Blogs

Posted December 19, 2009 by Clethass

Keeping the Faith While Remaining Unjudging

Thursday November 26, 2009
A recent Baha'i blog post gives a great explanation on how one can be true to the tenets of one's faith without diminishing the choices made by others.
The Baha'i Faith holds that all sex outside of marriage is adultery, including homosexual sex. The faith also holds that marriage is a union between man and woman.
Yet this Baha'i has no issue with the government making gay marriages legal. Why? For one, he sees a difference between religious marriage and legal marriage. Legal marriages is something organized by the state and involves paperwork. If lawmakers want to include homosexuals in this shuffle of paperwork, so be it.
Second, he sees himself responsible only for his own behavior, not for everyone else's. He gives alcohol consumption as an example. He never drinks, yet has no objection to other people drinking. The rules of the Baha'i do not apply to non-Baha'i, and even if a Baha'i chooses to drink, that choice is personal.

Be fair in thy judgement and reflect upon these exalted utterances. Inquire, then, of those who lay claim to knowledge without a proof or testimony from God, and who remain heedless of these days wherein the Orb of knowledge and wisdom hath dawned above the horizon of Divinity, rendering unto each his due and assigning unto all their rank and measure, as to what they can say concerning these allusions. Verily, their meaning hath bewildered the minds of men, and that which they conceal of the consummate wisdom and latent knowledge of God even the most sanctified souls have been powerless to uncover
(Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 5)

Tags: Judgement, Utterance, Knowledge, Wisdom, Divinity, Mind, Man, Soul

One Word: God

Posted June 26, 2009 by Clethass

Iranian Community Speaks Out, Free BahaӒi Leaders<o:p></o:p>

The following news release has been posted about the BahaԒi leaders in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. These women and men have been unjustly held in the notorious Evinprison for over a year - on charges that are entirely based on their religious beliefs. As an Iranian human rightsactivist and researcher, I stand in complete opposition to the actions of the governmentof <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I know members of the Bahai community personally, and have witnessed their deep love and affinitywith <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, even among BahaҒis who are themselves non-Iranian. Thus making such charges of espionage all the more outrageous and false.<o:p></o:p>

The brutality and violencethe Iranian government is demonstrating to members of their own population, whether prisoners of conscience, or those on the streets of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tehran</st1:place></st1:city>, must absolutely stop.<o:p></o:p>

The world is watching, as are the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and the time is upon us when such injustice will not be tolerated. I stand in solidarity with Bahai leaders in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region>, and all the members of this community, as well as all ethnic and religious minorities in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p>

Sayeh Hassan canadafreepress.com, June 25, 2009<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

The story reads: <o:p></o:p>

Reports of a trial date for BahaҒi leaders falsely accused of espionage<o:p></o:p>

24 June 2009<o:p></o:p>

According to information conveyed by the authorities in Evin prisonto the family members of the seven Bahais who have been imprisoned in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tehran</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region></st1:place>, for over a year, their trial date has been set for 11 July 2009. This information has been provided to the family members only orally and, as information conveyed by officials concerning the judicial process has often proved unreliable, it is possible that the Iranian authorities may find some reason to change the trial date.<o:p></o:p>

The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the BahaҒis will be accused of espionage for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.Ӕ<o:p></o:p>

The trial is apparently scheduled to be held at Branch 28 of the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Revolutionary Court</st1:address></st1:street>. This is where American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. She was eventually released, but only after an international outcry at the clear politicization of the case and manifestly unjust legal procedures.<o:p></o:p>

These seven individuals are facing completely false charges,Ӕ said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Bahai International Community to the United Nations. ғThey - along with the some 30 other Bahais currently in prisonin Iran - are innocent of any wrongdoing and are being held solely because of their religious beliefs.Ҕ<o:p></o:p>

I wish nothing but the best for the people of this noble land. A country that saw the birth of the Bahai Faith, and a nation with a bright and glorious future.<o:p></o:p>

By: Donna Hakimian<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Thou seest, O my God, how the wrongs committed by such of Thy creatures as have turned their backs to Thee have come in between Him in Whom Thy Godhead is manifest and Thy servants. Send down upon them, O my Lord, what will cause them to be busied with each others' concerns. Let, then, their violence be confined to their own selves, that the land and they that dwell therein may find peace.<o:p></o:p>

