It is an article that will appeal to any Baha'i who has held a meeting and been disappointed with those turning out. We looked for it and couldn't find the WikiHow article - what do you expect with a cat doing the research? but Mr.Wesley of the blog "Baha'i Views" has given us a WikiHow article overview, including his favorite items , and we shall use that as our starting point. If you thing you are going to offend someone, why go see him at all?
The title that engaged us was "How to Attend a Baha'i Meeting." Lordy! We can only assume that throngs who still put the feet up on the coffee table are coming through the Stargate. We think it more likely that someone held a Baha'i meeting and somebody showed up who didn't follow the host's personal rulebook. This enough is grounds for a Baha'i to write volumes of WikiHow!
Mr.Wesley quotes, "by following these steps, you will be relaxed about learning something new and need not worry about offending anyone at the meeting."
We were beside ourselves to discover these steps, as we have always been offended by people who not were eager to learn new things and worried exceedingly about offending others. These, after all, are the hallmarks of the living. We think WikiHow-girl should get to know her guests better so she will not be so afraid of them jumping up and down and calling your Aunt Minnie a loser. We see in her words the cult member's fear of word getting around that she lost control of her "meeting;" the cult member's paranoia that people raised in a similar culture as she will in "Mission Impossible" style suddenly rip a rubber mask from their faces and become hairdressers.
Why isn't Baha'i Administration teaching its people what the religion itself says about these things? Why is it leaving the common man and woman adrift to imitate the administrators instead of learning it straight from the Word? The real Baha'i Faith, its sacred texts, does away with fear - as does any good sacred text. The real Baha'i Faith teaches that the teacher - in this case WikiHow-girl - must be confident. The real Baha'i Faith encourages its followers to use the Word of God as their proof. We could discern no Word of God in this brief section of WikiHow, but it may be there somewhere.
So the two points we get from this first WikiHow section are straight from Cult School: Leave your brain at home, and don't ask questions.
The step Mr.Wesley liked best was this:
Wear modest clothing....there are no rules for what kinds of clothes men or women should or should not wear. Baha'is believe in modesty in all things, including dress.
1. What is "modest clothing?" What if my idea of "modest clothing" differs from yours? May I borrow a definition I heard on "Focus on the Family" that says men and women should dress in such a way that the woman's attire does not arouse the man, and the man's attire honors the woman's chastity. In our opinion 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself did not say it any more clearly."Focus on the Family" is a Christian media and counselling organization.
2. There are no rules for what kinds of clothes men or women should or should not wear. (What did you just say, Mr. Wesley?) We can recall one about not letting ones self become a plaything for the ignorant, and there are rules in every society about what constitutes male and what constitutes female attire. The members of that society will dress accordingly if they wish their sexual role to be recognized and protected. We can recall no passage in the Baha'i Writings that state otherwise. There are rules for what kinds of clothing men and women should or should not wear. Baha'is should refrain from attributing statements and teachings to the Word which are their own opinions and not a part of the Authoritative Word.
3. Baha'is believe in modesty in all things, including dress. The term "Baha'is believe" is in no way a substitute for the words "The Baha'i Faith teaches" or "the Writings say...." Baha'is believe all sorts of things. Their belief does not make it a tenant of faith.
Baha'is believe in modesty? Please do not ask MrDonut to reference the skin-tight and skin-revealing clothing Baha'i parents buy and allow for their female children. Baha'i girls and women (not all, but far too many) in the West dress with a breathtaking degree of immodesty in clothes that are designed and worn to bring any male seeing it to a state of arousal. Those who scoff should bring their youth together and ask, what does a girl dressed like this do to you?" Oh, forget it. They probably won't admit it anyway. They aren't allowed to admit much. If the ladies at the Baha'i meeting are dressed like streetwalkers, that could be the reason the gents can't relaxl
Finally: the WikiHow trumpet call, although what it has to do with attending a Baha'i meeting we fail at present to see:
Tips: Baha'is are not liberal or conservative, democrat or republican. They are Baha'is.
