Fear of Conflicting Opinions
15 February 2008
Alláh-u-abhá dear Friends,
A topic has come up recently which I find very irksome and worrisome. I expect this post in and of itself will spur some comments of the sort I am complaining against.
Within the online Bahá’í Community I am finding an increasing negativity, fear of conflicting opinions and overall distasteful conduct towards those who do not share the common Bahá’í opinions. This is not a trend I have experienced in my Bahá’í Community “in real life”; I hope that is not simply because I have a small tightly knit community.
Why is it that Bahá’ís online are so willing to throw around the word “Covenant Breaker”? Why do Bahá’ís online have such negative opinions of people who voice opinions in conflict with their own, and why on earth would they think that it is appropriate as a Bahá’í to discuss these people as individuals. (Backbiting anyone?)
Terms like dissident and apostate, while appropriate for academic articles, are not appropriate titles for any individual Bahá’í to apply to any other person, not even in an academic article. Simply because I happen to disagree with someone does not give me the right to apply negative titles to them. Even if these titles were not originally meant as negatives, they are the sort that would obviously take on their own life.
I was recently asked why I link to so many “covenant breakers or those who do not value the Baha’i faith” and I was horrified and offended. I am a Bahá’í, and I have no contact with covenant breakers as a matter of principle and obedience to the Laws of God, that someone might imply otherwise hurt me. What hurt me more is that individual Bahá’ís seem to think it is okay to apply the title covenant breaker to those with negative opinions of our mainstream form of Bahá’í practice without the backing of the House of Justice. I link to people with negative opinions of the Bahá’í Faith or aspects of it, yes. I link to intelligent bloggers, who though I may disagree with them, have a commitment to quality posts and have done enough to gain my respect and patronage. Respecting someone does not mean implicitly agreeing with everything they say.
Please try and think about what the Bahá’í way to act is. We do not backbite, call names, have preconceived notions, or such a low opinion of ourselves that we need to fear varying opinions. We should respect those who have earned it whether we always like what they say or not. Negativity and fear are not Bahá’í values. As the internet works I expect I will get a few comments implying I am not a true Bahá’í, or I don’t follow the Universal House of Justice, and this is bull. I am an open-minded lover of Bahá’u'lláh who recognizes the Universal House of Justice as inspired by God and infallible. I am a lover of Bahá’u'lláh who finds this sort of behavior by Bahá’ís frightening, harmful, and disgraceful to the Blessed Beauty and the Universal House of Justice.
God Bless,
Ruhi
I’m with you. Judgemental speech is offensive to me. As I often warn seekers, the Baha’i Faith has no clergy, but we sure got folks who love to Preach!
But even that is due some tolerance. None of us are fully Baha’i but rather progressing toward that goal. David House said in an email years ago “I enroled in the Baha’i Faith 27 years ago and in that time, I’ve been a Baha’i about 20 minutes. I hope to get a full hour in before I meet my Lord.”
///Darrell Rodgers
Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist
http://darrellsongs.com
Darrell
15 February, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Omg, Small world moment. I know David (and I need to return his copy of the dawnbreakers!)
I like that quote, and it is very true. I have been told the declaration card is a ticket to the Bahá’í Faith, but we still have to get there on our own.
Allah’u'abha!
ruhiwarrior19
16 February, 2008 at 12:34 am
Great post!
David
16 February, 2008 at 1:11 am
Thanks for this. Bless you.
Priscilla
Priscilla Gilman
17 February, 2008 at 6:25 am
All I have to say about this is the internet is a horrible way to learn about the Baha’i faith thanks to rampant negativity, lies, and detractors.
JM
18 February, 2008 at 2:30 am
I have to reply to JM and clarify something. To learn about the Baha’i Faith on the internet, you really should go to the official Baha’i Faith sites (like http://www.bahai.org) where you find links to the writings of Baha’u'llah.
On other sites, particularly blogs, you only learn about some individual Baha’is.
///Darrell
Darrell
23 February, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Hello! My name’s Samian, and I’m a student at Tulane, who didn’t find Islam fulfilling in his own life, and am trying to find out about the Baha’i Faith to see if this is the tolerant and humanistic religion that makes sense and is the truth. From what I’ve read so far, it seems sooo good! A god who loves all people, regardless of gender or race or economic status or anything else! Even religion! It almost seems too good to be true, sometimes!
But I’m not sure, so perhaps I’ll stay nonreligious, I don’t know.
I was just wondering a few things though, but I apologize in advance if anything I say comes off as offensive. It really isn’t my intention ((
1) Someone said up above that you need a declaration card to be Baha’i. But then, I can’t understand why I have to fill out a card to be a member of a religion. (I know Catholics have paperwork and certificates and such for Communion, so I’m sure that the Baha’i Faith wouldn’t be the only religion to have that.) So even if I had the teachings of Baha’ullah and the Baha’i Faith in my heart, none of it would matter and I wouldn’t be Baha’i because of a piece of paper?