One of Thy handmaidens, O my Lord, hath sought Thy face, and soared in the atmosphere of Thy pleasure. Withhold not from her, O my Lord, the things Thou didst ordain for the chosen ones among Thy handmaidens. Enable her, then, to be so attracted by Thine utterances that she will celebrate Thy praise amongst them.<o:p></o:p>

Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, Whose help is implored by all men. <o:p></o:p>

(Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 195)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Servant, Land, Peace, Utterance, Praise, Man, Prayer, Baha'u

One Word: God

Posted June 20, 2009 by Clethass

MOTHERS' guilt about working is hurting public education, says advertising guru and education author Jane Caro.<o:p></o:p>

Some women use children's private school fees as an "excuse" for working when their children are young, she said.
Caro is talking today in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hobart</st1:place></st1:city> at a body image conference of the Australian Education Union.
"It's my belief that women's feelings are having an adverse effect on public education," she said.
"Women say 'I really am a good mother, I'm not working for my own sake but to pay the school fees'.
"Women work because they're educated, they want to contribute something and get out of the house. Most women find it pretty dull to stay home all the time, especially when their children are past toddler age, despite all the beat-up about the return of the domestic goddess."
A strong advocate of public education, Caro said the consumer culture was part of the private school drive.
"There's a belief that something's worth more if you pay more," she said. "After being in advertising for 30 years I know what a crock that one is."
She said boys especially but also girls could benefit from co-education.
"A lot of single-sex schools have a heavy feminist message, the world is your oyster, and women get a hell of a shock when they get into the real world.
"There is so much pressure -- they have to look fabulous, get really high marks, act like ladies, they have to attract boys but can't go near them.
"Girls are always being told what to do. But they don't have to be perfect, they should be confident with who they are. We do that with boys, we say 'boys will be boys'."
She said "sex sells" advertising could be harmful.
"It's quite subtle and a lot of people don't know why it makes them uneasy," she said.
"I think the message should be that women are no better and no worse than men and we should be cut the same amount of slack. We're all flawed human beings."
The AEU women's conference is at the Baha'i Centre of Learning today.<o:p></o:p>

MICHELLE PAINE June www.themercury.com.au 20, 2009 <o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p>It Is Enjoined Upon Every One Of You To Engage In Some Form Of Occupation, Such As Crafts, Trades And The Like. We Have Graciously Exalted Your Engagement In Such Work To The Rank Of Worship Unto God, The True One. Ponder Ye In Your Hearts The Grace And The Blessings Of God And Render Thanks Unto Him At Eventide And At Dawn. Waste Not Your Time In Idleness And Sloth. Occupy Yourselves With That Which Profiteth Yourselves And Others. Thus Hath It Been Decreed In This Tablet From Whose Horizon The Day-Star Of Wisdom And Utterance Shineth Resplendent.</o:p>

<o:p> (Baha'u'llah, Tablets Of Baha'u'llah, P. 25)</o:p>

Tags: Trade, Life, Worship, Heart, Grace, Blessing, Thanks, Time, Tablet, Wisdom, Utterance

One Word: God

Posted May 22, 2009 by Clethass

The Gallantry of Illumined Souls<o:p></o:p>

This surely is a time for the gallantry of illumined souls.Very dear friends, we pray that you can be counted among this noble company.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

On May 14, 2008, six of the seven members of the ad-hoc governing body of the Bah!ҭs of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin Prison.Last week marked the one-year anniversary of their arrests(the seventh had been arrested on March 5, 2008). Since then, they have been held without access to their legal counsel,Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi.<o:p></o:p>

They have been charged on the baseless accusations of espionage for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic and, most recently, ԓspreading corruption on earth.<o:p></o:p>

They are men and women, mothers and fathers, some of whom have a history of persecution in their families.ԠAmong them are: a developmental psychologist, an agricultural engineer, an educator and school principal, a social worker, an optometrist, an industrialist, and a factory owner.<o:p></o:p>

In aletter written on September 9, 2007 to Bahᒭ students deprived of access to higher education in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, theUniversal House of Justice wrote:<o:p></o:p>

Service to others is the way.Let it be your watchword, Abdul-Bahҡbeing your Examplar. Like Him, you can find practical ways of serving your fellow citizens.Strive to work hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, with your fellow citizens in your efforts to promote the common good.<o:p></o:p>

As we keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and as we work, in whatever way we can, to speak out against this injustice, let us remember the poignant words of the Universal House of Justice to the Bah!ҭs in Iran, in aletter written on November 26, 2003:<o:p></o:p>

