Baha'i Library Forum

BruceDLimber

Can you find the statement which conclusively beyond any doubt answers this? I can supply this: "The proper use of the sex instinct is the natural right of every individual, and it is precisely for this purpose that the institution of marriage has been established. The Bahá'ís do not believe i...

BruceDLimber

[T]here may be a wisdom in couching the subject in language that allows for divergent interpretations. That may be generally true, but for Baha'is this question has already been interpreted and explained clearly such that there's no question whatever about what is and is not proper, so for us--at l...

BruceDLimber

Why is succumbing to the sex impulse within marriage, when it is not for the purpose of procreation, suddenly okay?

It's not "suddenly" OK: it's ALWAYS been OK, as has already been pointed out to you by others!

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

so ... do you think you have changed much in the last 40 years ? ... Not al that much save for the translation of the full Aqdas and the estblishment of Huquq'u'llah in the West. and if so ... would you mind be asking ... what has been one of your more favorite/enjoyable experiences ... ?? Definite...

BruceDLimber

FWIW (not a lot to others, I realize), on this day, September 12, exactly 40 years ago, I became a Baha'i! :-)

Bruce Limber

BruceDLimber

Two things you may want to bear in mind: If you go to the very bottom of the terraces (the main entrance) and turn right, the Templar home with "Der Herr ist Nahe" ("The Lord is Near") carved on the lintel is half a block to the right as you face toward the street. And there's a...

BruceDLimber

[S]urely there is a difference between law and amendments.... Not in their effect once passed, no! And you're missing my point about Baha'is' being forbidden to engage in partsan politics, the key word here being "partisan." The sort of proposal you made would clearly be partisan. Bruce

BruceDLimber

What would happen to an individual Baha'i that openly and publicly taught that we must assuredly one day amend The United States Constitution to reflect a position of servitude to the World Order of Baha'u'llah ? Is it permissible for an individual to encourage one and all to amend The United State...

BruceDLimber

So you have no authority? You have not be asked by Jonah or anyone else to frequent this site and ensure that everyone else develops an understanding of the Baha'i Faith similar or in accordance with yours? These are your personal views based on your study of the Baha'i Faith and your understanding...

BruceDLimber

brettz9 wrote:The invention of "original sin" as a literal belief, is rejected in the Baha'i teachings

Not to mention the Jewish scriptures: Ezekiel 18:14-20 explicitly rejects inheritance of sin, which makes the frequent Christian insistance on it all the more bizarre!

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

I think Bruce may be speaking to the fact that the Faith does indeed enjoin us to view certain seemingly material issues with spiritual significance The particular that immediately came to mind when I read the original question is the fact that while early Baha'is placed the Greatest Name on tombst...

BruceDLimber

paula wrote:... fundamentalism

I could easily accuse YOU of divisiveness because of your use of a put-down such as the one above, but choose not to pursue this further.

Respect for Baha'i teachings, symbols, and standards is hardly blameworthy (little as some choose to respect them).

Bruce

BruceDLimber

According to the previous post with such an absolute statement regarding tattoos as being "forbidden" and "disrespectful" and "extremely inappropriate": If this is true, then the National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand and the House of Justice have made a terrible m...

BruceDLimber

DEFINITELY NOT!!!

This is something definitely forbidden as disrespectful and extremely inappropriate!

Bruce

BruceDLimber

From the Baha'i scriptures: “O people of the earth! “The first Glad-Tidings which the Mother Book hath, in this Most Great Revelation, imparted to all the peoples of the world is that the law of holy war hath been blotted out from the Book. Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Lord of grace abounding,...

BruceDLimber

I--and probably most other Baha'is here--have no idea whatever what a "raqa't" is! You would do better to post your comments in English. >The qiblih lies in the East, ie Bahji in Akka in Israel, but it is NOT true that facing the qiblih simply means facing east. In fact, the best way to fa...

BruceDLimber

I ordinarily reply to newcomers' questions, Jonah, but these were sufficiently unusual that I saw no real way of responding to them with anything constructive. . . .

Bruce

BruceDLimber

The portion of the plant used for this is clearly non-psychoactive; otherwise it would fall under the ordinary restrictions. So no problem.

