Baha'i Library Forum

A key question becomes, who are to be the electorate? (If territorial-based, what is the voting district--the whole world?) If it is by territory (see below), yes, the whole world would be the voting district--our Writings specifically advise that the East as well as the West should be invited to p...

Dear Guest, Your comments and participation are most welcome here. From the perspective of our Faith, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah, supported the idea of some language being chosen by global political consensus to be taught in all the schools of the world in addition to the c...

Your assumption that language usage can or should be legislated from on high (government or religious body or supranational entity) rather than evolving naturally from below, is a very statist / central-planning perspective. In this respect I often note how Baha'i, like Esperanto, has much in commo...

A search of this site also turned up mention of similarities between Apocrypha and Bahá'í accounts (I haven't read it but there were a few references within): http://bahai-library.com/articles/episode.bab.html

Also, you can use the same page I mentioned links to other versions to look up Rodwell's version in which he also makes some assertions on Apocrypha. Bear in mind, though, that both of these translators were missionaries (Sale a bit more fair-minded or at least more objective in tone, I would say), ...

Good question... I haven't seen our Writings explicitly address this or quote from them, but I have read that there are some similarities either in the Qur'an or Baha'i Writings with Apocryphal accounts (and oral traditions). In Sale's version of the Qur'an (accessible with other versions from here ...

The per country assessment that I had referred to (of the language situation according to US-English people) is at http://us-english.org/foundation/research/olp/

In fact, in Buddhism, humans may be reborn as Devas or Asuras or Humans or Ghosts or Demons or Animals. The Baha'i Faith does not deny any of this. The Faith denies that a soul can return to THIS planet in any form. No, I'm sorry, I have to disagree with you on this point (though the rest of your c...

I agree with Pilosofia...Our Writings make a distinction between those visions with which the Prophets are inspired and those which are the imaginations of the individual: There is a fundamental difference between Divine Revelation as vouchsafed by God to His Prophets, and the spiritual experiences ...

A few suggestions, if I may...? Please... Brett, if there is ever a future World McLanguage, I hope to dear God that it will not allow every word and every sentence to be underlined, as you have done on your site. icon_confused.gif I imagine that is for the FAQ page that you experienced this? It do...

I wanted to address a post made by one of the "Guest"s earlier in <a href=http://bahai-library.com/forum3/viewtopic.php?t=59>this thread.</a> I felt that it showed a lot of wisdom in addressing polarization and the need to progressively address issues according to the receptivity of the people, the ...

Darrick, I'm not sure whether you noticed the post I included from the House of Justice or not. What other way is there to interpret the statement? There are two issues here. What is the moral thing to do given the circumstances and what is the administratively binding thing to do. I was only referr...

In question 91 of the Aqdas , it mentions that if one washes one's hands or face one or two times in a volume of water called a "kurr", the water will not need to be renewed (unless it is altered by color, smell, or taste). Now a footnote states that this "kurr" is equivalent to about 1/2 of a cubic...

Greetings all, Thanks to Jonah for a very helpful (and well-formatted) collection of quotations. If we can get the wiki going again, this would be a nice addition, I think. For your reference, if you'd like to find further resources on a particular theological topic (as covered in Some Answered Ques...

You believe that certain other religions are animated with a spiritual spark which legitimizes them, but which you possess in greater abundance--by which I mean, you see yourselves as more suitable for the modern age. Everybody else ought to join you, if they only understood their own religions ari...

We don't claim that other religions secretly agree with us either. On the historian topic, well, again, it would be strange to take some historian's conjectures about something occurring (or not occurring) in prehistoric times over One we believe to be divinely inspired (presuming we correctly under...

Actually we are taught to refer to historians of religion for resolving these questions. And we do believe They are Manifestations of God. The important thing for most people is a recognition of the truth animating each religion. It would be quite impossible to unify the followers of each religion b...