Your long night will end, and you will have the joy of witnessing with your own eyes the might structures your sacrifices have raised.<o:p></o:p>

(For those in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>, find out how you can write to your representatives and senators regarding co-sponsoring House Res. 175 and Senate Res. 71:http://iran.bahai.us ).<o:p></o:p>

leila www.bahaiperspectives.com May 21st, 2009<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

Say: O people, cause no corruption in the earth and dispute not with men; for, verily, this is not worthy of those who have chosen in the shelter of their Lord a station which shall indeed remain secure.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> If ye find one athirst, give him to drink from the chalice of Kawtha and Tasneen; and if ye find one endowed with an attentive ear, read unto him the verses of God, the mighty, the merciful, the compassionate! Unloose the tongue with excellent utterance, then admonish the people if ye find them advancing unto the sanctuary of God; otherwise abandon them unto themselves and forsake them in the abyss of hell. Beware lest ye scatter the pearls of inner significance before every barren, dumb one. Verily, the blind are deprived of witnessing the lights and are unable to distinguish between the stone and the holy, precious pearl.</o:p>

<o:p>(Baha'u'llah, The Tablet of the Branch)</o:p>

Tags: People, Station, Chalice, Verse, Utterance, Pearl, Light

ONE WORD: GOD

Posted April 9, 2009 by Clethass

American Baha'is Celebrate Holiest Period - Ridvan - April 21 to May 2 <o:p></o:p>

From April 21 to May 2, the American Baha'i community celebrates Ridvan, considered the holiest period of the Baha'i calendar, which commemorates the Baha'i Founder's public declaration in 1863 of His mission as God's messenger for today.

Baha'i communities across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> will hold gatherings for fellowship and devotions, as well as the annual elections for the faith's leadership at the national and local levels.

The election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> will take place at the Baha'i House of Worship in <st1:city w:st="on">Wilmette</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Ill.</st1:state>, where 171 delegates from around the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> will gather from April 23 to 26 to cast their ballots and consult on the affairs of the national Baha'i community. Gatherings to elect Local Spiritual Assemblies will take place in more than 1,000 towns and cities across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> where at least nine Baha'is reside.

Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, announced in 1863 that He was God's Messenger for today and the Promised One of all earlier religions. Baha'u'llah declared His mission to a small group of followers on an island on the Tigris river in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Baghdad</st1:place></st1:city>, where He pitched His tent for 12 days. The first, third and twelfth days of Ridvan (pronounced RIZ-von) are considered holy days on which Baha'is suspend work. After His declaration, Baha'u'llah was sentenced to perpetual confinement in the prison-city of Akka (now in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>) where He passed away in 1892.

Baha'u'llah taught that in an age of universal education, there is no longer a need for clergy. Instead, he provided an administrative framework of elected, nine-member councils at the local, national and international levels. All Baha'i elections occur by secret ballot and plurality vote, without candidacies, nominations or campaigning. There are more than 180 National Spiritual Assemblies and 11,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies around the world. Baha'is 21 years of age or older are eligible to vote and be elected to serve on spiritual assemblies.

The Baha'i Faith is the youngest of the world's independent monotheistic religions and one of the fastest-growing with a significant presence throughout the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Baha'is view the world's major religions as part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity. Major Baha'i tenets include the oneness of humanity, equality of men and women, eradication of prejudice, harmony of science and religion, universal education and world peace. To learn more about the Baha'i Faith in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, check http://www.bahai.us . <o:p></o:p>

Note: Reporters can interview American Baha'is celebrating Ridvan at their local Baha'i Centers or at local homes. For information, contact communications@bahai.us. <o:p></o:p>

Note: For more background information, check the Religion Newswriters Association's new "Source Guide on the Baha'i Faith" at www.religionlink.org/tip_090211.php . <o:p></o:p>

Ellen Price, www.religionnews.com April 08, 2009<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

Now is the moment in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world. The Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their Books were revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men. But now behold, how they have made the Law of God a cause and pretext for perversity and hatred. How pitiful, how regrettable, that most men are cleaving fast to, and have busied themselves with, the things they possess, and are unaware of, and shut out as by a veil from, the things God possesseth!<o:p></o:p>

(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 12)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Detachment, Pen, Wisdom, Utterance, People, World, Messenger, Book, Knowledge, Unity

Displaying 1 to 5 of 11