2) I read a little bit of the Covenant-Breakers and how people are excommunicated from the Baha’i Faith by the Universal House of Justice, so I was just wondering how people can declare others to be non-Baha’is, or nonbelievers, when religion is supposed to be something in your heart? I thought that religion was supposed to be for myself, and others couldn’t say what I was or wasn’t.
3) And about the declaring of faith, if I wanted to do that, could I believe it privately? For instance, I’m currently living in New Orleans, and I don’t know a single Baha’i or a Baha’i community – at all. Maybe there aren’t any here. But even if there are no others, would that stop me from being Baha’i?
4) I read that Baha’is have to be completely loyal to whatever government is in power, but theoretically what would Baha’is in Nazi Germany do? Would they follow Nazi law and turn in any Jews in hiding, or does personal conscience and a desire to protect the rights of the oppressed take precedence?
I have soo many questions!!! I can’t believe all this! lol ))
It’s alright if no one wants to answer my questions, but if anyone would be as kind to I’d greatly appreciate it. My email is samian.quazi@gmail.com ))
I hope that my questions weren’t too offensive, even though I know they were sort of tough. Anyway, have a nice day!
Samian
13 March, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Samian,
Thanks for asking questions! Since it’s late, I’ll give you some short replies here, but I’ll follow-up via email with more details if you wish.
1) The “card” and being a Baha’i: To be a Baha’i all you really need do is accept Baha’u'llah as the Manifestation of God for this age, and live by his teachings. It’s that second step that takes time to develop, by the way. The card is simply a declaration of your intent to do so. With the card, you become part of the Naha’i community and receive the newsletter and the right to vote for those who you would like to serve the community on a Local Spiritual Assembly. It’s part spiritual (being a personal committment to transformation) and part administrative.
2) Covenant Breakers: Only the Universal House of Justice, as an Institution, determines if someone is breaking the covenant, no individual is empowered to do so. And, having seen it happen, I know that the institution tries repeatedly to get the offender to change his behavior before declaring the a Covenant Breaker. There is ONE Bha’i Faith. Anyone attempting to declare himself leader of his own sect is violating the Covenant established by Baha’u'llah.
Now out here on the internet we can read several blogs by Baha’is who voice their displeasure over other people’s behavior. That may be poor manners, but its not Covenant breaking. But Baha’u'llah teaches that we are solely responsible for only our own spiritual development. I like to call that the “mind your own business” law.
3) Private Belief: All belief is personal. You can declare yourself a Baha’i, even sign the card, yet choose not to exercise your right to participate in community functions. Baha’u'llah requires only that we pray an obligatory prayer daily, fast during the month of the fast (Ala’, 19-days, happening now by the way) and read His writings. But that’s not really what the Faith is about. As you read Baha’u'llahs writings (a good place to start) you discover that in this Faith we all called upon to minister to the needs of society and our first obligation in that respect is to teach others about Baha’u'llah and His Cause. You cannot help unite the world by sequestering yourself away from it. It requires action. And collective unified action by the Baha’i community members yields the best results.
4) Obedience to Government: As I recall, the instruction is “obedience to JUST government”. If a government’s actions violates the laws of God as prescribed by Baha’u'llah, it is not acting with justice. During the war in Nazi Germany, Baha’is faced that terrible condition with quiet civil disobedience hiding Jews and teaching equality of all races. (I knew a lady who was a Jew in Bahgdad in 1943 when she became a Baha’i (as the Nazis were marching in). She had stories to tell!) In South Africa during Apartheid, Baha’is of all races met secretly together often disguising their fraternity as a work setting. When forced by law to hold separate elections for blacks and whites, they did so, but then all the whites resigned so only the black-populated instition remained to serve the entire community.
I look forward to more questions.
///Darrell Rodgers
Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist
http://darrellsongs.com
Darrell
13 March, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Darrell, thank you for responding to my questions! And thank you, too, Gerald! (by email, of course)) ) I really appreciate both of you taking your time out to answer my questions ) Sadly, I was up all last night studying for a calculus exam I had this morning, so that’s the reason for my very-late post. But anyway, first of all let me comment on your answers ))
To be frank, I was very pleased and happy by what both of you wrote me. The information about the card makes perfect sense to me, as does the idea that one can be Baha’i by holding Baha’ullah’s teachings in their heart. And I totally agree with the privacy of one’s belief, as well as obedience to laws as long as they conform to God’s Laws and Morals, which seem so right to me. So thank you ))
And now for some new questions! ))
1) This one isn’t so serious )) I was wondering about the Baha’i greeting “Allah u Abha” )
Do Baha’is address God as Allah as well? ) Obviously that’s what Muslims do as well ))
The phrase reminds me of the Arabic “Allah u Akhbar” (“God is Great”), so I was just wondering if there were any similarities ))
2) I had a question about Baha’i theology, since I was a bit confused on it. I understand that many of the Faith’s prophets include the Abrahamic prophets, such as Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and others mentioned in the holy texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and to me it would make perfect sense since the Baha’i Faith is clearly strictly monotheistic and strongly affirms One God. But I was wondering why religious figures such as the Buddha and Krishna are counted among the Faith’s prophets (or Manifestations of God), when Buddhism is an agnostic or nontheistic faith, and Hinduism is clearly a polytheistic one. How are Buddhism and Hinduism, for instance, from the same God as the Abrahamic faiths, when the Abrahamic deity calls on mankind to worship Him and condemns idolatry as blasphemy? Isn’t it sort of like .. a contradiction between many of these faiths’ messages? What does the Baha’i Faith say about this?
