Abdul Baha

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choogue
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Abdul Baha

Postby choogue » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:33 am

Hi All,

Quick question.

Would Abdul Baha be classed as a prophet or just an interpreter? No references please. Just a simple answer would do.

I just want to know whether Abdul Baha had the right to change any laws his father placed.

Regards
Abbas

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Re: Abdul Baha

Postby Baha'i Warrior » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:39 am

abbas wrote:Would Abdul Baha be classed as a prophet or just an interpreter? No references please. Just a simple answer would do.


An infallible interpreter.

abbas wrote:I just want to know whether Abdul Baha had the right to change any laws his father placed.


No He didn't. And also, He never did that. If you think you found somewhere where the Master changes any of His Father's Laws, please show me and I'll try to clarify it for you.

choogue
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Postby choogue » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:50 am

An infallible interpreter.


Ok cool.

No He didn't. And also, He never did that. If you think you found somewhere where the Master changes any of His Father's Laws, please show me and I'll try to clarify it for you.


I havent seen anything but my gf was explaining that Abdul was also a prophet which is why he did change some laws. Not sure which ones. Ill find out though.

Regards
Abbas

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Postby Baha'i Warrior » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:57 am

abbas wrote:I havent seen anything but my gf was explaining that Abdul was also a prophet which is why he did change some laws. Not sure which ones. Ill find out though.


Hmmm...maybe you need to become a Baha'i and teach your girlfriend about the faith? Well, you can still do it now. He definitely wasn't a Prophet, though we also shouldn't underestimate His station.

choogue
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Postby choogue » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:07 am

Hmmm...maybe you need to become a Baha'i and teach your girlfriend about the faith? Well, you can still do it now. He definitely wasn't a Prophet, though we also shouldn't underestimate His station.


hahaha, yeh i know huh! But its cool. I dont need to become a Bahai to teach her though. Ive asked her to view this forum instead and learn from it.

Atleast now she would realise that he wasnt a Prophet.

Regards
Abbas

choogue
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Postby choogue » Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:21 pm

Ok. These are the some of the reasons why my gf believes Abdul Baha was a prophet.

1. Apparently Bahaullah allowed the marriage of two wives, however abdul baha abrogated that law and said marry only one.
2. Apparently Bahaullah has said that we should be eating meat, but Abdul Baha said that meat is not the food for us because we cant digest it, or something like that.......cant remember exactly what she said.

3. Apparently Bahaullah didnt prohibit homosexuality but Abdul Baha did.

There are a few others, but these are the ones i remember.

But anyway, this is why my gf believes that Abdul Baha was a Prophet. Mind you, she actually teaches this in her classes of the Ruhi books.

Regards
Abbas

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Postby Zazaban » Sat Feb 10, 2007 12:06 am

abbas wrote:Ok. These are the some of the reasons why my gf believes Abdul Baha was a prophet.

1. Apparently Bahaullah allowed the marriage of two wives, however abdul baha abrogated that law and said marry only one.
He said that Baha'u'llah meant only one.
2. Apparently Bahaullah has said that we should be eating meat, but Abdul Baha said that meat is not the food for us because we cant digest it, or something like that.......cant remember exactly what she said.
He encouraged vegitarianism
3. Apparently Bahaullah didnt prohibit homosexuality but Abdul Baha did.
Never heard of that
There are a few others, but these are the ones i remember.

But anyway, this is why my gf believes that Abdul Baha was a Prophet. Mind you, she actually teaches this in her classes of the Ruhi books.
errrr......
Regards
Abbas
Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.
~ Bahá'u'lláh

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Postby Baha'i Warrior » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:26 am

abbas wrote:1. Apparently Bahaullah allowed the marriage of two wives, however abdul baha abrogated that law and said marry only one.


(I knew this was going to come up). No, I believe Abdu'l-Baha states that what Baha'u'llah said was rhetorical, because marriage is dependent on justice, and you can't show equal justice to two wives.

From Kitab-i-Aqdas:

"C. Laws of Personal Status

1. Marriage:

a. Marriage is highly recommended but not obligatory.

b. Plurality of wives is forbidden."

abbas wrote:2. Apparently Bahaullah has said that we should be eating meat, but Abdul Baha said that meat is not the food for us because we cant digest it, or something like that.......cant remember exactly what she said.


That's news to me. :ai2 Eating meat is not forbidden, though 'Abdu'l-Baha says that it is contrary to compassion. In the future, meat won't be eaten according to the Writings.

abbas wrote:3. Apparently Bahaullah didnt prohibit homosexuality but Abdul Baha did.


