Baha'u'llah's new teachings

Sen McGlinn

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Many readers will have seen a recent article by Chris Buck on the Bahai Teachings site, on November 16. Chris noticed that the Persian record of a talk that Abdu’l-Baha gave in New York had been published for the first time on the Bahai World Centre’s web site. Thanks to him, I downloaded it and translated it. This is a provisional translation, subject to comments and revision.

In this talk, Abdu’l-Baha lists 12 new teachings brought by Baha’u’llah, and dwells particularly on the Bahai Covenant. Two sections mention `elm, often translated as science. I've mentioned this in the notes, because that translation is not always the right one. In this talk, it is the harmony of mystic knowledge and religious scholarship, rather than the harmony of religion and science.

This is the talk that, in a bowdlerised version in Promulgation and Bahai World Faith, refers to the House of Justice as "the consummate union and blending of church and state."

The translation is on my Bahai Studies blog :
 
@Sen McGlinn

So you translate directly from Persian?

I note you avoid the 'King James' style of English that appears in some other translations? I find your translation to be plain and clear.

Thank you
 
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Yes, I translate from Persian. I follow Shoghi Effendi's vocabulary choices quite closely -- as he followed Browne quite closely -- because consistency across translators is a good thing. I see no reason to continue the old fashioned English style today, especially not for a talk by Abdu'l-Baha, who spoke colloquially. Where the style of the original is elevated, as in the Resaleh-ye Siyassiyeh / Art of Governance, I use rhythm, internal rhymes, repetition and other rhetorical devices to convey the style. My translation is online here:
 
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Yes, I translate from Persian. I follow Shoghi Effendi's vocabulary choices quite closely -- as he followed Browne quite closely -- because consistency across translators is a good thing. I see no reason to continue the old fashioned English style today, especially not for a talk by Abdu'l-Baha, who spoke colloquially. Where the style of the original is elevated, as in the Resaleh-ye Siyassiyeh / Art of Governance, I use rhythm, internal rhymes, repetition and other rhetorical devices to convey the style.
Most impressive. Welcome to the forums
 
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