Ruth White
2009-08-27 20:31:49 UTC
#180
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TFIIGSPMCPELF67OR/post180
amishindian wrote:
"Fred, having been an unenrolled believer in Bahaullah for the last 29
years and never been a member of any other Bahai group other than the
Haifa one, I am not planning on joining any group including the Reform
Bahais. Still I appreciate what you are doing. My days of contention on
Bahai issues are over."
Dear AmishIndian,
Thank you for your appreciative words.
If you don't mind my saying so, there seems to me to be two
misconceptions underlying the thinking you express.
First, the very notion of "unenrolled" plays into the hands of the
putative organization that "enrolls," as though it were the legitimate
one by its very existence. The "unenrolled" remain controlled by,
marginalized, and subordinated to the Baha'i denomination they imagine
they're leaving or avoiding the taint thereof. In fact, "unenrolled"
Bahais are playing into the hands of the organization that dominates and
controls believers in Baha'u'llah through its fraudulent will and
testament. The logical step for the "unenrolled" is to understand the
implications of Abdul-Baha's own Intepretation that the Bahai Cause
cannot be "organized." The irony is that they ARE attempting to follow
the actual Teaching of Abdul-Baha without fully recognizing its
implications, which is what Reform Bahais are doing and seeking the
meaning of, the moderate organization he implied and taught.
Second, the notion of "contention" seems to conceive of religion as
though it alone of all human endeavours and fields of activity should be
free of healthy debate and exchange of opinions. Abdul-Baha stated "The
shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing
opinions." Why should religion be any different? Similar to the common
allegations from prevailing culture, the atheist debates, if you will,
etc., in modern society, as in the academic world and so forth, ALL
fields of human exchange follow the standard of Abdul-Baha--He does not
imagine an utopian world free of clash and conflict, nor should we. The
issue is the "shining spark of truth," arrived at only through the
exchange of views and individual thought, prayer, and struggle.
Totalitarianism, censorship, etc., are not the way to achieve unity, but
uniformity and suppression, according to the Teachings of Baha'u'llah
and Abdul-Baha.
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TFIIGSPMCPELF67OR/post180
amishindian wrote:
"Fred, having been an unenrolled believer in Bahaullah for the last 29
years and never been a member of any other Bahai group other than the
Haifa one, I am not planning on joining any group including the Reform
Bahais. Still I appreciate what you are doing. My days of contention on
Bahai issues are over."
Dear AmishIndian,
Thank you for your appreciative words.
If you don't mind my saying so, there seems to me to be two
misconceptions underlying the thinking you express.
First, the very notion of "unenrolled" plays into the hands of the
putative organization that "enrolls," as though it were the legitimate
one by its very existence. The "unenrolled" remain controlled by,
marginalized, and subordinated to the Baha'i denomination they imagine
they're leaving or avoiding the taint thereof. In fact, "unenrolled"
Bahais are playing into the hands of the organization that dominates and
controls believers in Baha'u'llah through its fraudulent will and
testament. The logical step for the "unenrolled" is to understand the
implications of Abdul-Baha's own Intepretation that the Bahai Cause
cannot be "organized." The irony is that they ARE attempting to follow
the actual Teaching of Abdul-Baha without fully recognizing its
implications, which is what Reform Bahais are doing and seeking the
meaning of, the moderate organization he implied and taught.
Second, the notion of "contention" seems to conceive of religion as
though it alone of all human endeavours and fields of activity should be
free of healthy debate and exchange of opinions. Abdul-Baha stated "The
shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing
opinions." Why should religion be any different? Similar to the common
allegations from prevailing culture, the atheist debates, if you will,
etc., in modern society, as in the academic world and so forth, ALL
fields of human exchange follow the standard of Abdul-Baha--He does not
imagine an utopian world free of clash and conflict, nor should we. The
issue is the "shining spark of truth," arrived at only through the
exchange of views and individual thought, prayer, and struggle.
Totalitarianism, censorship, etc., are not the way to achieve unity, but
uniformity and suppression, according to the Teachings of Baha'u'llah
and Abdul-Baha.