Hi, Gilberto, At 10:30 AM 1/10/2005, you wrote: >>And I would suggest that Bahais don't seem to be very worried about all those >>other figures they are implicitly saying "no" to.<<
In one sense, none of that matters. What God expects of His servants is to recognize His Messenger in the age He appears. Other claimants to a title may be inspired or have a particular spiritual function to perform. God only knows. As I said before, I accept that these individuals have whatever name or position they claim in the context of their "structurization" or socially constructed paradigm. It is not mine to judge whether God is using them for some purpose. Therefore, while I may not accept the messianic legitimacy of other religious or spiritual leaders outside their respective narratives, I am really not saying "no" to them. I am saying "yes" to the One I have recognized as God's most recent Prophet. Whether other people have a similar response to Baha'u'llah is, in my view, a matter of personal investigation. Perhaps one of the important implications of the Baha'i principle of non-proselytization, or the Islamic "no compulsion in religion," is that no one can make this determination for anyone else. With regards, Mark A. Foster • 15 Sites: http://markfoster.net "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger" -- Abbie Hoffman __________________________________________________ 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
