Gilberto Simpson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ok, I was sloppy in how I spoke. "Fundamentalist" Bahais and
non-Fundamentalist Bahais. And some "Fundamentalist" Bahais might have
PhDs and academic positions.
Peace
GilbertoGilberto,
I have been enjoying this dialogue, by the way, thank you for exploring it with me.
I feel that the essence of the Baha`i Faith is like the essence of Islam. Submission to the Message and to God. "Fundamentalism" has nothing to do with it.
The fundamental thing is that I interpret the writ for me, and impose that interpretation on no one else. I live by what I decide the faith demands of me. I would suppose that I may or may not understand at any given moment what is demanded of me and what is not; but I leave myself room to grow in that understanding as time passes.
Those who have an axe to grind against the institutions of the faith usually do not have an axe at all, just an ego without an edge, and an ego can never stand up to the grinding of the stone, it wears itself away with no gain.
Detachment from all else but God is the key. None of us can do that completely, but it is our responsibility to try. When my ego would pit me against the unity of the cause, I hope I will always let go of the ego and cling to the cause.
"Blessed are they that have soared on the wings of detachment and attained the station which, as ordained by God, overshadoweth the entire creation, whom neither the vain imaginations of the learned, nor the multitude of the hosts of the earth have succeeded in deflecting from His Cause. Who is there among you, O people, who will renounce the world, and draw nigh unto God, the Lord of all names? Where is he to be found who, through the power of My name that transcendeth all created things, will cast away the things that men possess, and cling, with all his might, to the things which God, the Knower of the unseen and of the seen, hath bidden him observe? Thus hath His bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled, and His proof shone 35 forth above the Horizon of mercy. Rich is the prize that shall be won by him who hath believed and exclaimed: "Lauded art Thou, O Beloved of all worlds! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every understanding heart!""
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 34)
I think Islam would hold me to the same standard.
Regards,
Scott
Arnold J. Toynbee
