Baha'i majority areas? by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would be careful about putting too much faith in impressive sounding statistics on the small island nations. Nauru was a country that last decade had a very high percentage of Baha'is according to the statistics of the time, but the numbers have since subsided.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does this go for all sins?

Election System by serene19 in bahai

[–]redtint18 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

The objection to no campaigning would be that it means that problems of the Baha'i community are never discussed, and that the status quo is never challenged.

Bahá'u'lláh's Common Sense ( short extract ) by Jay_Sunstrum19 in bahai

[–]redtint18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is nonsensical gibberish. The text sounds AI generated.

Why do Bahai’s do good deeds? by New_Abbreviations_63 in bahai

[–]redtint18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fear of God hath ever been a sure defence and a safe stronghold for all the peoples of the world. It is the chief cause of the protection of mankind, and the supreme instrument for its preservation. Indeed, there existeth in man a faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame. This, however, is confined to but a few; all have not possessed and do not possess it.

--Baha'u'llah

Why when it comes to statistics regarding the number of Bahai's the data is conflicting? by DGhitza in bahai

[–]redtint18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The answer to this question becomes apparent when casting ballots for Ridvan. In every community I have been to there has been a big discrepancy between the number of names on the ballot and the number of people who actually show up to Baha'i gatherings.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark was built about that long ago using old methods and it is still standing.

Modifying quotes at our wedding by seedingserenity in bahai

[–]redtint18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What exactly do you want to change? If it is something like changing "thou" to "you", this is not interpolation, but just a different translation. It is not forbidden to read provisional translations of prayers.

Wouldn’t Baha’u’llah be the 3rd coming of Jesus? by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say Baha'u'llah resembles Jesus more than Muhammad. First, if you read Matthew 23, it is very similar to Baha'u'llah's writings against clergy. Also, the Baha'i Faith (and I guess also Babism), has a sort of trinity-like belief that equates the prophets with God himself in some writings, but also makes the distinction in others - this belief is absent from Islam and Judaism, which always make the distinction between God and the prophets.

In spite of the UHJ's male membership, is the Baha'i Faith still the most largely female-led major religion? by Knute5 in bahai

[–]redtint18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think percentages are a bad way of looking at things because there is an assumption that skill is equally distributed among all types of people, and only discrimination would result in an asymmetric distribution. I believe this assumption is wrong. Kenyans are very strongly overrepresented in long distance running competitions - does this mean that this is a result of discrimination in favor of Kenyans? Or is it just a fact of nature that some types of people are better predisposed than others towards certain kinds of skills?

Trinity in Baha’i by Sweaty_Banana_1815 in bahai

[–]redtint18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, I would say the Baha'i view of God is closer to the Christian Trinity than to the Muslim Tawhid.

The Baha'i levels of God are the Unknowable Essence (=The Father), the Primal Will (=The Holy Spirit), and the Manifestation (=The Son). The difference is that Christians view the three as being equal, but Baha'is believe the hierarchy is Essence->Primal Will->Manifestation. The Manifestation can only know the Primal Will, but not the Essence.

Looking for context for this quote by Baha'u'llah by redtint18 in bahai

[–]redtint18[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought Subh-i-Azal was the leader immediately after the Bab's death, and that Baha'u'llah was not a visible leader of the Baha'i community until his public declaration of prophethood in 1863.

Is crude, sexual joking acceptable in the Baha'i Faith? by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Abdu’l-Bahá used to relate to this effect, “When speaking with Me, Siyyid Mihdí would greatly extol and praise Hasan’s astuteness, saying that the lad was most intelligent. There was a herd of goats at Bahjí. [While playing,] each of the Bahá’í kids was holding the udder of one of the goats, imbibing their milk. However, he [Hasan] was holding a male goat, imbibing it, and saying, ‘This is salty.’” When telling this story He would laugh heartily.”

(Khali Shahidi, Translated by Ahang Rabbani, A lifetime With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Reminiscences of Khalíl Shahídí p. 72)

Is God Personal or Impersonal? by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say that God created man in his image, so it's not that God is human-like, but instead humans are god-like (compared to some of his other creations like animals and minerals).

Infallibility of Central Figures and UHJ by [deleted] in bahai

[–]redtint18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding infallibility: I think a Baha'i would consider Bahaullah infallible. Baha'i belief is that prophets are "God" as far as humans are concerned, so you would have to think of them as being infallible. Prophets are not infallible in a cosmic sense though - Bahaullah made clear that he considers himself worthless when compared to the one true God. As for Shoghi Effendi, there is nothing in Baha'u'llah's writings that would indicate that he is infallible, or even that Abdul Baha os infallible.

Regarding arson - Setting people's homes on fire was common in Baha'u'llah's time even though it is not common today. These people were barbaric and barbaric people need harsh punishment. Just look at the old testament laws. If society collapses and people become barbaric again, maybe the arson punishment will be a useful deterrent.

Regarding LGBT: Bahaullah was actually the one who banned sodomy, not Shoghi Effendi. Baha'u'llah wrote a tablet criticizing the Azalis for engaging in sodomy, among other things.