David,
I think that free will is exercised in this existence. The Holy Spirit does not MAKE us do anything. The writings tell us that we must become "hollow reeds" through which the love of God flows to be successful at teaching. If we are a hollow reed, then where does the message come from?
The writings also say that as soon as a successful teacher starts thinking that he, personally, is doing all this good work, he will quickly stop being successful.
Regards,
Scott
David Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
David Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
It says in the Writings that it is not the teacher who converts seekers to
the Faith but the Holy Spirit. Every day people convert to religions other
than the Baha'i Faith. Given that the Baha'i Faith is the religion for
today, God obviously wants people to become Baha'is. Hence, surely when
these people are converted to other religions the Holy Spirit did not
convert them. I don't understand why, then, we are to believe that every
single person who becomes a Baha'i does so because of the intervention of
the Holy Spirit. It seems incredulous that no one would ever become a
Baha'i without the Holy Spirit deciding to 'make' them a Baha'i. I do
wonder whether what the Writings says is a generalization made to subdue the
ego's of those who have lead people to the Faith.
Regards,
David
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