No, Baha'u'llah most certainly did indeed prohibit sexual inversion, (or sex outside of marriage between anybody):

"We shrink, for very shame, from treating the subject of boys. Fear ye the Merciful, O peoples of the world! Commit not that which is forbidden you in Our Holy Tablet, and be not of those who rove distractedly in the wilderness of their desire." Verse 107 of the Book of Aqdas

Also, revealed around the same time of the Aqdas:

"Ye are forbidden to commit adultery, sodomy and lechery. Avoid them, O concourse of the faithful. By the righteousness of God! Ye have been called into being to purge the world from the defilement of evil passions. This is what the Lord of all mankind hath enjoined upon you, could ye but perceive it. He who relateth himself to the All-Merciful and committeth satanic deeds, verily he is not of Me. Unto this beareth witness every atom, pebble, tree and fruit, and beyond them this ever-proclaiming, true and trustworthy Tongue." Bahá'u'lláh, from a Tablet translated from the Arabic, cit. Ganjineh Hodud wa Ahkaam pp. 338-339 Bahá'í Publishing Trust of Iran

'Abdu'l-Baha expounds on that and makes it clear what Baha'u'llah meant, as does Shoghi Effendi.

abbas wrote:There are a few others, but these are the ones i remember.


The answer is no to those too.

abbas wrote:But anyway, this is why my gf believes that Abdul Baha was a Prophet. Mind you, she actually teaches this in her classes of the Ruhi books.


Even if what you say is true that you have a girlfriend who is a Baha'i, and even if it is true that this girlfriend teaches a Ruhi class and thinks 'Abdu'l-Baha was a Prophet, that doesn't change the facts. This girlfriend of yours is a little confused obviously, and most certainly she will be corrected at some point. No need to worry about it. 8-)

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Postby choogue » Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:32 am

From Kitab-i-Aqdas:

"C. Laws of Personal Status

1. Marriage:

a. Marriage is highly recommended but not obligatory.

b. Plurality of wives is forbidden."


What you quoted, is that written by Bahaullah or Abdul Baha?

That's news to me. Eating meat is not forbidden, though 'Abdu'l-Baha says that it is contrary to compassion. In the future, meat won't be eaten according to the Writings.


Ill see if she can provide quotes.

"We shrink, for very shame, from treating the subject of boys. Fear ye the Merciful, O peoples of the world! Commit not that which is forbidden you in Our Holy Tablet, and be not of those who rove distractedly in the wilderness of their desire." Verse 107 of the Book of Aqdas


Sorry, do you mean the bit in bold is what Bahaullah is talking about homosexuality?

The answer is no to those too.


Well the other one she was going to ask was - "Does Seeing = meeting?" hehehe......relax....just kidding ;)

Even if what you say is true that you have a girlfriend who is a Baha'i, and even if it is true that this girlfriend teaches a Ruhi class and thinks 'Abdu'l-Baha was a Prophet, that doesn't change the facts.


WHOA!! Nah man. You caught me out. I dont have a gf thats a Bahai. :roll:

Anyway, enough of the sarcasm.......

This girlfriend of yours is a little confused obviously, and most certainly she will be corrected at some point.


Yeh it seems their whole community is confused. Everyone gives you different answers! Anyway.....

No need to worry about it.


Trust me my friend, im not worried. If i was worried, i would look like this :eek: But currently i look like this :lol:

But anyway, ill see what she says after she reads this post and ill let you know.

By the way, are you able to read Farsi or Arabic?

Regards
Abbas

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Postby brettz9 » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:34 am

Hello Abbas,

Although you asked not to give references, I'm afraid that the multiplicity of answers (including from us) would only get more confusing if we didn't provide references (and thankfully BW has done so with many nice relevant quotations). While we would not want to extend the conversation beyond what our listener wished to hear (i.e., to you), since your friend may be reading this thread (and many others), I think we really ought to put up a quotation (though you may skip them if you so wish):