I kinda want to know about Baha'i pilgrimage in general; how, where, when, etc. You should contact your National Spiritual Assembly about this, as they should have this information. It is for Haifa and Akka/Bahji in Israel. There is usually a several year waiting period at least. It is only for cer...

Dear Dawud and all, As far as point 1 you raise, that is true; we cannot easily identify exactly what kind of inspiration there may have been for specific "native" Prophets. If there is such a Tablet, then we of course, would accept that there must have been such an inspiration, but as the quote I s...

At http://library.bahai.org/serv/guidem.html it states: "Researchers from outside the World Centre (including relatives of World Centre staff) require the authorization of the Universal House of Justice to have access to Library and Archival materials." and "Application should be made directly to th...

One issue to consider though is the following quotation in Sciptures of Previous Dispensations stating, "Regarding your questions: We cannot possibly add names of people we (or anyone else) think might be Lesser Prophets to those found in the Qur'an, the Bible and our own Scriptures. For only these ...

Look forward to reading it!

Brett

Sorry, I meant that I did not think that there were any need for reservations to be made to visit the gardens...It came out wrong, sorry...

Brett

I've heard this passed around (in the version I heard it was 5 books), but I don't know of any text which authenticates this. It could be pilgrim's notes or it could simply be myth... The following are some general encouragement, however, as to the need for Baha'is to also pursue secular studies: 'T...

I don't think there is any need for tourists to go through the Baha'i gardens, but I also think the International Baha'i Archives is not open to the pubilc. Sorry I can't give an exact answer (I was hoping someone else could)...

Brett

Ok, well the list I gave in the second post in this thread indicates those Who are explicitly Manifestations of God...

Brett

But those Sabaeans, I understand, are different than those Sabaeans who trace their reilgion even before Abraham... 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains baptism as symbolic of purification, and Jesus' family followed the rites of Judaism, showing that He thus thereby fulfilled the law...I don't know of any Scriptu...

Dear all, Below are two pages joined together, one on diet, the other on diet in public discussions (how Bahá'ís are supposed to or not supposed to talk about diet with each other). There is also the compilation from the Research Deparment at http://bahai-library.com/compilation_health_healing_nutri...

Also, FYI, the Gleanings quote from Bahá'u'lláh is originally from par. 20 of the Íqán...

Brett

Sorry, this may be inaccurate, not to mention convoluted, but I came across the following in a web search which I got the impression was referring to a tradition attributed to Muhammad (written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, but seemingly (to me at least) referencing an oral tradition of the Prophet Muhamma...

As I recall, John the Baptist is considered a lesser prophet, but not a Manifestation of God...I couldn't find anything confirming him to be so in the Qur'an...Do you have some reason to say so, or was it an oversight? King David is confirmed as a lesser prophet (e.g., see http://www.bahai-library.c...

"And after Noah the light of the countenance of Húd shone forth above the horizon of creation. For well-nigh seven hundred years, according to the sayings of men, He exhorted the people to turn their faces and draw nearer unto the Ridván of the divine presence. What showers of afflictions rained u...

On Idris: "In one of His Tablets Bahá'u'lláh wrote: `The first person who devoted himself to philosophy was Ídrís. Thus was he named. Some called him also Hermes. In every tongue he hath a special name. He it is who hath set forth in every branch of philosophy thorough and convincing statements. Aft...

Dear Mat, I do not know of any reference to the Egyptian Pharaoh, but it sure was an interesting blip in religious history. The only real discussion of Seth is mentioned at http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_sabeans_mary_ufos.html#s1.1 (which discusses and is in connection with Sabaeaenism...) Glad ...

Our Writings state that Lao Zi was not a Prophet, lesser or otherwise. I think there are of course many inspired parallels, however, with the Dao De Jing's emphasis on the Unknowability of the Divine (and depending on how one decides to interpret the verses, other verses as well). Confucius is extol...

Let me know if you need the evidence of why a specific One has been included... Note, as there are many more than 9, this is different than the 9 existing religions sometimes referred to....We are also not to make too big a deal of highlighting who they are... (perhaps because many others are inspir...

