Sen wrote:
>> . . . the statement "religious truth is not
absolute, but relative" is a meta-statement. It immediately
interprets and provides a framework for all Bahai truth-statements.
If a statement is absolute ("When Yahya Darabi arrived at Shiraz he
interviewed the Bab three times.") it is not a religious truth. This
statement is history: if it turns out to be wrong, that will not have
any religious significance. At most it would confirm what we already
know, that not everything stated in the Bahai writings is absolutely
true ! >>
My view is that to understand what the Guardian means by the relativity
of truth, we have to look at all of the passages where he made that
statement. Among these passages from him we see that he wrote that the
structure of the Mashriq incorporates this principle, and that it is a
major theme of the Iqan. The Guardian is not bringing up some entirely
new reality in the Faith; he is its Interpreter, not the Originator of
new teachings.
So whatever the Guardian means by this, has to have its seed in the
Writings of Baha'u'llah or the Master. And we don't have to scour all
of Their Writings to find what the Guardian is referring to; we can
sincerely look at the structure of the Mashriq and at the text of the
Iqan, and see what's there.
I don't see anything about relativity in the Iqan, in any sense except
that there is a succession of Prophets, and each Prophet changes the
laws in accordance with the needs of His age:
"in all Dispensations the law of prayer hath constituted a fundamental
element of the Revelation of all the Prophets of God -- a law the form
and the manner of which hath been adapted to the varying requirements of
every age." (Iqan, p. 39)
"That city is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and
dispensation. In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of
Jesus the Gospel; in the days of Muhammad the Messenger of God the
Qur'án; in this day the Bayan; and in the dispensation of Him Whom God
will make manifest His own Book -- the Book unto which all the Books of
former Dispensations must needs be referred. . . " (Iqan, p. 199)
"By "heaven" is meant the heaven of divine Revelation, which is elevated
with every Manifestation, and rent asunder with every subsequent one. By
"cloven asunder" is meant that the former Dispensation is superseded and
annulled." (Iqan, p. 44)
If one takes the statement that "religious truth is not absolute, but
relative" as a broad sweep about the nature of all Revelation, then your
conclusions logically follow. But I respectfully disagree with the
premise because:
- It has no antecedents in the Texts
- It is not found in the Iqan or in the design of the Mashriq
- It is taken out of context; and when context is provided, the Guardian
states plainly that he is talking about Progressive Revelation.
Just my view.
Best regards
Brent
The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail") is sent
by the Johnson County Community College ("JCCC") and is intended to be confidential and
for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by
federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message
is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or
copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please
immediately notify JCCC by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message
and any attachments thereto. Thank you.
__________________________________________________
You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
