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I say, are there any practicing or former Bahá'ís out there? I'm curious to know. And if there is, then Alláh-u-Abhá! My primary connection to the Bahá'í faith is primarily through a Persian-American classmate and old friend of mine. We meet regularly to swap reflections on the deepest considerable mysteries. I have yet to enter one of his local houses of worship, because I think that's hella daring and I'm not secure enough to go there. So I have a bit of hearsay about the story of the faith, but I'd like very much to have these descriptions replaced by ones written by a practitioner. Brief History The recorded Bahá'í story begins with the prophetic tradition written by Moses, and recognizes (among other things) the Jesus of Nazareth stories and the divine wisdoms written down by the Prophet Mohammad. The Bahá'í story begins its unique story in 1840's Persia. There, a merchant later called the Báb proclaimed to be a divine messenger who had a prophecy which included the coming of a promised one. The was Báb was eventually arrested and executed. Then, among his surviving followers, several proclaimed themselves to be the promised one that the Báb spoke of. One such follower was Bahá'u'lláh, who spent the rest of his life in exile, writing prodigiously about religious matters. Brief Beliefs Central to Bahá'u'lláh's writing was the concept of the Manifestations of God. A person may be called a Manifestation of God if they advance a great moral/spiritual cause. He and his future followers recognize several known prophets as Manifestations of God, including Jesus of Nazareth and the Prophet Mohammad, but they don't claim to have an exhaustive list or to claim that Manifestations of God are limited to certain cultures or time periods. My understanding of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings are that they espouse the universality of God and the unity of people and religion. Bahá'ís maintain local administrations and also a supreme governing body called the Universal House of Justice. Bahá'ís prescribe a set of daily and calendar practices as well as moral practices, but they're notable for their broad acceptance for varied and personal worship practices. My questions Beyond wanting to hear your brief take on the Bahá'í story, I foremost want to hear your personal stories with respect to the Bahá'í faith. Do you still have have that faith, or what is it like now? Were you born into a Bahá'í family, or did you come by it later? What's personally significant? What's not so significant? What frustrates, if anything? What surprises? I hope there are some Bahá'ís out there or people wanting to talk about it at least!
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Mar 10, 2018 14:20
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:22 |
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Not of the faith but I took a tour in Israel and we got to see the gardens in Haifa (I think). That was cool.
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Mar 10, 2018 21:06
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I was sort of raised Baha'i but never really went with it. It's definitely influenced my spirituality and concepts of God, but after sitting through a bunch of spiritual/theological discussions on the nature of God, suffering, and even homosexuality I couldn't really stomach sticking with an organised religion. My father is/was Baha'i and is considered an elder in the community, but he'd probably consider himself more of a secular humanist. Especially since he wholesale disagrees with some aspects of the Baha'i faith, but that's sort of part and parcel of being a Baha'i I think. I think if you're actually a Baha'i and you for some reason think Bahá'u'lláh was the last messenger of God I don't think you've quite grasped the subtext of the faith. Persian food of Baha'i exiles from Iran is dope though. And the feasting, so much feasting. If you had to pick a religion, this is the one to pick, so many feasts. I think one of the things I always liked most about the faith, aside from the idea that all faiths are merely messengers from God suited to the time, and therefore all religions and spiritualities are sides of the same multi-faceted truth, is the idea of not preaching the faith to others. A Baha'i is happy to talk about their faith with others, but they are never going to shove it down your throat or try to convert you. If you have more questions I'll try to remember to come back and answer them, I'm a bit rusty because I quit the faith properly around about when I became an adult.
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Mar 13, 2018 05:29
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I went to catholic school and in highschool one of my teachers was Baha'i and could teach there on a technicality since he also believed in Jesus. He was the raddest teacher and spent one class explaining the Baha'i faith to us, and the fact that he could get out of work any day he wanted by saying it was a religious holiday, since the school administration was both too lazy and too polite to check these things.
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Mar 14, 2018 13:04
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I was raised Baha'i and remained a Baha'i until a few years ago. I am an atheist now but I still have a soft spot in my heart for the Baha'is. The issue of gay marriage was the begining of my disillusionment with the faith, even though I myself am a straight man married to a woman. With the writings so clear about the issue I felt like I could no longer believe in them as the inerrant word of God. After I came to that conclusion it was all down hill. I remained culturally Baha'i for some time after I lost faith but my wife was never a Baha'i and we have been married a long time at this point so that probably played a role in my drifting away. There were a few things around how we were treated because she is not Baha'i that definitely played a role in my leaving. Some American Baha'is have a habit of talking to non-believers like they are children or idiots and act as if everything they say is going to be some big revelation to someone not of the faith. This is certainly true where I grew up. At the same time that I was having a crisis of faith I was still serving on my town's LSA. For a while I tried to push for change from within, but it was a dead end. Once I moved to a different local administrative area from my parents it was a lot easier to just never show up to anything. I still have not formally withdrawn or discussed the matter with my parents, who are still pillars of the local community. I also have cousins and other extended family in the faith who are pretty well known in the American community as well as in Haifa. I am happy to talk about the faith from a secular or religious perspective. I spent years studying the writings and going to deepenings and firesides. I was once a very active true believer, from the time I was 12 until about 31. I am not as up on the current 5 year plan or whatever they are teaching in Ruhi classes because while my parents are super involved, I spam folder the emails I get and my copy of American Baha'i goes straight in the trash every month. Generally speaking Baha'is are really great people with huge blind spots around thier own faith and beliefs. I guess just like most people. therobit fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Mar 15, 2018 |
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Mar 15, 2018 05:15
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Thank you kindly for the responses, both to the former Baha'is and non-Baha'is. A common theme I saw in therobit's post and in Konomex's post is personal opposition to the Baha'i position on same sex monogamy. This exists all over the place in organized monotheism, and I'm very interested in how everything will unfold. My craziest thoughts are that monotheism will never go away as long as there are humans. For as long as there are humans, there will be folks who perceive everything as unfolding according to a unified, ultimate, and loving spiritual architecture. Instead, I expect it to adopt new and enduring stories about (among many other subjects) the equal potential for holiness and wrongdoing in a same sex marriage as in a heterosexual marriage, as well as a responsibility of the community to nurture its most vulnerable families (including families of one, I'd argue). It may or may ever take the shape of a monolithic and doctrinal social institution, but I do expect it to meaningfully rejuvenate the spirits of the people living in nations with a precedent for monotheism. Loony, I know.
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Mar 15, 2018 06:35
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:22 |
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Happy Naw Ruz y'all.
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Mar 21, 2018 04:42
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