Some disconnected thoughts, I haven't worked all of this through. 1. The Guardian stated that he is not infallible in economics or science. Somehow, "history" got added to that list. It is entirely possible that he is *not* infallible in writing or editing history; my point is that he didn't include "history" in that letter he directed his secretary to write on his behalf.
2. The House of Justice has acknowledged that there are errors in the Guardian's history of the first Baha'i Century -- God Passes By. http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_bible_errors_gpb.html That letter specifically refers to errors of attribution -- that the Guardian quotes a Bible verse, and incorrectly attributes it to a different Biblical author. He correctly interprets it as referring to Baha'u'llah -- and that is clearly in his sphere of infallibility, interpretation of the meaning of Scripture. He incorrectly cites where it is in the Bible. How much this bears on the divine guidance he receives in histories he writes, or histories he translates, I don't know. And I think that the guidance from the Guardian and the House about not limiting the sphere of the Guardian's infallibility should be kept in mind here. We are incapable of drawing any bright lines in this regard; it is wholly beyond our capacity. 3. There were instances when the Guardian deferred to historians: "As there is nothing specific about Joseph Smith in the teachings, the Guardian has no statement to make on his position or about the accuracy of any statement in the Book of Mormon regarding American history or its peoples. This is a matter for historians to pass upon." (From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, High Endeavours - Messages to Alaska, p. 71) [n.b. the proviso -- there is "nothing in the teachings" on that subject. -- B.P.] However, note the way in which he holds the views of historians in this letter: "There are no dates in our teachings regarding the actual dates of the Prophets of the Adamic Cycle, so we cannot give any. Tentatively we can accept what historians may consider accurate." (From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated November 25, 1950; Lights of Guidance, 2nd edition, pp. 503-504) It would be interesting to know what the question was, that generated the following response from the Guardian: "We as Baha'is are not influenced by the categorical assertions of scholars. We believe that what Baha'u'llah has revealed and `Abdu'l-Baha is written is from God, and divinely inspired; that Baha'u'llah is a Manifestation of God, and has access to a knowledge denied to ordinary human beings." (From a letter on behalf of the Guardian dated April 2, 1954; Lights of Guidance, 2nd edition, p. 536) As far as what to do when the Master says one thing, and history another, there are two sides to that. While it is true that the Guardian said to record what the history said in that one instance referred to by one of the friends, in another case his secretary wrote on his behalf: "Historians cannot be sure Socrates did not visit the Holy Land. But believing as we do that `Abdu'l-Baha had an intuitive knowledge quite different from our own, we accept His authority on this matter." (From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated June 7, 1946; Arohanui, p. 88) 4. When speaking of the Guardian's role in his translation of Nabil's Narrative (or as Khanum states, the Guardian "re-created" Nabil's Narrative, Priceless Pearl p. 215) I think that profound respect is due to it, because of his station. Whether one finds errors, whether one views it as sacred myth, whether it is viewed as simply one history among many -- it is a work of Shoghi Effendi, and careless remarks needlessly hurt people, and are disrespectful, and reduce the impact of the remarks made. 4. Shoghi Effendi many times uses the Dawn-breakers as a source for his own history of the Faith, throughout God Passes By. What's good enough for him, is good enough for me. That's just me as an individual believer, and perhaps a believer who is a professional historian would take a different view. 5. Here are Shoghi Effendi's own words about his work on that book: "I have just completed, after eight months of continuous and hard labour, the translation of the history of the early days of the Cause and have sent the manuscript to the American National Assembly. The work comprises about 600 pages and 200 pages of additional notes that I have gleaned during the summer months from different books. I have been so absorbed in this work that I have been forced to delay my correspondence... I am now so tired and exhausted that I can hardly write...The record is an authentic one and deals chiefly with the Báb. Parts of it have been read to Bahá'u'lláh and been revised by 'Abdu'l-Bahá... I am so overcome with fatigue caused by the long and sever strain of the work I have undertaken that I must stop and lie down." (Quoted in Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Priceless Pearl, p. 216) 6. The Guardian repeatedly emphasized that he translated the Dawn-breakers in order to inspire the friends to action: "The Guardian sincerely hopes and prays that the study of the Dawn-Breakers will inspire the friends to greater activity and more exerted energy in serving the Cause and spreading its message ..." (From a letter on behalf of the Guardian dated 16 April 1933, The Light of Divine Guidance, Vol. 2, p. 24) "The reading of the Dawn-Breakers is sure to arouse the friends to renewed zeal and added perseverance in spreading the Cause of Baha'u'llah." (From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated Jan. 2, 1933; Lights of Guidance, 2nd edition, p. 568) In a letter in which he urges the believers to "master" the Dawn-breakers the Guardian's secretary on Shoghi Effendi's behalf states that it "... will show you how the Faith was ushered into the world and how its early adherents heroically faced martyrdom and suffering in their desire to establish the Cause throughout the world. Knowing the life of those heroes will create in us the urge to follow their footsteps and achieve the same." (Letter dated 9 June 1932; Compilation on Deepening; Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, p. 216) "I would also urge the friends in India and Burma to order as many copies of the Dawn-Breakers as they possibly can as I regard its circulation of vital importance to the Cause." (Postscript in Shoghi Effendi's handwriting to a letter written on his behalf, "Dawn of a New Day," p. 32) 7. Shoghi Effendi did not regard this as merely a book of moral instruction to show the spirit of the early friends and urge the friends to consecrated action. The fact that he so copiously annotated it with quotations from impartial historical and diplomatic sources shows that he regarded it as a work of authentic history, and wished us to do so, too. "Shoghi Effendi would advise the friends . . . to hold regular study classes and read that book with great care, committing its salient facts to memory, so that while teaching the Cause, they may be able to show the motivating spirit of the Faith by referring to some incidents of those early days." (From a letter on behalf of the Guardian dated 16 April 1933, The Light of Divine Guidance, Vol. 2, p. 24) 8. In Khanum's description of Shoghi Effendi's work on God Passes By, she writes this interesting passage about the process of historiography: "Anyone who has ever tackled a work of an historical nature knows how much research is involved, how often one has to decide, in the light of relevant material, between this date given in one place and that date given in another..." (Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, p. 96) 9. One part of me wants to view the Dawn-breakers as a kind of compilation of archetypes. As Baha'u'llah says in the Iqan (p. 151), the believers return in every age. I think that is why the Master reportedly advised May Maxwell (in a pilgrim's note I can't locate) to read the Lives of the Saints. Their spirit returns in every Dispensation, and that spirit is magnificently portrayed in the Dawn-breakers. On the other hand, none of the Guardian's comments on the Dawn-breakers give the slightest indication that he viewed it as merely fables for moral instruction, or anything but historically accurate. 10. Steve Lambden has written a very good article (which I can't locate) in which he convincingly shows that the incident recounted in the Dawn-breakers (p. 75) where the teacher brings the Bab back to His uncle and says he can't teach Him anything, is probably allegorical (my term), as the same story is recounted in some instances word-for-word in traditions about earlier Prophets. Like I said, I don't have all this worked out. But it's fun. 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