That `Abdu'l-Bahá is not a Manifestation of God, that, though the successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station, that no one else except the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh can ever lay claim to such a station before the expiration of a full thousand years-- are verities which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both the Founder of our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings.
"Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God," is the express warning uttered in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, "ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying imposter. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will no doubt forgive him. If, however, he persists in his error, God will assuredly send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible indeed is God in punishing!" "Whosoever," He adds as a further emphasis, "interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things." "Should a man appear," is yet another conclusive statement, "ere the lapse of a full thousand years--each year consisting of twelve months according to the Qur'án, and of nineteen months of nineteen days each, according to the Bayán--and if such a man reveal to your eyes all the signs of God, unhesitatingly reject him!"
`Abdu'l-Bahá's own statements, in confirmation of this warning, are no less emphatic and binding: "This is," He declares, "my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief--a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth... My station is the station of servitude--a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever... I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation."
Does not `Abdu'l-Bahá in His own Will--in a tone and language that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers of His Father's Covenant--rob of their chief weapon those who so long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of Bahá'u'lláh? "The foundation of the belief of the people of Bahá is this," thus proclaims one of the weightiest passages of that last document left to voice in perpetuity the directions and wishes of a departed Master, "His Holiness the Exalted One (the Báb) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abhá Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."


This is from a letter published as a book called "Dispensation of Baha'u'llah" (or also available within the book "World Order of Baha'u'llah"). Our Writings specifically recommend that Baha'is deepen themselves in this material--including youth specifically:

“He has noted, in particular, with genuine satisfaction the recommendations issued by the National Youth Committee to the members of our Bahá’í youth to make a deeper study of the Master’s Will and to ponder more carefully on its manifold and far-reaching implications. He hopes that the Regional Youth Conferences...have devoted all the time necessary for the study and discussion of this all-important subject, and have given it the full emphasis it deserves. He will pray that the results obtained may be such as to give all the attendants a clear and wider vision of the tasks, responsibilities and obligations they will be called upon to discharge during this year, and a renewed stimulus to contribute their full share to the success and complete fulfilment of the Seven-Year Plan.”

“The Guardian would advise that in their studies of the Will and Testament the young believers should use the “Dispensation”, which will undoubtedly help them considerably to grasp the full implications of that sacred and historic Document which he has described as the “Charter of the New World Order”. (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Pearls of Wisdom, p. 93-94)


“He feels, indeed, that the time has come for the German believers to acquire a thorough knowledge as well as a full understanding of such important Tablets as Bahá’u’lláh’s “Book of My Covenant” and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, both of which constitute the very bedrock upon which the entire administrative system of the Faith has been raised and established. As to the “Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” it also constitutes an invaluable supplement to these afore-mentioned Tablets.” (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 10 January 1935, Pearls of Wisdom, p. 89 )


If we don't refer to the books, then anyone can say what a Baha'i is.

take care,
Brett

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Postby brettz9 » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:54 am

Oh, and besides BW's able response on the other two points, I might add that it may be possible your friend is referring to this passage from Baha'u'llah:

Say: O concourse of priests and monks! Eat ye of that which God hath made lawful unto you and do not shun meat. God hath, as a token of His grace, granted you leave to partake thereof save during a brief period. He, verily, is the Mighty, the Beneficent.

(Summons of the Lord of Hosts, par. 154)


However, 'Abdu'l-Baha states:

"But eating meat is not forbidden or unlawful, nay, the point is this, that it is possible for man to live without eating meat and still be strong. Meat is nourishing and containeth the elements of herbs, seeds and fruits; therefore sometimes it is essential for the sick and for the rehabilitation of health. There is no objection in the Law of God to the eating of meat if it is required. So if thy constitution is rather weak and thou findest meat useful, thou mayest eat it."

('Abdu'l-Baha, compilation on Health, Healing, and Nutrition, no. 18 (http://bahai-library.com/?file=compilat ... on.html#18))


We can assure you that there are no real contradictions between any of Their Writings. However, the idea of "progressive revelation", we are told, also occurs within the Dispensation--but, quite importantly, this is through the Spirit of Baha'u'llah working through His own appointed channels of inspiration and guidance and not through successive Revelations of Prophets within a dispensation. So, the laws, such as against polygamy, were gradually implemented even though they existed inherently from the beginning. This memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice is I think very interesting and helpful: http://www.bahai-library.com/uhj/equality.uhj.html . 'Abdu'l-Baha stated that Baha'u'llah's condition that a man having two wives must give them full equality (as is a condition in the Qur'an) means that man must only have one since he cannot possibly treat both with full equality. People cannot handle too much of a change at once, and being that polygamy was well-established in Iran, God was kind (and just) to gradually but determinedly implement the law for the benefit of women and men.

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Postby Baha'i Warrior » Sat Feb 10, 2007 12:47 pm

abbas wrote:
"We shrink, for very shame, from treating the subject of boys. Fear ye the Merciful, O peoples of the world! Commit not that which is forbidden you in Our Holy Tablet, and be not of those who rove distractedly in the wilderness of their desire." Verse 107 of the Book of Aqdas


Sorry, do you mean the bit in bold is what Bahaullah is talking about homosexuality?


