Comments on Bahá’í Thought: Bad Religion?

The Master's succinct answer to this question, wh...

2008-05-18T08:47:00.000-03:00

The Master's succinct answer to this question, which bears pondering:

"Every great light casts a shadow".

Judith W.

Well said Victor, my question was at least partly ...

2008-05-17T22:30:00.000-03:00

Well said Victor, my question was at least partly rhetorical.

The "threat" that the Faith poses is quite substan...

2008-05-17T20:54:00.000-03:00

The "threat" that the Faith poses is quite substantial, as has been the case with every new revelation from God. The advent of a new religion threatens the social, economic, political and cultural order. Those whose power, wealth and status depend on the existing order are profoundly threatened by a new Faith with a new revelation. Thus was Jesus crucified. Thus did the Arabs make war upon the Prophet Muhammad -- peace be upon him. Even someone below the status of prophet -- Gandhi or Martin Luther King, for instance -- threatened various constituencies and paid the price. Even people without power and status are threatened by a new Faith, which requires them to change so many facets of their lives. Witness how fiercely many Afghans, Taliban and others, resist all kinds of changes, even those that objectively benefit them.
The "threat" disappears, however, for those who can lift the veils and realize the much greater power and status that awaits them -- power and status not necessarily visible on this earthly plain.
So, Philippe, yes, we are indeed threatening. Persecution should not be a surprise, and we have also been counseled that we might experience it in this country, too, if not on such a brutal level.

I just loved the story on Bahá'í World News Servic...

2008-05-17T05:22:00.000-03:00

I just loved the story on Bahá'í World News Service about the huge diversity of the delegates to International Convention. Even more I loved the photographs that went with the story. They are not just the usual generic "happy Bahá'ís" photos, they are - to borrow a phrase - "up close and personal". They are somehow intense; they really tell you something about the person or people in the photos. I love 'em.

But let me tell you,, Phillipe, the sheer spiritual (and physical) reality of being in a convention hall with all these lovely people, of talking to them, of seeing them in the Holy Shrines, of meeting groups of them wandering around Haifa, beats all stories and photos into a cocked hat!

Every International Convention is special. But this one was something else. The energy, the unity, the sharing of experience... I could go on at length, but I'm sure you get the feeling. If you wanted to have a glimpse of the future, that was it.

I long for the day when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Iran is re-established and the members cast their ballots in the election of the Universal House of Justice. They will be cheered to the echo by every other country in the world.