(Remember hemp is used, for example, to make rope, too.)

Bruce

BruceDLimber

I know a written account exists but don't know where to find it. But I do remember hearing him tell us about the experience (during the Oklahoma City youth converence in 1973). He was in South Africa at the time and had received a whole stack of telegrams and was driving along in his car while read...

BruceDLimber

For the record, another excellent Baha'i forum is the discussion area of Planet Baha'i, which you can find here:

http://www.planetbahai.org

It has an excellent mix of Baha'is and others, and lots of fascinating threads!

Recommended.

Bruce

BruceDLimber

It can clearly be pointed out that the original post is nonsense! Arabic is NOT the "mother language" but a later branch off the ORIGINAL language which was apparently Indo-European! Further, the assertion of a Divine Messenger appearing in 1895 is in direct conflict with the Baha'i script...

BruceDLimber

I can't help you on "seventy and two," but page 255 of The Book of Certitude says "each verse has seventy meanings."

Regards,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

It should be noted (and remembered) that the prohibition is on PARTISAN politics, not all politics!

Non-partisan positions are fine!

For example, in recent years two members of the US National Spiritual Assembly served on the California Supreme Court and a Federal Court of Appeals.

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings, Tom, and welcome to the neighborhood! :-) It's great to have you here! What you mentioned is indeed the Abrahamic sequence of religions (though we see the Babi Faith as a separate step after Islam and before the Baha'i Faith itself). There are of course otehr religions that don't fit this...

BruceDLimber

Greetings.

Regardless of your thread title, nothing's changing any time soon because the House recently reviewed this question (twice) and decided review should continue for now.

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) Most obviously, you missed the Most Great Prison itself, with the part that Baha'u'llah occupied. Also, you missed the Ridvan garden. Please note that by it is a house that Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha occasionally occupied briefly. And at Mazra'ih, note that there used to be an aqued...

BruceDLimber

Greetings!

Dame wrote:Perhaps the "return of Christ" is to do a replay of the expelling of the money traders.

IOV it already happened (about a century and a half ago), and it did include as a central tenet Spiritual Solutions to Economic Problems!

Best regards,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

This letter does change the policy somewhat, Brett. While it's now become permissible to invite non-Baha'is to attend a Feast, if they're presesnt the administrative portion is to be largely restricted to ordinary news announcements and such and shouldn't address sensitive or controversial topics. R...

BruceDLimber

I hope Ruhi book 8 ("The Covenant") makes mention of these quotes explaining how "on behalf of" is authoritative and approved by the pertaining Infallible Institution, and is NOT based on the personal opinions of "secretaries"... An excellent point, and I hope you've a...

BruceDLimber

Greetings!

While it's true that the Writings do permit the size of elected bodies to be increased, I do hope they'll remember Parkinson's Law about how small bodies tend to be far more efficient in their operation than larger ones!

Best regards,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings!

The firewalls here are preventing me from accessing the article in question (I may be able to read it later), but I'll simply point out that 'Abdu'l-Baha himself stated he was NOT a Divine Messenger!

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings!

onepence~2 wrote:[b][size=150]... the Middle East, that troubled part of the world that has been in conflict for centuries, for the founding of three of the world's major religions - Judaism, Christianity and Baha'i.

Four religions: Islam also came from this area.

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) As the Cause is God's chosen method of communication for today (and the next thousand years) how can mere mortals (whether they be covenant breakers or not) possibly destroy it? They can't. NOTHING can prevent the Cause of God from prevailing! But what covenant-breakers can do is inte...

BruceDLimber

Hi! Another resource you should check out and/or obtain is the Ocean package, which includes concordances for Baha'i scriptures and the scriptures of many other religions as well! It's offered by the US Baha'i Education Office, and you should be able to find links to it on their website: www.bahai-e...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) >Could there be reincarnation on other planets? Not in the Baha'i view, no! I quote from the Baha'i scriptures: “CHAPTER 81 “Question. - What is the truth of the question of reincarnation, which is believed by some people? “Answer. - The object of what we are about to say is to explai...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) It should be noted that the Baha'i Faith does not ask or expect new believers to change their names, as is common in certain other religions. So whatever name you were born with or already using is fine, including such names as Muhammad and Christian! It's also not uncommon for Baha'i...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! Baha'is believe that features such as Christ's immaculate conception . . . So sorry, but this seems to be a common mistake made by Baha'is: The "immaculate conception" is a Roman Catholic doctrine that refers to Mary , not Christ! And in any case, in the Baha'i view EVERYONE is ...

