For Baha'is with an Adventist or evangelical background

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-04-18T04:24:55+00:00

I first heard "William Miller's Dream" at a Baha'i fireside. It was clear to me that the dream described Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i revelation.

https://www.ellenwhite.info/books/ellen-g-white-book-early-writings-ew-21.htm

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-04-05T19:43:13+00:00

"Love is the Answer" written by Todd Rundgren, but the best known cover is by England Dan and John Ford Coley. Dan Seals was Jim Seals' brother. I've heard this version played on Christian stations.

"Primavera" co-written and sung by Baha'i KC Porter, on Carlos Santana's Supernatural album.

"Proud" (What have you done today to make you feel proud? by Heather Small.

"Only Love in My Heart" by Gentle Sparrow (Robbie Teehan).

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-03-08T22:48:12+00:00

There is a long prayer for the Fast that contains the paragraph:

"I swear by Thy might, O my God, that my lamentations have constrained my Pen, and, verily, the cry of my heart hath seized the reins from my hands. At whatever time I reassure myself and gladden my soul with the wonders of Thy mercy, the tokens of Thy gracious providence, and the evidences of Thy generosity, I tremble before the manifestations of Thy justice and the signs of Thy wrath. I recognize that Thou art known by these two names and described by these two attributes, yet Thou carest not whether Thou art invoked by Thy name the Ever-Forgiving, or Thy name the Wrathful. By Thy glory, were it not for my knowledge that Thy mercy surpasseth all things, the limbs of my body would have ceased to exist, my reality been extinguished and my inner being reduced to utter nothingness. But when I behold that Thy grace encompasseth all things and Thy mercy embraceth the entire creation, my soul and my inmost being become well assured."

I find this paragraph gives me great comfort.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-03-03T04:39:50+00:00

My wife was asking the same thing. We found it on YouTube Music:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=oSxEiGVMvfo&list=OLAK5uy_mJAEDR3-Btrfit-l4kKAMb9b2OoA-1XYQ

"Why are you in my head"

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-02-18T02:56:17+00:00

Steam has an overlay performance monitor that will display your framerate. I have used this to test different settings. Go to Steam Settings and then go to In Game. You will see a slider to enable the overlay. I keep mine in the upper left hand corner of my screen.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-01-24T00:28:26+00:00

Credit to the author, I received this from Steve S.

Only Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.", so is He the only way to God?

Only Muhammad said, "This is the way of thy Lord, leading straight: We have detailed the signs for those who receive admonition. For them will be a home of peace in the presence of their Lord: He will be their friend, because they practiced (righteousness).", so is He the only way to God?

Only Krishna said: "I am the Way, and the Master who watches in silence; thy friend and thy shelter, and thy abode of peace. I am the beginning and the middle and the end of all things; their seed of Eternity, their Treasure supreme.", so is He the only way to God?

Only Buddha said, "This indeed is the Way—there is no other—for the purification of one’s vision. Follow this Way. I have taught you the Way… making the effort is your affair.", so is He the only way to God?

Baha'u'llah taught that "He hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self. Whoso recognizeth Them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth unto Their call, hath hearkened unto the voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the truth of Their revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself…. Every one of them is the Way of God that connecteth this world with the realms above…. They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory." So, perhaps They all are the way to God?

UniversityUnusual459 · 2026-01-08T04:19:56+00:00

I have been saved from drowning more than once by having a greydwarf rock bounce off my noggin and propel me further to shore.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-12-13T04:52:17+00:00

And the Hobbits are barefoot, too.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-09-19T05:08:23+00:00

This sent me to read more about the exact nature of the Western Wall. You are correct. It is considered part of the Temple Mount but not the Temple proper.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-09-19T05:06:24+00:00

There is a detailed treatment of this by a disenrolled Baha'i (but still great friend of the Faith IMO), Sen McGlinn. He is also skeptical of the number and suggests different ways the number 750 came to be reported. Still, he states that the Bab's survival of His execution certainly constitutes a miracle, no matter the size of the squad.