We wouldn't need Expounders, or Interpreters, if everything Baha'u'llah said was absolutely clear to the reader. I refer you again, also, to this quote by Baha'u'llah which will compliment the one above:

"Ye are forbidden to commit adultery, sodomy and lechery."

But regarding the quote from the Aqdas, Shoghi Effendi, the appointed interpreter of the Baha'i sacred scriptures, says:

    The word translated here as "boys" has, in this context, in the Arabic original, the implication of paederasty. Shoghi Effendi has interpreted this reference as a prohibition on all homosexual relations.

    The Bahá'í teachings on sexual morality centre on marriage and the family as the bedrock of the whole structure of human society and are designed to protect and strengthen that divine institution. Bahá'í law thus restricts permissible sexual intercourse to that between a man and the woman to whom he is married.

    In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi it is stated:
    No matter how devoted and fine the love may be between people of the same sex, to let it find expression in sexual acts is wrong. To say that it is ideal is no excuse. Immorality of every sort is really forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh, and homosexual relationships He looks upon as such, besides being against nature. To be afflicted this way is a great burden to a conscientious soul. But through the advice and help of doctors, through a strong and determined effort, and through prayer, a soul can overcome this handicap.

    Bahá'u'lláh makes provision for the Universal House of Justice to determine, according to the degree of the offence, penalties for adultery and sodomy (Q and A 49)

    (p. 223)

Abbas wrote:Yeh it seems their whole community is confused. Everyone gives you different answers! Anyway.....


That is a new concept to me. Most of the Baha'is I'm around (I've lived in many different communities) in general know the Writings quite well. Of course, I've been around many Muslims (both Shi'a and Sunni) who don't know what I'm talking about (i.e. references to Suras or verses) since they've never read the Qur'an (didn't you mention in an early post that you hadn't read through the entire Qur'an yourself, in fact?) Indeed, we all have a lot to do to imporove ourselves.

abbas wrote:
No need to worry about it.


Trust me my friend, im not worried. If i was worried, i would look like this :eek: But currently i look like this :lol:


Oh, so you are amused by this supposed Baha'i community that's unschooled in the Writings? Hmm?

abbas wrote:By the way, are you able to read Farsi or Arabic?


Farsi, and some Arabic, but I have people very close who are expert in both. 8-)

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Postby choogue » Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:31 pm

We wouldn't need Expounders, or Interpreters, if everything Baha'u'llah said was absolutely clear to the reader. I refer you again, also, to this quote by Baha'u'llah which will compliment the one above:


I was just asking you whether: "We shrink, for very shame, from treating the subject of boys" is what you were referring to. Thats all. ;-)

That is a new concept to me. Most of the Baha'is I'm around (I've lived in many different communities) in general know the Writings quite well. Of course, I've been around many Muslims (both Shi'a and Sunni) who don't know what I'm talking about (i.e. references to Suras or verses) since they've never read the Qur'an (didn't you mention in an early post that you hadn't read through the entire Qur'an yourself, in fact?) Indeed, we all have a lot to do to imporove ourselves.


Who is talking about reading the writings? Im simply saying that they do not know many of the Bahai beliefs. Yes, i previously have not read the entire Quran, but i still knew what the Islamic belief is. You should re-read the post before replying to get a clearer understanding (No offence) ;-)

Oh, so you are amused by this supposed Baha'i community that's unschooled in the Writings? Hmm?


No-one is talking about the Writings except you. As i explained, im saying they are confused about their beliefs. You dont have to argue with everything i say BW. Just try and be a bit more friendly.... ;-) Also, :lol: is in reference with me not being worried. Im a happy guy. What can i say.

Farsi, and some Arabic, but I have people very close who are expert in both.


Ok excellent. I'll probably need to present the quotes in farsi (transliteration) though since she reads it only in farsi.

Regards
Abbas

choogue
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Postby choogue » Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:38 pm

Thanks Brett. Your responses are always informative. Much appreciated.

Just one thing, is it the below quote thats from the "Dispensation of Bahuallah?" Was Bahaullah the Author of it?

