://www.bahai.org/r/927672652 that he is referring to progressive revelation?Brent Poirierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904903606388050080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-78072662994095041692018-04-30T05:40:18.614-04:002018-04-30T05:40:18.614-04:00I agree that the relativity of religious truth is ...I agree that the relativity of religious truth is a synonym for progressive revelation. I don't think a reference to the exterior ornamentation is an adequate explanation of why the Mashriq should symbolize progressive revelation, first, because this ornamentation is not a necessary attribute of the Mashriq, and second because it is a superficial point and if Shoghi Effendi had meant to refer to the ornamentation rather than the Edifice, he could have said "its ornamentation" rather than "the central Edifice." But the weightiest reason he is not likely to be referring simply to the ornamentation is that it would not fit his argument to reference the ornaments in Wilmette. Earlier in the same passage, he writes : <br /><br />"... the central Edifice of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar … should be regarded … as a House solely designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God in accordance with the few yet definitely prescribed principles established by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. It should not be inferred … that the interior of the central Edifice itself will be converted into a conglomeration of religious services conducted along lines associated with the traditional procedure obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues, and other temples of worship. Its various avenues of approach, … will not serve as admittance to those sectarian adherents of rigid formulae and man-made creeds, each bent, according to his way, to observe his rites, … within separately defined sections of Baha'u'llah's Universal House of Worship. … [T]he central House of Baha'i worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, will gather within its chastened walls, … only those who, discarding forever the trappings of elaborate and ostentatious ceremony, are willing worshipers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Baha'u'llah."<br /><br />He is arguing against a meta-temple concept. Because Shoghi Effendi habitually called the Mashriq “the universal house of worship,” and because Baha'u'llah writes, in the Ketab-e Aqdas “O people of the world! [Not, “people of Baha”] Build ye houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions,” some have thought that the Mashriq was conceived as a common place of prayer where people of all faiths could worship according to their own rites. This is linked to the idea that Baha'u'llah did not intend to create one more religious community that would exist alongside others, but rather a meta-religion that would be common ground for people holding to many different traditions. <br /><br />But the exterior ornamentation - designed when he wrote these words, and in process of installation - with its multiple religious symbols such as the cross and crescent and star of David, would encourage people in the community and outside it to think that the Mashriq was to be a common home for the rites of every religion. Reference to it would not make the point Shoghi Effendi is arguing, about the nature of the Mashriq ~ Sen<br />Sen McGlinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15937358435662369814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-70462332010377417172018-02-11T08:26:57.782-05:002018-02-11T08:26:57.782-05:00Thank you for this información, very helpful.
Thank you for this información, very helpful.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977941304446284324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-64029196561078163462018-01-14T08:40:32.728-05:002018-01-14T08:40:32.728-05:00If I may add a further question: how do we relate ...If I may add a further question: how do we relate the definitions and understanding of homosexuality in a realm where physical and emotional gender are themselves acquiring new shadings, nuance, and blending? When we can change the sex of a person, what have we done to our definitions, our conventions, and our societies? Sex change is a fait accompli, and more of these things are continuing to develop. It would seem that debating unvarying specifics in such a fluid setting is problematic.<br />Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863580244178100706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-20388076222643979832018-01-13T18:46:02.565-05:002018-01-13T18:46:02.565-05:00This topic is so deeply charged and scarred with t...This topic is so deeply charged and scarred with the crimes and excesses of our human history that trying to investigate it is an agonizing struggle. Maybe there are a few points worth adding here that can illuminate the process.<br /><br />First, before looking further, I'd like to understand more clearly what we mean by the key terms we use. I believe that the term 'homosexuality' is often used in a very-broad sense that includes everything from child molestation and rape to two consenting adult people of the same sex being physically intimate in ways that receive different views about whether or not they are sexual. Such broad usage, I think, creates immense trouble in communicating and consulting with one another. Just exactly what does each of us mean when we say 'homosexual behavior'?<br /><br />When two adolescents or preadolescents privately experiment sexually with each other, which is not unheard-of or unexpected, is this in the same category or range of behavior as when an adult grooms an underage person in anticipation of sexual intercourse in some form? The very question may be disturbing to some, but it illustrates the range of what I've seen gathered under the heading of homosexuality.<br /><br />Some contemporary cultures offer and sustain sex commerce involving underage people. This is far from anything related to mature adults having homosexual relationships. If we begin to draw apart these different ranges of behavior, we can begin to see the complexity of the questions that arise.<br /><br />We also need to consider the private nature of primary bonds of love. The phrase "public display of affection" describes a range of behavior that finds approval, disapproval, or indifference in varying proportions, often depending on the cultures and tastes of people. Two European men sauntering arm in arm together, two Egyptian men kissing one another in a public meeting - such things do not generally get harsh judgment. It mystifies me that private sexual behavior does get harsh judgment, especially since it is no one else's concern (unless it is flaunted).