On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 17:01:07 -0600, Susan Maneck <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> "[6:38] > "We have not neglected anything in the Book," Gilberto: > And I would say that the basic essentials are there [the Quran], and the rest > is just detail." Susan: > What is 'essential' in one age may not have been so essential previously. > There are a lot of details in the Qur'an I don't consider essential at all, > but it seems to be silent on other issues which are extremely important to > me, like the eguality of women and men. Gilberto: Yes, we've had this discussion before, several times it seems, in soc.religion.bahai. (Is this what Bahais mean by the Return... lol) And at some point, you weren't just saying the Quran is silent about the equality but that it is positively inconsistent with it. I think there is a very thin tight-rope which I don't believe can be walked skillfully, at least not using the approaches I've seen. In order to order to say the Bahai faith represents progress, it means you want to have it compare favorably to Islam and the Quran and it is difficult-to-impossible to do that without being critical of statements in the Quran, which you say also come from God. I would say that the Quran can certainly be read faithfully in ways which oppose sexist oppression and protect the interests and concerns of women. And so in that sense a new religion isn't really necessary. I don't see how you could depart from that position very far without accusing God of being a sexist pig. Peace Gilberto "My people are hydroponic" __________________________________________________ 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:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 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
