Baha'i

Namaste art,


thank you for the post.

i posted the information from that site since it clearly explained my reasoning behind asking my qeustion concerning sub groups of the Baha'i tradition. i could have cut and pasted without attribution, however, i find that tends to convolute the issue more than clarify it... since you could have rightly refuted anything that i had posted.

using an external source, even though it may not be agreed upon, at least gives us a common frame of reference to begin our dialog, don't you agree?
 
Note to Vajradhara:

Vajradhara said:
Namaste art,


thank you for the post.

i posted the information from that site since it clearly explained my reasoning behind asking my qeustion concerning sub groups of the Baha'i tradition. i could have cut and pasted without attribution, however, i find that tends to convolute the issue more than clarify it... since you could have rightly refuted anything that i had posted.

using an external source, even though it may not be agreed upon, at least gives us a common frame of reference to begin our dialog, don't you agree?
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Vajra,

Frankly, I was already pretty familiar with the content of the religioustolerance.org site so it wouldn't have mattered to me whether you indicated the source or not, but i think it is also important to post sources of attribution as much as possible... I hope i do this regularly and whenever possible so anyone can see where i get things from....

I'm not as concerned about refuting you Vajra, please don't feel that way. If we can just explore a topic and share our views in a sincere friendly way I think that will be best!

- Art
 
Namaste art,


what i meant to indicate, though not very well, was that by posting information that was unattributed, it is quite easy to assert that the information i was relating was not correct or accurate.. and i would have no recourse to information to explain why i was saying what i was saying.

on this subject, Baha'i, i stand to be corrected by many posters on this site... that's not all that big of a deal for me :) perhaps.. i'm unlike some others.. but i really don't have a problem honestly exploring other traditions as i'm quite secure in my own :)

i do think, however, that folks that aren't secure in their own tradition tend to have a difficult time honestly exploring other traditions.

it's my belief that we are and have been quite geneial on this subject.. which, as you may know, can be quite volitile.. depending on whom you are speaking with.
 
B>Interesting all, especially the information provided and expounded on the splinter groups stemming from Mason Remey. Pretty obvious where the claimed "144,000" membership comes from, though, which is perhaps indicative of the outlook there (though this is a statement, not judgement :) ). It'll be interesting to see how long Baha'i in general can hold itself together as is current.

I agree the "144,000" number is a real knee-slapper! :) This is a number greater than (though not much greater than) the entire number of BAHA'IS in the US! Clearly it's an attempt to cash in of the Revelation of Saint John!

This is all the more so since these covenant-breaker groups typically have only a few dozen members each, and APPEAR larger only because a few individuals are making lots of noise on the Web. This in contrast with the seven million Baha'is in the world (we're in literally every country on earth).

Just the facts! :)

Bruce
 
Allah'u'Abha Bruce!

Welcome to the Forum Bruce and Allah'u'Abha!

Good to hear from you... how's the Fast going for you these days?

I've been trying to read more prayers and meditate more...

- Art
 
Brian, hi! :)

If I may ask a humble favor, it would be really nice if you'd give "Baha'i" a line-item entry under the "World Religions" menu along the left margin!

(And no, I don't say that because we'd currently be first in the list! Who knows? Someday, you may have an Anabaptist forum!) :)

Best,

Bruce
 
BruceDLimber said:
Brian, hi! :)

If I may ask a humble favor, it would be really nice if you'd give "Baha'i" a line-item entry under the "World Religions" menu along the left margin!

(And no, I don't say that because we'd currently be first in the list! Who knows? Someday, you may have an Anabaptist forum!) :)

Best,

Bruce
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I've had this requested numerous times - but before I do that I need to write at least a short essay covering the same themes as the others in that section, and also host on this site some of the writings of Baha'u'llah. That takes a little time to do and it's time that I just do not have at the moment. Hopefully soon later in the year. :)
 
I said:
I've had this requested numerous times - but before I do that I need to write at least a short essay covering the same themes as the others in that section, and also host on this site some of the writings of Baha'u'llah. That takes a little time to do and it's time that I just do not have at the moment. Hopefully soon later in the year. :)
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Dear Brian,

Thank you so much!

Would it be too much to ask that before you post it in it's place that maybe you could post it here for some of us to look it over and make sure it's accurate. I'm sure you will do a wonderful job on it, but as I'm sure you're aware by now, alot of information published by non-Baha'i's about Baha'i's can be based on speculation. (The same can be said for other religions as well.) I don't foresee that being a problem here as I have been very impressed by your openness and fairness on this forum. Continue to ask questions as you have them and we will do our best to answer them. I look forward to reading what you write up.

Thanks again!

Loving Greetings, Harmony
 
9Harmony said:
Dear Brian,

Thank you so much!

Would it be too much to ask that before you post it in it's place that maybe you could post it here for some of us to look it over and make sure it's accurate. I'm sure you will do a wonderful job on it, but as I'm sure you're aware by now, alot of information published by non-Baha'i's about Baha'i's can be based on speculation. (The same can be said for other religions as well.) I don't foresee that being a problem here as I have been very impressed by your openness and fairness on this forum. Continue to ask questions as you have them and we will do our best to answer them. I look forward to reading what you write up.

Thanks again!

Loving Greetings, Harmony
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I'm sure Brian knows that we would all be willing to assist in any way and offer our support.