BruceDLimber

And of course, there have been talk and articles for decades about launches via rails equipped with electomagnets!

Cheers!

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Hi, Joshua, and welcome; it's great to have you here! :-) I see you've already gotten some good answers so just add a few things more: There is no single book that's "the Baha'i scripture." Our central figures wrote fully 200 volumes of what is now our scripture (Baha'u'llah wrote about ha...

BruceDLimber

Hi again! :-) Our wedding was very small and simple, held at the DC Baha'i center: we invited only our closest friends and family--maybe 12 or 15 people. Then the reception was held at a Baha'i friend's home nearby; we simply invited all our friends to a party there. I remember a good friend of mine...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) While you're there, do be sure to visit Shoghi Effendi's grave! You can walk to it from the Enos Grove metro station. (Near it is a small building used as a Baha'i information center; the person who runs it has frequent firesides at his home nearby and often invites visitors to attend...

BruceDLimber

Hi again! :-) I trust Adib clarified the Baha'i stance adequately. It's worth noting, I think, that the main prohibition is on personal interaction with covenant-breakers, far more so than reading their material (though this, too, is hardly encouraged). My regards, and please feel free to ask any fu...

BruceDLimber

Hi, there! :-) I agree: contratulations, and my best wishes! :-) You've already been told the minimum requirement for the Baha'i wedding ceremony. (You already have permission), so what remains is the two of you reciting the vow in front of two official witnesses (whom you may choose: they needn't e...

BruceDLimber

I would like to have a look at Martins book, can you maybe PM the link? You can find it on the Baha'i Library website at www.bahai-library.org where it's number 144 under "Published papers," with the title "The Missionary as Historian." [O]ne thing that bothers me about the Baha...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! Dear Keyvan/AdibM, That's probably William Miller, a Presbyterian missionary who was always very hostile towards the Faith. The photograph was published in his polemical work, Baha'ism, Its Origin, History and Teachings. My uncle owns this book and the picture is there. In my research of ...

BruceDLimber

Simply not applicable.

In the Baha'i Faith, no one is ever "forced" either to join or to leave!

"Freedom Hall" and all that . . .

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Ascent, hi! :-) Is it possible for us to have the wisdom to reconcile disagreements people have with the faith and the standard of life we are supposed to live up to, without earlier study of the writings? While it's not scriptural, I would refer you to Taherzadeh's Revelation of Baha'u'llah . Altho...

BruceDLimber

Hi, CL! :-) I see you've already received some excellent responses, and would just add a few thoughts. I would say that the cause of tests and difficulties is threefold: [list=]Some are indeed God testing us so that we can prevail and grow spiritually! This sometimes applies to ourselves, and someti...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! The Holy Prophet (saww) said, "O Ali, you are to me as Harun was to Musa, but there will be no prophet after me." Yes indeed, as as I already pointed out above, what the Qur'an specifically says is that there will be no nabi (minor prophet), NOT that there will be no more Ras'ul...

BruceDLimber

Johnny, hi! :-) Here's a bit more information to answer your question: Muslims often interpret the Qur'an as stating that Muhammad, being the Seal of the Prophets, is the final prophet and that there will be no more Divine Messengers sent by God (or Allah). In fact, IOV this whole “last prophet” thi...

BruceDLimber

Seeker, hi again! :-) There are a couple points about this I think are worth noting: As as already been noted, none of us really knows the reason for the prohibition. We simply obey it as a matter of faith. Also, this could affect at most only nine women! But service on the House of Justice is nothi...

BruceDLimber

Hi, Seeker! I am specifically asking if this prohibition about preaching is just a prohibition that the Israelis hold against bahais only. So sorry, but you have this exactly backward!: It's not that the Israelis prohibit US from teaching the faith; but rather that Baha'u'llah Himself imposed this r...

BruceDLimber

Hi again!

