A while ago on this list I asked about the requirements for looking for a marriage partner, since what I had seen in translated passages was slim. I recently wrote to the House asking for further information. I was disappointed that I didn't receive the response I was hoping for, and am just wondering why they responded in the way they did. Here is the response, which I will comment on afterwards:
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARIAT
Bahá’í World Centre • P.O. Box 155 • 31001 Haifa, Israel
Tel: 972 (4) 835 8358 • Fax: 972 (4) 835 8280 • Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
18 May 2006
Transmitted by email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mr. David Regal
Australia
Dear Bahá’í Friend,
Your email letter of 14 May 2006 has been received by the Universal House of Justice, which has asked us to respond as follows.
The questions you have raised are best addressed through personal discussion with a knowledgeable believer. You are advised to turn to your Local Spiritual Assembly or to an Auxiliary Board member for help in identifying a suitable Bahá’í to assist you in this regard.
You are advised to study carefully the passages from authoritative texts which bear on aspects of the Bahá’í Teachings of particular interest to you and to take care not to make unwarranted inferences from these passages. You are encouraged also to consider whether unpublished Tablets being quoted to you are authentic and whether the translations made from them are accurate.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
In regards to the paragraph asking who I should turn to for answers to the questions I raised, I seriously doubt I would find the guidance I want from those people. I have seen the few references about choosing a marriage partner in translated passages, and those people would probably just refer me to those. I would need to find a knowledgeable believer who was well-versed in Persian and Arabic, who had read untranslated Writings extensively, and who was a capable translator. Did the House understand me, because how likely would I find such a person from asking around? I would be very surprised if there is a single person in my country who could answer my questions.
The reason they referred to untranslated Tablets is because I made reference to a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Baha that was posted here during the discussion I started. It gave nine things to look for in a person to marry. I gave the summary given of it, knowing possibly the translation wasn't perfect, figuring the research department would know the Tablet referred to and be able to comment on it. I was also told there are many passages in untranslated Writings that refer to the subject so was hoping the research department would be able to help me out so I'd know how to go about selecting someone to marry. Their letter is unhelpful for me, and I'm not going to bother asking anyone in the administration for help, as it's pretty much a given. I am interested to know why the House responded as they did, and also what I should do know. Would it be okay if I write back to the House asking them to quote some passages from untranslated Writings which provide additional information in what to look for? I was hoping for a response that would help me and others.
Regards,
David
Check out the latest video at Xtra Broadband
You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com
Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st
Baha'i Studies is available through the following:
Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/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