- Art
 
I'm pretty sure everything I do is quite under public scrutiny. :)

A Baha'i section would be a little prococious though for the moment. I do plan to extensively add to this site later in the year, though. :)
 
Reincarnation and the Baha'i Faith

BruceDLimber said:
Greetings, all; it's good to be here! :)
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Hey Bruce (wave)

BruceDLimber said:
I've been reading through the postings to date, and will endeavor to provide some answers (and a few corrections) here to things that various folks have raised.
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Looks like I tripped across the same website just a month after you did!

BruceDLimber said:
...
As to reincarnation, the Baha'i scriptures simply reject it (so I"m rather surprised that Mick implied we accept it in some form): Baha'i teaching is that each human soul begins at conception and lives eternally, passing from this life to the Next, which endures forever. So reincarnation is simply not part of our world-view: we "only go around once" in this life! :-S
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I thought I might chime in here. I haven't seen Mick's post but I thought I might bridge the matter a bit. I can see both sides of this issue really. On the one hand it is clear in Baha'i Writings that the soul does not return to live another life. On the other hand it is also clear that there is more than a hint of a cyclic nature to history in the Baha'i Writings - especially in religion. In this sense there is a context of a return though it's not spoken of as a general rule. I know I've read some early Christian references and felt right at home!
 
a fine point perhaps

Mick said:
Quote:

Vajradhara said:
my first question is this... are those postings the "official" position of your faith tradition or are they the opinons of an adherent?


'Abdu'l-Baha is the son of Baha'u'llah....His writings are considered translations and explanations of the writings of Baha'u'llah and The Bab...
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I thought I might chime in here. It is true that various scriptures in the Baha'i Faith are considered authorized. But there is always the issue of matching the answer to the question. It is a reasoning mind that reads a question here and finds the "right" answer from authorized sources. This is not the same as an unfailingly correct answer. At the simplist level there is simply a different take on questions among equally sound points of view - the issue of reincarnation for example. One metaphor I use is a camp fire amid trees and a lake and distant mountains. From one side of the camp fire it is clearly framed by nearby trees which are themselves illumined by it while from another angle it is the contrast with the distant cool lake that makes the fire stand out while from another angle it is the placement of the mountain seemingly above the fire that makes it take on dimension. And so on. Are these views wrong? Right? Even if you get up and walk around and percieve all angles - it is still different from being so close to the fire it's all you can see or being so far away that it's just a flickering light almost gone.

More formally I can even distinguish between statements I or others may offer and whatever statements the authorities of the Baha'i Faith may offer in the present tense. Authorized positions on topics of the Baha'i Faith come from authorized sources that authorized institutions communicate in authorized ways - but of course this is just my own formulation. On the other hand, a sincere effort brings it's own reward.
 
timing?

I said:
I'm pretty sure everything I do is quite under public scrutiny. :)

A Baha'i section would be a little prococious though for the moment. I do plan to extensively add to this site later in the year, though. :)
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I suppose if you are speaking in terms of adding a section simply on the basis of a few people showing up and asking you might well be right.

On the other hand More than 2,100 ethnic groups and tribes are represented. and the Baha'i Faith has had prominant roles in the World Environmental Conference and leadership in Women's Conferences and these kinds of contributions (even among DuBois' talented tenth) aren't new! Indeed I think the Baha'i Faith has
emerged from the depths of obscurity

In that light it is perhaps mearly due.
 
I am quite aware of Baha'i as a religion, but a Baha'i section is merely one of a number of additions I need to work on for the site.

I'm also currently working on getting the Koran and Sunnah, and the Tao Te Ching hosted on CR.

I also now have access to a very comprehensive range of Old Testament Apocryphal writings, which I plan to add very soon, along with the Nag Hammadi library.

I also need to seriously update the sections for Judaism and Sikhism - especially with an eye to getting the Adi Granth onsite, as well as some Judaic texts - some form of the Torah (ie, Judaic translation, alliterated with Hebrew characters) and an eventual goal of hosting the entire Babylonian Talmud here.

The more modern religious groups are generally very poorly represented here as well, and the ancient mythology section needs a serious boost, too - something more in-depth on the Roman and Greek interpretations of deity for a start.

I have a lot to do - and much is being worked upon - but recent moves into self-employment, and a new baby arriving, have severely restricted my free-time for the moment at least. I sincerely hope to really work on massive expanding the site later in the year. Maybe you'll see a Baha'i section here yet in 2004. :)
 
Wow!

Congrats on the new baby coming! And good luck on the self-employment (I'm a freelancer myself - much of the time it feels more like "self-unemployment" - alas!)

You are probably already aware of the free OCEAN download - a substantial collection of the world's Sacred Texts and supplementary materials. But, just in case you, or others, haven't got it, here's an URL for you:

http://www.bahai-education.org/ocean/
 
I said:
I am quite aware of Baha'i as a religion, but a Baha'i section is merely one of a number of additions I need to work on for the site.

.....

I have a lot to do - and much is being worked upon - but recent moves into self-employment, and a new baby arriving, have severely restricted my free-time for the moment at least. I sincerely hope to really work on massive expanding the site later in the year. Maybe you'll see a Baha'i section here yet in 2004. :)
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I know the Baha'is here would be willing to assist you in any way through our resources and contacts to improve this Forum!

- Art
 
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