Yes, it seems to me there is usually more than one perspective
available form the Writings on a given topic. I like that. for
instance, the famous passage where Bah'u'llah sees tablet in His mind,
i do nopt thhink He actually 'sees a Tablet" but He chose that phrase
and image to try to communicate His reality to us.
On Dec 29, 2004, at 9:33 PM, Firouz Anaraki wrote:
I think what Baha'u'llah means in the Lawh-i Hikmat, it clearly is not
that he just had to close his eyes and He could see or read
what He wanted to know. Baha'u'llah states in the Kitab-i-Iqan:
... a certain man, [Haji Mirza Karim Khan] reputed for his learning
and attainments, ... hath in his book denounced and vilified all the
exponents of true learning. .... As We had frequently heard about him,
We purposed to read some of his works. Although We never felt disposed
to peruse other peoples' writings, yet as some had questioned Us
concerning him, We felt it necessary to refer to his books, in order
that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and understanding.
His works, in the Arabic tongue, were, however, not available, until
one day a certain man informed Us that one of his compositions,
entitled Irshadu'l-'Avam, ("Guidance unto the ignorant.") could be
found in this city. ... We sent for the book, and kept it with Us a
few days. It was probably referred to twice. The second time, We
accidentally came upon the story of the "Mi'raj" of Muhammad,
Kitab-i Iqan, 184-6
Baha'u'llah had to wait until he had read the book before he felt able
to speak of it with knowledge and understanding. He had a collection
of books, and kept some of them.
In studying the Writings, we should not take a single verse on its
own, but rather take a wide selection of the writings.
Baha'u'llah acknowledges having normal human limitations.
regards,
Firouz
__________________________________________________
You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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
__________________________________________________
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