Nonsense! Looking at their behavior, which is the real determinant, Baha'is in the U.S. at least are thoroughly liberal. They are tethered lightly to a few teachings that their parents may follow, and cast their nets (these days) to the causes of Global Warming, Bush is Bad, College Guys are It, Mechanics, well, leave them alone, they never watch Public Television. What are they being taught, that "liberal" means "Good Baha'i?"
Baha'is should be conservative. The Word of God is conservative. The aims and teachings of the Central Figures were for freedom of conscience, not licence for liberality against government or household. You cannot read Shoghi Effendi aloud for three minutes without realizing he was the world's biggest conservative. He openly stated that he hated liberalism! It is reported that, after a meeting with pilgrims, he once turned to his wife and said: Why don't they read my books?"
Baha'is are not democrat or republican. In lowercase, they are. In uppercase, a Baha'i is forbidden by Baha'i law in the U.S. anyway to register with a political party or to participate in party politics. Some Baha'is take this to mean they do not have to read history. They are wrong. Shoghi Effendi writes a lot more on this because in their views, people who lean towards the liberal will invariably find it very, very difficult to control themselves around the water cooler during an election year. Same for republican-minded souls, but being conservative they probably have a little more self-control.
They are Baha'is. Is MrDonut supposed to be impressed? Perhaps nothing has given a greater disservice to the Baha'i Faith's public image is the mantra, "We are Baha'is." The Master said that to be a Baha'i meant to love and serve mankind. Haifan Bahas'is say that is not so; you need a membership card. Isn't it a little early for membership cards? Who do membership cards serve? those Baha'is who hold (and hold tooth and claw) administrative posts. These Baha'is have become not the standard-bearers but the standards of Baha'i membership! The heart has been buried beneath the titles.
Some say the only true Baha'i was 'Abdu'l-Baha, and he would accept no other title than 'Abdu'l-Baha - "Servant of Baha." Anybody out there willing to share that title?
Sunday, January 6, 2008
HOW TO ATTEND A BAHA'I MEETING
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7 comments:
I think the Wikihow article was written by a kid.
I agree. I also need a gender here. Forgive me, kid, if I got it wrong. English is like that. Maybe all this will have you grow up to make a contribution to the universal language, if we're all still speaking by then. But who really needs to go out behind the woodshed on something like this is the parents. Everybody's got a computer in his own room and there's no supervision. Do Mom and Dad really think Junior hasn't found the way around the software to get to where the women are?
You couldn't keep a Pope away from a peek at the porn! Maybe they don't want to face it, but it's like the Playboys under the old sofa in the garage. You knew they were there and you knew, like laptop porn today, that it just makes Mom a little less human. And she knows it.
I wonder if the National Spiritual Assemblly is using their "Baha'is Only" newspaper to admonish the community to free themselves from porn once and for all?
I have no idea. It is a secret newspaper, you know. I think it would be easier to get ahold of Aryan Nation Weekly than a copy of American Baha'i. What's the secret? It was nothing but obituaries, tea parties, book sales, and a letter now and then from the Universal House of Pancakes. When I was a Baha'i I was often embarrassed that someone would find my copy and realize what a sap I was to think it was special.
Once again we turn to "Focus on the Family." They not only know scripture but they know how to implement it. Baha'is have got to stop thinking of Christianity in terms of "Elmer Gantry." It was a great picture but the lesson applies to anyone who turns religion around for his own aggrandizement. I don't know why the Baha'is don't turn to Focus on the Family. It's making everything the Baha'is want, work!
I don't know, Pomfret. I don't know why Baha'i parents think the rules in the Bible don't apply to Baha'is. They may have a newer model car, so to speak, but they can't keep it running if they don't understand what makes a car run. All too often Baha'is and their parents will take on a project and instead of their "car" getting them there, they end up driving into a wall.Christians drive an older model, but they've taken care of it and know what's under the hood.
Our computer is in the kitchen where everybody can see. Until I am 21 Sally has to approve everything I post, which is almost nothing anyway. Liberals say she is wrong. I say liberals are cr_p.
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