That `Abdu'l-Bahá is not a Manifestation of God, that, though the successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station, that no one else except the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh can ever lay claim to such a station before the expiration of a full thousand years-- are verities which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both the Founder of our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings.
"Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God," is the express warning uttered in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, "ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying imposter. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will no doubt forgive him. If, however, he persists in his error, God will assuredly send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible indeed is God in punishing!" "Whosoever," He adds as a further emphasis, "interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things." "Should a man appear," is yet another conclusive statement, "ere the lapse of a full thousand years--each year consisting of twelve months according to the Qur'án, and of nineteen months of nineteen days each, according to the Bayán--and if such a man reveal to your eyes all the signs of God, unhesitatingly reject him!"
`Abdu'l-Bahá's own statements, in confirmation of this warning, are no less emphatic and binding: "This is," He declares, "my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief--a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth... My station is the station of servitude--a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever... I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation."
Does not `Abdu'l-Bahá in His own Will--in a tone and language that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers of His Father's Covenant--rob of their chief weapon those who so long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of Bahá'u'lláh? "The foundation of the belief of the people of Bahá is this," thus proclaims one of the weightiest passages of that last document left to voice in perpetuity the directions and wishes of a departed Master, "His Holiness the Exalted One (the Báb) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abhá Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."


Thanks again Brett. :smile:

Regards
Abbas

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Postby Baha'i Warrior » Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:15 pm

abbas wrote:No-one is talking about the Writings except you. As i explained, im saying they are confused about their beliefs. You dont have to argue with everything i say BW. Just try and be a bit more friendly.... ;-) Also, :lol: is in reference with me not being worried. Im a happy guy. What can i say.


Abbas, I'm sorry if you felt I was arguing with you, but I don't think I was. I was just trying to show you that it doesn't really make sense to point out that certain people in your Baha'i community don't know that much about their religion, as this certainly is no different, to say the least, with Shi'as.

It's good to hear you're a "happy guy" by the way. The Baha'i Writings say that God wants us to be joyful. :smile:


abbas wrote:
Farsi, and some Arabic, but I have people very close who are expert in both.


Ok excellent. I'll probably need to present the quotes in farsi (transliteration) though since she reads it only in farsi.


There are undoubtably Persians in her community who could point her to the Writings in Farsi, if she can't read English. She also likely has the books in her house (if she doesn't then she can buy them online or somewhere else).

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Postby choogue » Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:20 pm

Abbas, I'm sorry if you felt I was arguing with you, but I don't think I was.


No problems. I forgive you. :smile:

There are undoubtably Persians in her community who could point her to the Writings in Farsi, if she can't read English. She also likely has the books in her house (if she doesn't then she can buy them online or somewhere else).


Yeh she can read English but she prefers to read the books in Farsi and Arabic. Ill try and get her to find the quotes in English though.

Regards
Abbas

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Postby Dorumerosaer » Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:10 am

>>Apparently Bahaullah allowed the marriage of two wives, however abdul baha abrogated that law and said marry only one. >>

The text of the Aqdas prohibits "more wives than two" and encourages a single spouse. Abdu'l-Baha pointed out that the law is conditioned upon justice, which was an impossible condition, so the implication was that monogamy is required.

Shoghi Effendi pointed out that Abdu'l-Baha is more than a "mere interpreter". However, He was not a Prophet. His Teachings interpret and supplement those revealed by Baha'u'llah.

>>Apparently Bahaullah has said that we should be eating meat, but Abdul Baha said that meat is not the food for us because we cant digest it, or something like that.......cant remember exactly what she said.>>

I know of no such dichotomy in the Writings. I don't know where Baha'u'llah ever said we "should" be eating meat. Abdu'l-Baha reportedly said that man was not originally intended to eat meat, but because the practice is so widespread, no Prophet of God has yet forbidden it. This is in the book Nine Years in Akka.

>>Apparently Bahaullah didnt prohibit homosexuality but Abdul Baha did.>> That strikes me as an extremely inaccurate representation. The verse in the Aqdas expressing shame of the subject of pederasty implies a prohibition on homosexual acts. To my knowledge, Abdu'l-Baha never commented on that verse; however, Shoghi Effendi did, and said that it implies all homosexual acts, not only sex with boys. Further, as already quoted, Baha'u'llah prohibits sodomy. The information you were provided with appears to be very wide of the mark.

Abdu'l-Baha was more than an Interpreter, less than a Prophet. He holds an office and station that is unique in religious history. If you strive to put Him in one category or the other, you will either overestimate or underestimate His station. The best explanation is in The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, written by Shoghi Effendi, with extensive quotations from both Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha. He is referred to as The Mystery of God. Please keep in mind that the human mind can understand that which is beneath it in station. When the mind strives to understand that which is greater than itself, it must approach the subject with humility, because it cannot grasp that which is great than itself.

Brent


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