Gilberto wrote: > ...it gives the impression that somehow they are more peaceful, > or closer to pacifism, etc. than other religions in principle. when > there are significant exceptions which make that untrue.
The exceptions are so closely defined that I can't agree that this is untrue. We are, unlike the Quakers for instance, permitted to defend ourselves, and it's true that the early, formative years of the Babí and Bahá'í Faith were characterized by a good deal of violence and bloodshed, as the entire establishment of Islamic theocracy attempted to wipe out the New Revelation. A study of the history of those years shows pretty clearly that there was more than mere human will involved in the establishment of the Faith. > Alot of times I get the impression that Bahá'í self-descriptions give > the impression of being significantly and substantially different from > Islam. And given an environment where people have a lot of bias and > prejudice against Islam, such statements will probably play very well. > But on further examination, it seems like the Bahá'i claims aren't > significantly different. And the two main examples which come to mind > are gender equality and the use of force. Well, consider the opponent to which you are referring. The world has not seen, nor will it ever see, any mass-militancy on the part of Bahá'ís that corresponds to that of the Islamic world. And so-called Christians have a history that is, at times, equally shameful. While the current war in which we are engaged is not a matter of Christianity vs. Islam, many people on both sides do seem to view it that way. It can, to be sure, be viewed as a confrontation between Christianism and Islamism. But it is not the same as the Crusades, for instance, which really were a foray by avowed Christians to wipe Islam from certain areas of the world. Even today, certain avowed Christians accept violence as a way of enforcing their theology, as in the bombing of women's clinics and the assassination (a word that comes straight out of the Islamic world!) of the doctors who operate them. As for the equality of men and women, Bahá'ís realize that equality and equivalency are not identical concepts. Many of us are puzzled by the fact that the UHJ is so constituted as to include only men at this time. We are told specifically that there is a reason for this which will become clear with the passage of time, and for the most part at least, our faith allows us to accept this. Aside from this one administrative exception, women are not only fully equal in the Bahá'í Faith, but in some ways exalted over men, as in the area of education. Dave Lambert www.vintagerr.com __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
