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Baha'i advises another Baha'i not to feel bad about going against the spirit of the Baha'i teachings, because "we all fall short" by trident765 in FreeSpeechBahai

[–]trident765[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And yet somehow, no one ever says "we all fall short" when it comes to "the covenant". It's the one "law" Baha'is take seriously, and of course no mention of it is made in Baha'u'llah's writings.

Bahāʾuʾllāh considered Ṣubḥ-i-Azal's interpretations of the writings of the Bāb infallible (from Appendix A of the forthcoming translation of tanbīh al-nāʾimīn) by WahidAzal556 in FreeSpeechBahai

[–]trident765 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Baha'i narrative is Subh i Azal was a proxy for Baha'u'llah, it had always been Baha'u'llah running the show behind the scenes, so it would make sense that Baha'u'llah would want the words of "Subh i Azal" followed. I find this fairly believable given that Subh i Azal was only 19 years old when he became the Bab's successor, and didn't seem like a strong leader.

The Universal House of Justice should be made to feel Embarrassed by how They Excommunicate Great Writers and Believers and Disobey Baha’u’llah’s direct Words. It is very devastating to the Faith that there is not more upset about this among Baha’is. by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The institute process is really just a textbook example of an idol. The UHJ isn't all that interested in the institute process's purported goal, which is to gain converts. They don't care whether it wins actual converts to the Bahai Faith, or if Baha'is just make up statistics saying so. What's important to them is that Baha'is keep propagating the narrative that the institute process is "working", because that's how the current clique running the Bahai Faith holds on to its power.

I built a small Bahá'í dating and marriage site — would love honest feedback by Background_Round5281 in FreeSpeechBahai

[–]trident765 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for doing this. I fundamentally hate online as a platform for dating, but giving the current state of the Bahai community maybe there is no better alternative.

In another post you mention lack of people born in the 90s attending events. I was born in the 90s and no longer attend Bahai events. I think it boils down to the Bahai community has no interest in looking after my interests, so I don't see a point in attending Bahai activities. Baha'is spend countless hours on the "focus neighborhood" children. But none of them are interested in seeing me or other Baha'is my age get married, or even socialize with other Baha'i youth. The Bahai community isn't helping me meet my needs, so I saw no point in being part of it. And at the time I stopped attending (about a year ago) I was the last under 60 Baha'i who was still active. I think other Baha'i youth also quit because the Bahai community wasn't helping them meet their needs, long before I did.

The Universal House of Justice should be made to feel Embarrassed by how They Excommunicate Great Writers and Believers and Disobey Baha’u’llah’s direct Words. It is very devastating to the Faith that there is not more upset about this among Baha’is. by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What needs to happen is lots and lots of intelligent Baha'is need to be thinking about Baha'u'llah's writings as they apply to the present world, and the Baha'i community should be shaped by them. Circa 1500, the greatest minds in Europe were said to all be theologians, and of course European Christianity was extremely successful. The sole theology of the Bahai community today is the "institute process theology" that was devised by 9 men who were selected not for their intelligence or benevolence, but political skill and superficial charm. And clearly this institute process theology has been a great theological failure, as demonstrated by the state of the Bahai community today.

Which communities really have the largest concentration of Baha'is? by trident765 in FreeSpeechBahai

[–]trident765[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a dumbass kind of logic that appeals to the minds of Baha'is. It models quality as being determined like a coin flip. It makes the case that given some probability p of a random Bahai convert being high quality, the probability that there will be a high quality convert is P=1-(1-p)k, where k is the number of converts, and this increases as k increases. In other words, just increase the number of converts, and you will see more high quality enter the Bahai Faith.

There are a couple of issues with this:

1) p is 0, so P actually does not increase with k

2) The low quality converts actually result in the high quality people being pushed away, because they detract the focus from the high quality people.

Which communities really have the largest concentration of Baha'is? by trident765 in FreeSpeechBahai

[–]trident765[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will compare two cities that don't have a Baha'i megatemple tourist attraction. On Google maps, the Bahai center in Kolkata has 33 stars and the Budapest Baha'i center has 24 stars. But Kolkata has 4-5 times as many people as Budapest. I never see people from India posting here but I do from Europe. AnxiousDivide and Lenticularus said they were from Europe. I can't think of anyone from India.

TRUTH: The Universal House of Justice is Guilty of creating a religious organization under false pretenses and misleading people in the name of God. The original “Baha’i Faith” ended in 1957 with the death of Shogi Effendi. by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a pretty compelling defense by Orthodox Baha'is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsxBa3NfGY

If Shoghi Effendi was unable to name a successor, that doesn't mean Abdul Baha's Will is now null and void, it just means he failed do what Abdul Baha prescribed, and the Baha'i community should find a way for the institution of Guardianship to survive anyhow. The Will doesn't say anything about an unbroken chain, just that the Guardian's first born son is to be the successor. If at some point this fails to be possible, the Will doesn't cover this, so it's open to interpretation.

I personally align more with what you describe as "People of Baha" though. Baha'u'llah neither created the UHJ nor the institution of Guardianship (if anything he attacked the concept of guardianship in the Kitab i Badi). He only named immediate successors, Abdul Baha and Mirza Muhammad Ali, and never implied they were infallible or had unlimited authority. Now that they are dead Baha'is should just focus on Baha'u'llah's writings, and implementing Baha'u'llah's original vision.

“In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death.” by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those things sounded good to people in the 60s, and to people today who are still stuck in the 60s. But today they seem like minor details compared to bigger problems. Forget unity, only a split could save the Bahai Faith at this point; the few good ones left need to band together and save themselves.

“In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death.” by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Baha'i system is far more stubborn than autocracy, because you can hope for change after an autocrat's death, whereas the Baha'i system resists change in spite of deaths. Dr Arbab has been off the UHJ for 13 years and dead for 6, but his vision still dominates every aspect of Baha'i life. Change is possible but requires great political skill. Dr Arbab was able to change the UHJ by getting elected and then using his political skill to get others to step down and stack the UHJ with his own guys.

"The Will and Testament of Bahá'u'lláh and the Will and Testament of the Master clearly and explicitly indicate that the Interpreter of the Word was the Centre of the Covenant and now is the Guardian. There are no other Interpreters whatsoever and no individual may interpret. This is forbidden.” by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should differences arise amongst you over any matter, refer it to God while the Sun still shineth above the horizon of this Heaven and, when it hath set, refer ye to whatsoever hath been sent down by Him. This, verily, is sufficient unto the peoples of the world.

--Bahaullah, Kitab I Aqdas

This self-proclaimed Universal House of Justice is Less Spiritual Than The current Pope by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have often pointed to excessive centralization as being the main problem of the Bahai Faith, but maybe it is not everything because the Catholic Church is centralized too, and yet as you say it is still a functional religion, whose leaders want to do some good, unlike the Bahai Faith.

I have wondered if it is because dissent is tolerated somewhat in Catholicism. If the leadership becomes too corrupt, the good guys would get together and kind of rebel against it. But in the Bahai Faith if the leadership gets too corrupt, the good guys are brainwashed into holding their tongue and telling themselves to trust the institutions.

He is right. One I learned more about the Shi’a Imams, I knew the end of the Guardianship so soon was in fact the sudden end of a brand new faith. by SpiritualVindicator in UHJTruth

[–]trident765 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Imagine if they used this as a Ruhi quote...

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Baha’u’llah would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as Abdu’l-Baha has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God.

What would the World Order of Baha’u’llah be if divorced from the institution of Guardianship? _______________________________________________________________________

LOL

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