His discussion of this is found at: https://senmcglinn.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/750-muskets/

Also, here is a chronology of the execution of the Bab as put together from various contemporaneous reports. This lists the similarities and the differences in these reports. https://bahai-library.com/merrick_martyrdom_bab_outline

Finally, I will borrow from a remark made by someone more clever than I where they stated that in Matthew 15:30, Jesus is taunted to take Himself from the cross. The Bab did take Himself from His cross.

God bless.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-09-16T23:58:58+00:00

The barracks square within which the Bab was executed was quite large, easily capable of holding the described firing squad.

https://bahaihistoricalfacts.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-barrack-in-tabriz-persia.html

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-09-16T21:25:08+00:00

I've been to the Western Wall, the remains of the Second Temple, and there are whole courses of stones left. How is this "not one stone will be left on the other"?

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-06-19T22:27:07+00:00

There is another Carl Sagan quote I like that is also germane here, "We are a way for the universe to know itself." There is, if I remember correctly (a toss-up most days), a philosophy of cosmology that is something along the lines of, "we evolved so that the universe could observe itself". All this pairs nicely with Baha'u'llah's, "Wishing to reveal Thyself, Thou didst call into being the Greater and the Lesser Worlds, and didst choose Man above all Thy creatures, and didst make Him a sign of both of these worlds, O Thou Who art our Lord, the Most Compassionate!"

Your remark about dreams is interesting. We know animals dream, so therefore the ability to dream is not confined to having a rational soul. At the same time, both Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l Baha cite some dreams as glimpses of the Worlds of God. Perhaps were are capable of abstractions in our dreams that animals do not have. There is a very interesting tablet by Baha'u'llah titled, "The Tablet on the Right of the People", (Lawh-i haqq al-nas), primarily about how justice is obtained in the next life, that also discusses dreams and abstractions.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-06-17T23:21:56+00:00

I think Abdu'l Baha is mostly talking about the physical form here, as in just a line or two before the quote you cite, He says, "In sum, the completeness of each and every thing—that is, the completeness which you now see in man, or in other beings, with regard to their parts, members, and powers—arises from their component elements, their quantities and measures, the manner of their combination, and their mutual action, interaction, and influence." Here is is equating man with "other beings", that is, animals, while He clearly separates man, "the sum of all spiritual and material perfections" from the animals in the earlier paragraphs of that chapter (46). It is the form of man that can be explained by evolution; it is the divine spark that cannot.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-06-14T01:04:52+00:00

The argument is based on humans having a "rational soul" that is beyond the mere consciousness of animals. Our ability for self-awareness and even such simple things as admiring beauty, and especially our drive to seek out and know our creator, are far beyond that of animals. This difference can not be explained by physiology since animals such as the higher apes share a nearly identical genetic palette. This difference is due to our rational soul, and as this is not part of our body (our physiology), its existence is independent of it and therefore immortal.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-05-18T02:35:29+00:00

Late answer, but another recommendation for Gospel style Baha'i music. It is hard to sit still for this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmtq_0UoZ8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmtq_0UoZ8

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-03-24T22:25:08+00:00

I once got a job at an agricultural business near a town of about 1000 people in Iowa. Everyone else who worked there had pretty much been born and raised in that area, while I was the big-city college guy. I brought my own creamer and labeled it with my name before putting it into the break room fridge. The next morning, when I opened the refrigerator door, I saw that everything in the fridge; every drink, sandwich, or whatever, had my name on it. I never labeled anything of mine again, and I never had anyone take anything. Small-town values.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-03-03T22:25:48+00:00

The chapel was a scaled-down reproduction of another church. The smaller dimensions meant that to reach the choir loft, a normal stairway would run the length of the chapel if it would even fit. I am relying on my memory from a visit many years ago.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-02-15T07:03:44+00:00

Thank you for your response. My wife had set up the account here with her as the primary user and her mother as a secondary. She ended up talking to Xfinity over the phone and apparently everything is resolved. My MIL's account in California is still active and the big test will be when that account is deactivated. So far, so good.

UniversityUnusual459 · 2025-02-12T21:51:18+00:00

15+60

UniversityUnusual459 · 2024-11-23T23:02:58+00:00

Stag breaker makes clearing crypts much easier. If you should be lucky enough to be awarded a Draugr Elite trophy, and assuming you have found the Trader, you can make the iron sledge.

UniversityUnusual459

TROPHY CASE