I suggest that we may make assumptions about what "Most Holy" means.
That is, that it is supposed to create a spiritual atmosphere upon our
reading it. Or, that it is more spiritual than His other Writings; but
how could that be? All of His Writings come from the same Source.
Personally I feel that the Aqdas is designated as the "Most Holy" Book
because of its future effect on the world; that we can't determine its
uniqueness by our reading it. It will take its application to see that.
The Guardian wrote through his secretary:
"He does not ask us to follow Him blindly; as He says in one of His
Tablets, God had endowed man with a mind to operate as a torchlight and
guide him to truth. Read His words, consider His teachings, and measure
their value in the light of contemporary problems and the truth will
surely be revealed to you...."
(26 February 1933 to an individual believer, published in "Bahá'í News"
80 (January 1934), p. 5; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 217,
#470)
That is, the proof is not merely in our mental evaluation of His
Teachings, but in applying them to the problems of the world.
Baha'u'llah is the Divine Physician. He looked at our personal spiritual
problems, our families in disarray, our ineffective governments and
economic systems, and He prescribed -- the Obligatory Prayers, the
Huquq, the Houses of Justice, and so on. Though these are not
confrontative approaches, though they may not bear the signs of
modern-day remedies, when considered carefully, they address today's
problems at their roots.
So I suggest trying to approach the Aqdas in that way.
Also, the laws are best understood not by reading them, but by carrying
them out. As the Guardian's secretary wrote:
"The Guardian particularly appreciates the fact that you have been
faithfully observing Bahá'u'lláh's injunction regarding the recital of
the daily obligatory prayers, and have thereby set such a high example
before your Bahá'í fellow-youth. These daily prayers have been endowed
with a special potency which only those who regularly recite them can
adequately appreciate." (23 February 1939 to two believers)
(Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 240)
That is, the laws can only be fully appreciated when carried out; that's
how to evaluate them.
However, for proofs, I suggest a different Book -- the Iqan. He
revealed it to bestow certitude on the reader. Also as regards proofs I
suggest reading the Master's comments on pages 368 and 369 of Baha'i
World Faith (if using Ocean, do a word search for "rosy")
As to the lack of a central theme to the Aqdas, Shoghi Effendi pointed out:
"All Divine Revelation seems to have been thrown out in flashes. The
Prophets never composed treatises. That is why in the Qur'án and our own
Writings different subjects are so often included in one Tablet. It
pulsates, so to speak. That is why it is 'Revelation'." (From a letter
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i
Community, p. 453)
Not all of the divine laws were revealed so that they would be carried
out by the believers. With respect to the laws of the Bab, the Guardian
has written that they were revealed to create a tumult, to confront the
orthodox religious powers, and to demonstrate the independent nature of
the revelation of the Bab.
"The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Báb can be properly
appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own
statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own
Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Bábí Dispensation
was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social
revolution, and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of
tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. These drastic measures
enforced by the Báb and His followers were taken with the view of
undermining the very foundations of Shí'ah orthodoxy, and thus paving
the way for the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. To assert the independence of the
new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching
Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb had therefore to reveal very severe
laws, even though most of them were never enforced. But the mere fact
that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character
of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread
agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led
them to cause His eventual martyrdom." (Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the
Indian Subcontinent, p. 179)
Likewise the Master pointed out that the laws of intestate succession
were revealed as an encouragement to the believers to write a will, or
else their estates would be distributed in that way; and He also wrote
that the Divine Law permitting polygamy but conditioned upon justice --
an impossible condition -- proves that this was actually intended as a
law requiring monogamy.
So the motive behind the divine laws is not always the first thing we
assume. As these passages show, there are sometimes very different
purposes for the laws. Muhammad prescribes death by stoning for adultery
between a married man and a married woman; but conditioned on the
testimony of four eyewitnesses. That's a practical impossibility. I
think the purpose of the law is not that it be carried out; but that it
expresses intense divine displeasure, and is intended as a deterrent to
marital infidelity. Personally I think that the Aqdas law mandating
burning a person to death but permitting life imprisonment is in the
same category-- a severe law not intended to be carried out, but rather
conveying intense divine displeasure; and that the lesser penalty will
be carried out.s
I hope these thoughts are of service.
Brent
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