Universal House of Justice

All research or scholarship questions
brettz9
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Postby brettz9 » Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:48 pm

Well, the Universal House of Justice does not face any problem. See Brent's excellent article at http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?fil ... _authority

best wishes,
Brett

BruceDLimber
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Re: Universal House of Justice

Postby BruceDLimber » Tue Nov 20, 2007 8:42 am

Hi!

As was mentioned, the House of Justice clearly exists and is functioning!

Becaue it's no longer possible to appoint a Guardian due to the stipulateions 'Abdu'l-Baha placed upon it, the Guardianship now exists as the voluminous body of work and interpretatins which Shoghi Effendi created during his lifetime; these are still valued and regularly referred to today, including by the House of Justice.

Bests regards, :-)

Bruce

brettz9
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Postby brettz9 » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:14 pm

While you might find such references on the internet to such things as the "Orthodox" Baha'i Faith, you should know first that these are very small attempts at schism, and our Writings in fact promised that this Faith would be guarded from any permanent schism. The vast majority of Baha'is recognize the Universal House of Justice, and the legitimacy of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha which can only be understood as allowing male descendants of Baha'u'llah (none of which others can claim to be), and which would have been one designated by Shoghi Effendi. Baha'u'llah's own Most Holy Book envisages the possibility of the end of the line of Guardians before the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, which is what happened.

Given that the Successorship is so clear in the Baha'i Faith--unlike in any past religious Dispensation--Baha'is are to avoid getting drawn into such arguments and claims, and this forum would not countenance such discussions anyhow. We have nothing if not the unity brought by the System of Baha'u'llah, and that system requires us to avoid engaging such power-seeking individuals. If you would like to discuss issues related to how we can prove that there can be no other Guardian, then you are welcome to ask such questions here. If so, you really should take a look at the article I mentioned above.

best regards,
Brett

BruceDLimber
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Postby BruceDLimber » Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:28 am

Greetings, GGM; good to have you with us! :-)

You needn't necessarily "declare in front of an assembly" to be a Baha'i! The key thing is whether or not you accept Baha'u'llah as being Who He says He is. In many countries (but not all) you formally enroll by signing a declaration card, but this is primarily administrative: to get on the mailing list and receive your membership rights as a Baha'i. Some folks become Baha'i without ever seeing an assembly.

As to the so-called "orthodox Baha'is" and the other tiny schismatic groups, they very simply aren't Baha'i no matter what they call themselves! The Baha'i Covenant is very clear about what the requirements were for being the Guardian, and no one after Shoghi Effendi was able to meet these--hence, no further Guardian is possible.

And our national and world-level administrative bodies have the say as to who is or isn't a Baha'i. Given that they clearly reject these individuals, they really have no right to the name. Indeed, some of them were presumptuous to have sued the US National Spiritual Assembly to try to seize the Baha'i temple in Wilmette and other properties. This ultimately backfired on them because the court ordered them to stop using Baha'i names like National Spritual Assembly, images of our temple, etc.! (You can read a detailed account of this at the Baha'i-library site: http://www.bahai-library.org) Most of these groups are already extinct, and the few that remain are very tiny.

And to answer your second question, if you believe in Baha'u'llah, you're a Baha'i! If not, then you may simply be a godly person and a friend of the Faith. Either way is fine by us! :-)

Regards,

Bruce

brettz9
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Postby brettz9 » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:55 pm

Ok Ok Thanks lachen i was agree to think the way is WITH the Universal House Of Justice but when i found some vidéos of a guardian i was lost.


Sure. I understand. Again, if you have any doubts (or even if you don't), our Writings recommend that every Baha'i read the following to understand this issue of the Covenant:
1) the Kitab-i-Ahd (Book of the Covenant) published at http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/b ... tb/13.html , one place where 'Abdu'l-Baha is appointed the Successor to Baha'u'llah (it's not a "book" in terms of size, but surely in importance)
2) The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha (at http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file ... _testament ) where Shoghi Effendi (and the details on the Guardianship) and the Universal House of Justice are appointed,
3) Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, by Shoghi Effendi, starting at http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/s ... ob/37.html .

I would also recommend these two paragraphs in the Kitab-i-Aqdas: http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/b ... .html#K121 and http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/b ... s.html#K42 (and the notes to which they link).

i have an other question :
To Be a Bahai you must do a déclaration in front of an Assembly. I dont do this so I'm Not a Bahai but i practice Prayers.so what am I ?
so excuse me if i cant ask this question on this thread.


As Bruce points out, the essential part is where your belief in Baha'u'llah (and the System He set up) lies. The declaration is in one sense only a formality (if your country has such a requirement), but our Writings also enjoin on us to participate in the affairs of our community and become involved in His divinely-appointed System.

And, as I should have said before, welcome to the forum!

best regards,
Brett

British_Bahai
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Re: Universal House of Justice

Postby British_Bahai » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:25 pm

golha wrote:Hi everybody,

Shoghi Effendi stated that the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice "supplement each other’s authority and functions" are inseparable and are "the twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure."

But today, where is the Guardianship?and the authenticity of the UHJ faces a basic problem.

...only for those who are confused


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