3) Is there such a thing as a “Baha’i culture”? I know that sounds a little random, but I was just wondering if there were certain practices or holidays or Baha’i-specific morals I could potentially pass on to my children someday? Darrell, you mentioned a ninteen-day fast, which sounds interesting! I have fasted for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, since I was a child, so perhaps there are similarities between the Baha’i fasting period and Ramadan. Could you tell me a little bit more on this fasting period?
4) I was just wondering what the Baha’i view on the afterlife was. Is there an eternal Heaven and Hell, just like in Christianity and Islam? And if so, if I were to go to Heaven could I be with the ones that I love in this life in Heaven, too?
5) As for reading directly on the Baha’i Faith itself, what should I read first? I checked out “Reality of Man” by Baha’ullah but is that his first book? I’d really want to know where to start off in reading about this!
Thank you so so so so so so sooo much, for answering all my questions!!!
I know I’m being totally selfish by taking up your time and energies with my questions, so I apologize in advance ((
In real life, I don’t know a single Baha’i, so the internet really is my only way to find out from the Baha’i faithful.
So thank you again!
Samian
Samian
14 March, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Wow Saiman! For someone who studies late, you sure can write a lot! It’s late for me now so I’ll come back later. But to get started,,,
1) “Allah’u'Abha’”, meaning “God is All-Glorius”, to Baha’is is the “Greatest Name of God”. There are 99 names of God in the Qur’an. This (Abha’) is said to be the 100th. So that’s its relationship to “Allah’u'Akhbar”. The name Baha’u'llah, meaning “Glory of God” is a derivative of the Greatest Name. “Allah” is the Arabic word for God, just as Dios is the Spanish word for God. Baha’is, being global, refer to God in their own language but always call Baha’u'llah by the same Arabic title and, although admonished to not over use it, all Baha’is say “Allah’u'Abha” as a greeting regardless of what language they speak natively.
2) According to the Baha’i Teachings, both Buhdism and Hinduism began as monotheistic faiths. I know both Budhists and Hindus today who hold a monotheistic view of their faith. The many “gods” that appear in Hindu writings are representations of the various attributes (“names”) of the one creator,God. (from Hindu scripture “Oh though Brahm than Bramha greater, Oh though infinite creator” – Brahm symbolic of God, and Bramha symbolic of various attributes)
3) Baha’i “culture”? If you wish to call it culture we can say yes, but I prefer to call it a Baha’i pattern of living because today it’s more personal than collective.
I’ll write more about this later, for now I’ll answer that Baha’is have a calendar established by the Bab (forerunner of Baha’u'llah) which has 19 months of 19 days each with an intercalary period called “Ayyam-i-Ha” filling the gap. Ayyam-i-Ha lasts five days in a leap-year and immediately precedes our month (19 days) of fasting from sunrise until sunset – no food, no drink (unless working physically in the hot sun), and no smoking. Ramadan is longer, so the Baha’i Fast should be easy for you!
4) Afterlife – eternal subject (wink). Briefly, Heaven and Hell are respectively “nearness to God” and “remoteness from God” (so you can experience either one right now while living!) Human spiritual life has a beginning but no end. Progression toward God is eternal and yes you will associate with those loved ones still.
5) Baha’u'llah’s first book was Kitab-i-Iqan or “Book of Certitude” It’s my recommended first read. You might also seek-out “Some Answered Questions” by His son, Abdul-Baha.
If you email me with your physical address (I sent you an email already), I will try and locate Baha’is on your area for you to contact directly.
///Darrell
Darrell Rodgers
Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist
http://darrellsongs.com
Darrell
15 March, 2008 at 9:52 pm
As for a seeker of the faith…i tink the best place to find information on Bahai Faith is on (www.bahai.org) other site may look safe bt sometimes it might cause more harm…..so stick with the site iv given…..n i love God and love to be Bahai.
Shogghi
10 August, 2008 at 1:14 pm