Baha'i What's Wrong with Baha'i?

[Arthra]

Are the meetings where leaders are elected closed to outsiders, to non-Bahais?
Perhaps that is why some Bahai meetings are held in private.

Well when there are elections..no body is nominated and no one campaigns for an office... After prayers Baha'is only vote and the ballots are counted and those receiving the highest number of votes are "elected". Baha'i conventions are pretty straight forward and the decisions of conventions are shared with the friends in reports.

 

[GQ Chris]

Was Baha'u'llah taking psychedellic drugs?

 

[Arthra]

Was Baha'u'llah taking psychedellic drugs?

No Baha'u'llah was not "taking" psychedelic drugs and use of such is prohibited for Baha'is:

Heroin, hashish and other derivatives of cannabis such as
marijuana, as well as hallucinogenic agents such as LSD,
peyote and similar substances, are regarded as falling under
this prohibition..

~ Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 238

Alcohol consumption is also prohibited for Baha'is.

The only exception to the prohibition is if a qualified physician prescribes them for a medical reason.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

http://www.christianforums.com/threads/bahai-faith.7947118/

A related thread started in World Religions.

 

[Arthra]

http://www.christianforums.com/threads/bahai-faith.7947118/

A related thread started in World Religions.

Yes indeed! Have a good day Quid.

 

[GQ Chris]

Alcohol consumption is also prohibited for Baha'is.

The only exception to the prohibition is if a qualified physician prescribes them for a medical reason.

That thar sounds like crazytalk.

 

[Arthra]

That thar sounds like crazytalk.

Well Chris... It's the truth. Baha'is are prohibited from using psychedelics and drinking alcohol.

 

[smaneck]

Another question. Is there an official list of Manifestations? I assume all prophets aren't considered anifestations. For instance Lao Tse or Joseph Smith or Guru Nanak?

I suppose we could come up with a list of those who were explicitly mentioned in the Writings as Manifestations but I wouldn't consider those exhaustive. I know a lot of Baha'is in India consider Guru Nanak to be a lesser prophet but the only mention of Sikhism in our Writings is where Abdu'l-Baha praises their lifestyle. Lao Tzu is likewise not mentioned and most scholars don't believe he ever existed. Joseph Smith is not accepted as a prophet.

What happens when the next Manifestation comes around? Is there a prophecy or something regarding him in Bahaism?

Baha'u'llah stated that the next Manifestation would not come in less than a thousand years.

 

[smaneck]

That thar sounds like crazytalk.

You know what's crazy? The time I spent trying to kill that darn bug in your sig line!

 

[smaneck]

In fact Bahai was diametrically opposed to all that Christianity stands for.

Really? How is the Baha'i Faith diametrically opposed to the Beatitudes or Matthew 25?

 

[smaneck]

So . . . by the way, Arthra, I know you might consider Jesus to be a Manifestation and what He says and His attributes to be divine; but how much do you consider the writings of Paul to be manifesting God?

I consider Paul to be at least inspired by God, but not necessarily infallibly so. How can anyone read 1 Corinthians 13 and not see God's inspiration. But when he tells women to be silent in church, maybe not so much. But that is just my personal opinion.

 

[smaneck]

The promotion of any of your teachings is a demonic attack against the truth of the lord Jesus in order to lead people away from the salvation of god that they may perish .

Is this a debate or just an attack?

 

[smaneck]

Now, I think you have indicated that Bahá'u'lláh was Arab.

Baha'u'llah was Persian, not Arab.

 

[smaneck]

And yet, Muhammad was a devil not a prophet from God.

22 ¶And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation

Mark 3

 

[smaneck]

I have been told that the Bahai Faith is headquartered at Mount Carmel in Israel.

True.

I have also been told that as much as 12% of the population of Iran is Bahai.

Probably false, but impossible to tell under the current conditions. However we are the largest religious minority outnumbering Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians put together. But country is 95% Shi'ite.

I have been told that one of the people who served as Prime Minister under the last Shah was a Bahai.

False. Hoveida's father had once been a Baha'i but he left the Faith.

The Bahais are persecuted by Shiite Moslems in Iran. Being part of a religion with its headquarters in Israel doesn't help, although they would probably be persecuted anyway.

True.

 

[smaneck]

When I was younger, one of my roommates was a Bahai. One of the things I learned about the Bahai Faith is that unlike Christian churches, you don't choose what congregation you belong to. They assign you to the congregation that covers your town or neighborhood.

That's because we don't have different denominations like you have in Christianity. There is only one Baha'i Faith. But a Baha'i is free to attend meetings in a different community if they wish.

As I understand it, most of the meetings are secret. My roommate occasionally held a Bahai meeting in our apartment but I wasn't allowed to attend.

My guess is that these were either Assembly meetings or 19-Day Feasts. The Assembly is made up of nine elected members who consult together on the affairs of the Baha'i community. These meetings are confidential as they sometimes involve personal matters. The 19-Day Feast is intended for Baha'is only but if a non-Baha'i shows up they usually won't be turned away. Most meetings are not secret or Baha'i only. Baha'is are welcome into a our study circles, our children and youth classes, our devotional meetings, our firesides and deepenings and holy day celebrations.

This is certainly a great contrast to Christianity.

I doubt if those meetings in catacombs were all that public.

I am told that the Bahai Faith is democratic, they elect their leaders, except that no one is allowed to run for office.

True.

I have also been told that the the Bahai state assemblies can act in some sense as a legislature, laying down rules for Bahai members in that area to follow.

Do you mean National Spiritual Assemblies? Normally we leave legislation to the Universal House of Justice.

 

[smaneck]

I will have to disagree. Christians make no theological distinction between major prophets and minor prophets. There are no “dependent prophets.” The only difference is that some prophets left behind a larger body of writing or sayings that has come down to us. We learn more from the major prophets because more of their sayings has come down to us. Whether a “major prophet” is really greater in God's eyes than a “minor prophet” is not something a mortal can know.

This is Baha'i terminology. What we refer to as major prophets are generally called Patriarchs in Judaism. It is what Deut. refers to as "a prophet like unto Moses" and goes on to say that none of the prophets which followed Moses were like him as they did not see God face-to-face. Of course Acts places Jesus in that same station and we would agree.

 

[smaneck]

I've been told that Baha Ullah wrote almost a hundred books that have never been translated into English. Is that still true? It doesn't make it any easier for an English-speaking person to know what the Bahai Faith is all about.

He wrote over a hundred volumes some of which have been translated and some not. You know not all of Luther's writings have been translated yet we have a pretty good idea what Lutheranism is all about.

 

[smaneck]

Are the meetings where leaders are elected closed to outsiders, to non-Bahais?
Perhaps that is why some Bahai meetings are held in private.

Yes, that is the case. We don't usually call Assembly members 'leaders' however. Authority rests only with the Assembly as a whole not with individual members.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Arthra, what is the Bahai Faith's view on Jesus' Crucifixion?
Does it hold the majority of Islam's view of a docetic crucifixion, where Jesus did not really die or someone else was in His place? Or does it accept He died on the cross?

If the latter, I take it that the Bahai Faith does not hold any salvific effect thereby? No salvation by the blood of the saviour? Could you enlighten me a bit about your views on the matter?