Please recall the example of Jesus' two states that I mentioned in the recent post.

(In fact, we say that ALL the Divine Messengers constitute this same Only Way to God, and indeed we can post quotations from the various ones to demonstrate this!)

Best!

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Hi! I'm afraid I'm operating with reduced capabilities at the moment (software problems), but I'll try to provide you with at least a brief description of what's happening with Baha'u'llah and other Divine Messengers. We Baha'is teach that all the major religions of the world are divine in origin, s...

BruceDLimber

Hi, CL! :-) In the Baha'i view science and religion are NOT in contradiction, but rather dovetail very nicely! It should be pointed out that Baha'is have no problem with evolution; indeed, IOV religion evolves as well as creation generally! And it's worth noting that while our scriptures state that ...

BruceDLimber

Hi, Seeker! :-) Briefly, the difference is that the Baha'i Faith has the social teachings for this Age, not for some other millenia ago! So while both it and Buddhism teach the same spiritual truths, we see the practical, day-to-day stuff in the Baha'i Faith as maximally relevant! Best regards, I co...

BruceDLimber

Brett, hi! Since you mentioned Lights of Guidance , it may interest you to know that this is one of the books that the Online Baha'i Library project has been working on, preparing it for online release. I know this because I was one of the folks who did an editing pass on the whole book a while back...

BruceDLimber

Brett, hi! You may want to do your postings in the Times New Roman font, or even better Times Extended Roman font. (We use the latter for our book-preparation in the Baha'i Library project.) This will allow all the letters to display properly in the posts, including those containing diacritical mark...

BruceDLimber

Hi again! :-) It's never been necessary for Baha'u'llah to have said something in order for it to be true! Thus although He spoke about a number of Divine Messengers, there were clearly many others He never mentioned Himeself! Given the fact that there were two official interpreters after Him, howev...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! I'm not familiar with the details of this and therefore can't comment further on it, but I do know that the Bab wrote a commentary on the Sur'ih of Kawthar. (Whether this has even been translated into English I can't say, but you might want to explore this further to see whether it's avai...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) I seem to only read Abdul baha speaking of Buddha as a manifestation. Did Baha'ullah proclaim that Buddha was a manifestation? Baha'u'llah didn't mention Him (or at least, not in any of the works we already have available in English). He primarily concentrated on the Abrahamic religio...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! It's almost as if we have no personal relationship with God. Instead we have to turn to Muhammad, christ, buddha, or Baha'ullah in order to pray. Sorry: this is simply wrong! We do NOT "have to" pray to or via any Divine Messenger. We're perfectly free to pray to God directly, a...

BruceDLimber

I presume you've already seen my remark about how the word refers to our own lower nature (if we give it control)?

Regards,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Juan, hi! :-) Evil acts of course do exist! But we Baha'is point out they simply represent relative lack of good in some fashion or other. I'll post the passage in the Baha'i scriptures that explains this below. And types of experience you ask about are either symptoms of illness (sometimes mental),...

BruceDLimber

Hi again, Juan! :-) Per your request, here are two quotes from the Baha'i scriptures and an official Baha'i source about angels and jinn: 86 "And now, concerning His words: 'And He shall send His angels...." By 'angels' is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consum...

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-) >1. In Islamic belief on Qiyamah (Judgement day) an angel will blow a horn and every living person will die. >Then all the dead people will be raised back to life. >All the people in history will be at a plain in Arabia (I don't remember where, I think Mina or the plain of Mount Arafa...

BruceDLimber

Just for the record, his name is Motlagh.

You can see his books at: www.globalperspective.org

Regards,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings! I've edited a number of articles on Wiki! (The only things I still need to find out are how to submit an entirely new Wiki article and how to make a new entry that's purely a cross-reference to an existing article.) Anyway, I'm involved in editing big-time because I'm part of the Online B...

BruceDLimber

Regardless, please note that an English translation of the French footnotes was published and has been available for at least 35 years!

Peace,

Bruce

BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-)

So long as you're simply expressing your beliefs and opinions, CatLady, no problem whatever!

As 'Abdu'l-Baha said, "From the clash of differing opinions the shining spark of truth comes forth!" :-)

Best,

Bruce

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