Sorry, we're working through some stuff with the wiki at the moment... Here is the list adapted from it... Those following immediately do have confirmation of being Manifestations of God as far as I could find: Baha'u'llah The Bab Muhammad Christ Buddha Zoroaster Elijah (Elias) Jonah (Jonas) Jethro ...

Dawud and all, FYI, the compilation I had referred to earlier is now online here at http://bahai-library.com/?file=compilation_cultural_diversity_maturity.html . Based on the discussion, some might also be interested in the compilation at http://bahai-library.com/?file=compilation_teaching_aborigina...

Also, an African-American history calendar including a story on Louis Gregory... http://www.heraldonline.com/lifestyles/ ... 0591c.html

And it looks like Louis Gregory has been nominated for a South Carolina African-American history honor:
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2004/1 ... 002546.txt

Mary Maxwell (Rúhíyyih Khánum) has been voted as no. 44 in a project by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to decide the "Greatest Canadian". See the publicly editable "wiki" article at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Canadian or the news article at http://www.cbc.ca/story/...

Here is one passage I think might be helpful in this discussion: A challenge of similar nature faces economic thinking as a result of the environmental crisis. The fallacies in theories based on the belief that there is no limit to nature's capacity to fulfill any demand made on it by human beings h...

To me, the strangest thing about theism is the presumption that "my" culture or subculture's religion / God makes sense in a way that the cults and idols of Zeus or Mumbo Jumbo, God of the Congo, do not. † One can believe in a particular religion, while appreciating the common human psychology whic...

Please note: This is not for use by businesses...

thank you,
Brett

Dear friends, I would like to ask that anyone submitting an article to this site also consider adding a link to their page from within our collaborative wiki pages (if a link is not already there). If your article pertains especially to a particular work of the Baha'i Writings, add a link to your ar...

These ongoing discussions have now been moved to http://bahai9.com/forum/ in order to take advantage of that site's more sophisticated software which allows sorting of threads by various means (this should be helpful when the threads become long and people want to refer back to them).

Brett

Dear Dawud, Yes, one could make the same arguments based on any belief system. My point was that there is nothing inherently contradictory about holding a belief and believing in science. Materialists have their own belief system which I think tends to obscure their judgement, but I don't think it p...

Dear Dawud, It seems to me that if you're going to invoke science, you have to be open in principle to the possibility that science will say something that Baha'i philosophy doesn't agree with. (Same for scholarship in general.) Well, that is part of the pursuit of truth. Of course, there is always ...

Dear Pilosofia and all, I'm sorry if I didn't mention it, but you can use http://bahai9.com/forum/ for ongoing discussions (be sure to include the last slash). In this case, it would go under "topical discussions". Although it is a different system than this one, it allows for sorting in different w...

It could even be "thousands" of years... See the collaborative mini-compilation started at http://bahai9.com/wiki/Him_Who_will_be_ ... u_after_Me

Brett

The Messengers you have listed are independent Manifestations of God Whose followers are still in existence. Abraham and Moses might be considered together for Judaism, and the Founder of Sabeanism (Whose name is unknown) could be added in. Noah and Elijah actually were, we believe, independent Mani...

Dear Janine, Perhaps you may disagree on this, but I don't see how referring to the Writings on a question is "forcing ones spiritual progress without the proper balance", as you put it. If occult practices are discouraged, then they are discouraged. Although there are many paths in the sense that s...

Dear Janine, The copy of the Dawn-Breakers here at http://bahai-library.com/?file=nabil_dawnbreakers.html links to the translated footnotes. However, I don't know that anyone has collected these into one document for the purposes of printing it off, for example, for those with the copy with the Fren...

Astrology is discouraged, but Bahá'ís are not to make a big issue of this. All occult practices are discouraged. Psychic practices, while recognized in our Writings as being possible (though often just either a sham or due to the imagination of the practicioner), are discouraged as well. There was a...

