"In The thirteenth Glad-Tidings and The eighth Ishraq, Baha'u'llah refers to The MEN of God's House of Justice as the Trustees of God."
Dear Sandra, Keep in mind that originally Abdu'l-Baha applied this passage when asked why women were excluded from the Chicago House of Justice. It was later He restricted its application to the Universal House of Justice. "In the Aqdas, referencing previous "epistles" Baha'u'llah enjoins upon the "Trustees of the House of Justice either to choose one language from among those now existing or to adopt a new one ..." I'll grant you that this is likely to be a function of the Universal House of Justice alone. "In Tablets of Baha'u'llah, while reiterating earlier passages in the Aqdas and other Tablets; Baha'u'llah said: "...all affairs are committed to the care of just kings and presidents and of the Trustees of the House of Justice." As kings and presidents are equated with the Trustees, it leaves little doubt in my mind that He intends the *Universal* House of Justice and not any of the Local Spiritual Assemblies or future Local Houses of Justice." But why wouldn't it apply to Secondary Houses of Justice? "And, again from Tablets of Baha'u'llah, He said: "...the Trustees are then to take from him that which is required for their instruction, if he be wealthy, and if not the matter devolveth upon the House of Justice." [for the education of children] Again, the education of children may well have roots in the local community - however, this statement speaks to taxation." So why wouldn't local Houses of Justice be in charge of taxation? Abdu'l-Baha seems to place them in charge of the local storehouses. "Also, in Tablets, the Trustees of God's House of Justice are again paired with the "chiefs" and "rulers of the world"... not likely Baha'u'llah is referring to Local Houses of Justice there." Again, there are all kinds of levels of Houses of Justice. And they are all considered 'rulers in Baha." "In God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi states that in the Aqdas, Baha'u'llah: "ordains the institution of the "House of Justice", defines its functions, fixes its revenues, and designates its members as the "Men of Justice", the "Deputies of God", the "Trustees of the All-Merciful" ... And indeed He does! [page 26" And elsewhere the term 'Trustees of the all-Mericful" applied to lesser institutions as well. "With regard to the Iqan quote: Ultimately, the Local and National Assemblies must rely on the Universal House of Justice *expound meanings*, and *unravel mystery* and, it's been established that Baha'u'llah designated "...the men of God's House of Justice as the Trustees of God."" Sandra, that the function of the Authoritative Interpreters and the Manifestations not the Universal House of Justice. "I believe in most if not all the quotes I gave, the words *Trustees* or *House of Justice* or *Universal House of Justice* are all in combination with a personal pronoun - making the title or designation - *specific* to one/singular institution." Huh? What personal pronouns are you talking about? It's been a long time since I've had any formal education in English. I'm open to correction if I'm wrong. "<> I don't see him adopting a convention of capitalizing references to the Universal House of Justice. <> Can you provide a sentence from any of the Guardian's writings or translations where he did NOT capitalize Universal House of Justice ? I'm still looking for one..." I said *references* to the Universal House of Justice, not the name "Universal House of Justice" which is capitalized by virtue of being a proper name. But so are Houses of Justice generically. warmest, Susan __________________________________________________ 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
