The Bahai Faith

so what is your opinion on this newly descovered faith? i would like all people (muslims, christians, and jews) to respond to this thread. I see no reason to doubt this faith which, at one point made up one sixth of all americans, to deny this faith. Anybody have any comments?

 

I have one.

What's the Bahai faith?

Heh, sorry if I sound ignorant; I've heard of it before, but never read up on it.

 

The way of life which Bahá'ís seek to cultivate, therefore, is one that encourages personal development. Daily prayer and meditation free the soul from conditioned patterns and open it to new possibilities. Joining in projects with peoples of diverse backgrounds breaks down traditional prejudices. The use of alcohol or narcotic drugs is avoided, except when prescribed for medical reasons, because these substances eventually deaden the mind. The latter is also true of the habit of backbiting, which weakens trust between people and undermines the spirit of unity upon which human progress depends. Bahá'u'lláh's writings attach great importance to the institution of the family as the foundation of human society. The sanctity of marriage, recognition of the equality of the husband and wife, and the use of consultation are especially emphasized.


u can learn a lot more at http://bahai.org

 

ummm, "newly discovered"?
it has been around for well over a century, no?
very much universalist in its outlook...
(of course, the founder's name was arabic language... i'm sure he was exposed to sufi influences in the development of his religiosity at some point...)

and where oh where did you ever hear that 1/6 of america (you mean the USA?)(mexico?canada?panama? brazil?) was at one point bahai?
1/6 ??????
i don't think so...


www.sacred-texts.com has some of the bahai scriptures online...

 

Born in 1817, Bahá'u'lláh was a member of one of the great patrician families of Persia. The family could trace its lineage to the ruling dynasties of Persia's imperial past, and was endowed with wealth and vast estates. Turning His back on the position at court which these advantages offered Him, Bahá'u'lláh became known for His generosity and kindliness which made Him deeply loved among His countrymen.





This privileged position did not long survive Bahá'u'lláh's announcement of support for the message of the Báb . Engulfed in the waves of violence unleashed upon the Bábís after the Báb's execution Bahá'u'lláh suffered not only the loss of all His worldly endowments but was subjected to imprisonment, torture, and a series of banishments. The first was to Baghdad where, in 1863, He announced Himself as the One promised by the Báb. From Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh was sent to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to Acre, in the Holy Land, where He arrived as a prisoner in 1868.

​

From Adrianople and later from Acre, Bahá'u'lláh addressed a series of letters to the rulers of His day that are among the most remarkable documents in religious history. They proclaimed the coming unification of humanity and the emergence of a world civilization.



The kings, emperors, and presidents of the nineteenth century were called upon to reconcile their differences, curtail their armaments, and devote their energies to the establishment of universal peace.
Bahá'u'lláh passed away at Bahjí, just north of Acre, and is buried there. His teachings had already begun to spread beyond the confines of the Middle East, and His Shrine is today the focal point of the world community which these teachings have brought into being.

 

KJ - Is that you in the photo?

 

yeah thats me

 

I was seriously looking into the Bahai'i cause it matched up with many of my beleifs, but there are just a few glaring oppositions i must make...
1. I don't accept the Bahá'u'lláh as a Minifestaion of God.
2. They say mena nd women are equal, but it is kinda like fundamental islam where women are second class.

I forget which site i found the women thing on, but even a mom of my froiend knew this, we even have some in our Hick town in CAnada...


Though i do admire thier preachings for a universal spoken language,, and thier compromise between science and faith...

 

i very much like the bahai for universal

peace through one language . i hope
it won't be european or u.s. english
because those languages have been
forced on the world people through colonialism
and/or egotistc economic manipulations -
not peace . we do need a peace language .

we all have some common ground
through siqns like this

the ^ O and l parts of
are all common to our ancestor's
rock writing . ^ is 'two-legged' ,
and is the old chinese character
for human . O is 'space' , most
commonly a representation of
the womb , of women , of home .
the l , this is simplest glyph to make ,
and is naturally the most elemental
expression of i exist, we exist , shhh..
just exist .

to say peace is , the family at home ?
is this ok ?

 

I'm sure you don't mind me saying but DAMN you're hot!

 

in the late 60's 1/6 americans (USA) were members of the bahai faith

 

maybe it's 1/6 of all bahai were american . i got an invitation to be bahai once , but really , i only really like the Universal Language that they were instructed to create or adopt and then promote it world-wide . i would certainly become a spiritual bahai for the love and in this language . i think the language already is , but do people really want peace ? unity can be considered a threat to ego , the identity . a religion holds to a special separateness , and to feel unity to all can be like the feeling of dying .

 

your font is dangerously small

 

dangerously?!! small

ha! i didn't mean to be fontily so tiny , just a crazy
computer thang . why is your response so trite
anyway ?

 

hi all:
sorry for the bumping, im new here.
well i just thought i should reply to this thread cause im a born and raised bahai, and although im not a bahai anymore cause i just dont like the whole religion thing.
but someone mentioned that at one time 1/6 of america were bahai's, and im 99% sure that this is not true. bahai is worlds most wide spread religon but its mainly concentrated in Iran.
and someone already said that the name of the prophet sounds arabic, but he was not an arab, he was persian like myself, its a great religion and for those who are seeking a peacefull religion, this is it.

 

i went to bahai scripture in primary school. it has nice ideas - equality, peace, unity, universal education, science and religion going hand-in-hand, spiritual development or oneself... etc etc. but religion as a whole really isnt for me either.

and i looked into it, and found that the bahai community really isnt all too supportive of gays. and being a lesbian thats important to me. so although the bahai faith seems a nice thought, i think one must be wary of any institution. admire its essential ideas, but dont put complete trust in it.

 

does any religeon support gays? no rabble rousing this time, just curious.

 

i dont think so. not sure. maybe buddhism?

i think the closest any religion would get to supporting gays might be to ignore the issue.

*shrugs* bahai seemed the only religion that might be ok with it, but apparently its just like the others - supports equality of all people... to an extent. tsk tsk tsk

 

I dont know why you'd say Bahai's arent supportive of gays...It is written in Bahai text that everybody is to be treated equal (gay or straight). If any Bahai was prejudice towards you for your sexual prefrence, it was out of their personal prejudice, not out of the Bahai teachings. As a matter of fact, there are 2 homosexual men on our local spiritual assembly. So saying Bahai's arent supportive of gays isnt true.

 

Jewish Renewal strongly supports gays as well as other shapes of families. From their statements of values:

"11. ALEPH welcomes, includes and recognizes the sanctity of every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognize respectful and mutual expressions of adult human sexuality as potentially sacred expressions of love, and therefore we strive to create communities that include and welcome a variety of constellations of intimate relationships and family forms -- -among them gay, lesbian, and heterosexual relationships as well as single life-paths."

http://www.aleph.org/principles.html

Does that count?

Dauer