I think it means that there is no judgment on such a matter, at least at this stage of time. Since there is no mention of it being forbidden, there would be no administrative sanctions taken for a woman doing so (I don't know of any case where there would be, unless it were somehow flagrant such as ...

At the end of http://bahai-library.com/resources/tablets-notes/lawh-ayiy-nur/notes.html and in http://bahai-library.com/?file=marshall_disconnected_letters.html , there is a reference that this Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh deals with the issue of divination. The Qur'án spoke out against divination by arrow...

In the Qur'án a whole chapter is devoted to the story of Jesus. It records that in the time of His youth He worshiped God in the temple at Jerusalem, that manna descended from heaven for His sustenance and that He uttered words immediately after His birth. In brief, in the Qur'án there is eulogy an...

There is an obelisk at the Bahá'í World Centre currently marking the location for the future Mashqiru'l-Adhkár there. Perhaps someone else can answer your other questions.

Brett

"One of the most heinous of sexual offenses is the crime of rape. When a believer is a victim, she is entitled to the loving aid and support of the members of her community, and is free to initiate action against the perpetrator under the law of the land should she wish to do so. If she becomes pre...

Yes, it is true that pork is not forbidden: "The eating of pork is not forbidden in the Baha'i Teachings." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 27, 1938; quoted in Lights of Guidance, no. 1012) You can view a little bit about the recommendatio...

Also, as far as distinguishing the Twelver sect, I think it might be more exact to say, not that the Shaykhi movement was separate, but rather that it was one subgroup of the Twelvers (since the Shaykhis believed in the twelve Imams as well).

best wishes,
Brett

Ok, I see your position on this... I was just pointing out that I feel there are some a priori biases that secular (often materialists by default if not choice) have in their leanings in investigating matters. In fact, one might even argue, that religious faith can inspire an even greater devotion t...

Dear Pilosofia, As far as the reason for this information being on different websites... Jonah is the site owner here, so this is his bulletin board, though I have assisted a little bit with some moderating. I did temporarily set up a similar discussion here, so I apologize for any confusion (you we...

Dear Pilosofia, The bulletin board you referred to, is more intended for announcement of new discussions and not for the actual discussing itself. If you are interested, I can set up an ongoing thread dedicated to this topic at http://bahai9.com/forum/ (I can also add back the other topical thread y...

Dear Dawud, I apologize. It looks like I had accidentally edited your post instead of just replying to it. I thought that the text of your document had appeared because I was replying to it. Please feel free to repost it if you have a copy of it. I'm very very sorry for this mistake on my part. best...

Dear Matthew, I'll respond here bit by bit to the points you had indicated. A small point: the Shaykhis were a Shi'i sect, but it did not take begin until the early 1800's. As far as Mírzá Yahyá leaving control to Bahá'u'lláh, although he did depend on Him quite a bit (Bahá'u'lláh had raised him and...

Dear Matthew, Thank you for sharing with us your own spiritual journey. There is such a stark lack of holiness in this age, it is hard to find any respite from it or avoid being tainted by it to some degree. And it is refreshing to see people take it seriously for its impact whether on our souls in ...

Hello Mathew... For your last point about conditions getting worse until Christ returned, from the point of view of the Bahá'í Faith, Christ's Return, while having already passed in its suddenness and momentousness, was also neglected by the world (as the thief coming in the night whose coming had a...

Dear Matthew, Thank you for sharing with us your understandings and giving us a chance to respond. Although you may not be actively seeking a new system of belief, with your pursuing information from various sources, it seems you are a seeker at least in the sense of being engaged in a general searc...

Question 3 Are the manifestations truly one person? Or do they just live with the same spirit from God? If they are one person, as Bahai literature sometimes seems to suggest, how does this work? Is it some form of specialized reincarnation? Chapters 38 and 39 of Some Answered Questions by 'Abdu'l-...

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