<br /><br />All of what I've written here may seem scattered and unresolved, but that mirrors the issue itself. I just don't believe that we really understand either the full, complex character of all the dimensions of homosexuality (or heterosexuality, for that matter), or all the ways in which the Bahá'í teachings provide applicable guidance to all of it. We're still working on it all, and while we work on it we will make all the necessary mistakes and misapprehensions. In the meantime, setting aside judgment on one another seems to me the most prudent, productive, and compassionate step to take.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863580244178100706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-61783754213743365192017-11-13T23:49:29.681-05:002017-11-13T23:49:29.681-05:00This is priceless. Thank you so much for sharing t...This is priceless. Thank you so much for sharing the history. The original letter with all its painstaking editorials sets a very high bar for all of us who write with the help of modern technology!Kharonohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10466082047292796011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-46810221383899118952017-10-27T23:24:11.687-04:002017-10-27T23:24:11.687-04:00No disastrous consequences with a literal interpre...No disastrous consequences with a literal interpretation of houris?? I would consider the suicide bombers rather disastrous consequences, no? Are they not motivated to be happy to die because of their mis-perceived notions of what awaits them in the next world?Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01993751812243201234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-54095914020456788202017-07-12T20:25:12.092-04:002017-07-12T20:25:12.092-04:00The emancipation of women is specifically prescrib...The emancipation of women is specifically prescribed by Baha'u'llah, as is the abolition of slavery. So it is not Ian who is judging which behaviors are acceptable and which are not - it is God doing so through his Manifestation.Mike Moumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18188318345479276688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-42828523495506032592017-04-24T04:23:11.365-04:002017-04-24T04:23:11.365-04:00Throughout history the emancipation of women has b... Throughout history the emancipation of women has been seen negatively too, and still is In many cultures. Does that make it normal now? Or how about slavery, has that been right as it was practised throughout history. As we have evolved we no longer see these things as acceptable. So your argument makes no sense. We can also see that homosexuality has always existed and will continue to exist. And who are you to judge 'agree' with someone's personal 'behaviour'. Mandy Jenningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03174644500677039540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-6487550806445255632017-04-03T21:45:48.295-04:002017-04-03T21:45:48.295-04:00There is a story about a Japanese man who tended t...There is a story about a Japanese man who tended the gardens for the Master. When asked what he was most proud of the man said that he had sometimes made the Master smileLorcanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11620517350256882161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-34000590814798147342017-01-16T10:29:06.300-05:002017-01-16T10:29:06.300-05:00Thank you for this post. Found the comments on th...Thank you for this post. Found the comments on the levels or stages of acquiescence particularly helpful. Also Mr. N's words that God likes to see our responses to adversity. A sweet way to frame tests.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536823488984969203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-32741674422670385842016-12-09T10:22:57.490-05:002016-12-09T10:22:57.490-05:00Wonderful, the fear of god, may be it is the fund...Wonderful, the fear of god, may be it is the fundamental , and the cornerstone of the faith , and the mothers have the privilege and also the responsibility to teach this pilar to kids god bless all the mothers . Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17834664660776041381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-84934740286776035952016-12-09T10:22:23.004-05:002016-12-09T10:22:23.004-05:00Very good Very good Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17834664660776041381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-90951881455898158132016-10-13T19:39:49.626-04:002016-10-13T19:39:49.626-04:00as a child psychologist working with children in v...as a child psychologist working with children in very challenging situations, like youth justice, I have come to think one part of this "knowledge" is something like Aikido, e.g. non-resistance and knowing the "science" of defeating an attack without harming the person. Aikido is the basis of Safe Crisis Management which is a science of de-escalating a situation (90%) through words, tone, body positioning, with the last 10% of the training being when the child or inmate 'acts out'. one or two caregivers restrain the person is scientifically safe way, which is true love, until they calm down. One can't have a lasting therapeutic relationship if the client/child fears hurt from you. this is keeping them, other children and the staff "safe", e.g. they come to Trust you for keeping them safe from themselves. Along with this physical practice we were trained to have unconditional Love and Respect for the inmate/offender/child. Without that, they fear you instead of Trust you. Any safe martial art taught to a child is self-discipline. This though is a path to told Trust in God, and like Badi, then one can transfer "safe" over to God. Children learn to trust God by having Trustworthy parents, and then learning to trust themselves as well (the God or light within us). All the same really. Dr Derek Patton<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02481785238161225614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575258969772927875.post-78815666508521228192016-10-04T02:33:50.033-04:002016-10-04T02:33:50.033-04:00Well, there aren't any disastrous consequences...Well, there aren't any disastrous consequences with a literal interpretation of houris. As a Bahá'i, I'm saddened to say that the Bahá'i vision of paradise seems dull. Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07106166866301463900noreply@blogger.com