The Spectrum of Religious Skepticism

While there is really nothing here about religion and belief that I haven't heard either of these two say, the fact that they are discussing it together is kind of exciting to me. I have discussed both of their thinking previously on this blog. They pretty much represent both sides of the skeptical post-religious worldview. Hitchen's, along with Dawkins, is probably the most outspoken and well spoken, if also condescending, public atheist. Wright threads the needle between materialism and teleology, while arguing that religious behavior is mainly a proxy for economic and political motivations. He is also a practicing Buddhist.

Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part One

Before, launching into this essay, I’d just like to express how happy I am to be writing again. For the better part of two years I was writing on a nearly regular basis. But this ceased when three months ago, I threw myself wholeheartedly back into studying Arabic. I’ve now progressed to the point where I’ve received an offer to assist in translating the vast body of untranslated Baha’i Writings during my free time. Granted, there are amazing resources that make this relatively simple, and the fine-tuning of these translations would be done by experts. There’s more people doing this sort of work than you might first think. So, it’s not like I have to be extremely proficient in the language to pull this off. Nonetheless, it’s another sign that God confirms us when we show forth effort and hope for his assistance. Then, just recently, I began to return to philosophy, which is another great passion of mine, and my on-going theological project: grounding a vision of the broad mission of the Baha’i Faith in rigorous inquests into the historical development of its lines of action. What follows is the product of some personal reflections. Undoubtedly they have been influenced by that broader project.

Tonight, I’ve had some thoughts running through my head about teaching the Baha’i Faith among college students. This is in large part sparked by a brief stopover at the Earlham College website. Photographs, course listings, and a student blog reminded me of the school we Earlhamites love to hate, hate to love, but to which we feel indissolubly linked because we are, in fact, it. I know many people who read this blog are Baha’is who either are or were recently attending college. So teaching the Baha’i Faith in such a setting is something to which many readers here have given thought. Furthermore, in a previous generation college campuses were the most fertile field for teaching that Western Baha’i communities had encountered on their own soil. Reviving that luster is certainly a worthy project. I think I’ve hit upon a reasonably systematic approach. At the very least, I think it’s a good start. I’d like to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this, especially if you’ve had recent experience in this area of teaching.

Firstly, such efforts should be as fully informed as possible by systematic teaching efforts happening in other parts of the world. The framework for action developed and set in motion since 1996 maximizes the capacity to learn from other individuals, communities, and institutions. There’s no need for Baha’i students to re-invent the wheel. For many of us, this may seem like common-sense. But at least for me personally, it took years for to come around to this view. Even after graduation I still clung to the idea that college campuses were so different from other settings that it was best for college clubs to start nearly from scratch.

Secondly, plans of action should be devised with respect to the natural rhythm of college life. One consequence of this is that dividing the year into four three month cycles, as in most other settings, could be counter-productive. The school year is already divided into its own periods, and the natural transitions between those should be taken into account. Every year begins with Fall semester (about 4 months). Then after a short break (3-4 weeks). Following that there is Spring semester (another 4 months). And then there is a relatively long summer break in which a significant number of the student body is absent (about 3 months). If student life is well-integrated into the broader community and there is already a vibrant teaching process among this latter population, then a standard plan of four three-months cycles may be quite sufficient. However, if student life is heavily organized around the academic calendar, then the best method is likely to be approaching each semester as one cycle in an Intensive Program of Growth (IPG). The semester would begin with an expansion phase. Most of the semester would consist of consolidation. And finally towards the end, participants would engage in a period of reflection and planning.

Such an approach would take advantage of the wide fluctuation in receptivity clearly linked to the cycle of the academic year. The beginning of a semester is a time for starting anew. This is especially the case with incoming freshman. It’s a time when student’s schedules are the most free. Homework, extracurriculars, and bad habits haven’t begun piling up. There’s still time in the week to join a study circle or get involved with a new service activity, conducted in the broader community, such as a children’s class or a Junior Youth group. It’s also a time, and this is especially the case with incoming freshman, for exploring a new spiritual path, and perhaps committing oneself to a new religious community. Intensive efforts to expand the scale of Baha’i community life can then naturally transition into a steady consolidation process as daily routines settle over the campus. In my experience, receptivity to core activities and to the fundamental verities of the Baha’i Faith tends to crash within just a few weeks of the start of the semester. New activities can be consolidated and new believers can be confirmed over the course of an entire semester. But that requires getting off on the right foot early on.

I’m covering a lot of ground with this essay. So I’ve decided to break it into two parts. This doesn’t actually make it easier to read. But it sure feels like it when the webpage loads. It continues with a post entitled, Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part Two. It should be pretty easy to find.

Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part Two

The third point I’d like to emphasize is that living the Baha’i life and taking action accordingly is most vibrant when it is thoroughly integrated into other aspects of one’s college life. It’s not just that Baha’is should balance Baha’i aspects of life with supposedly non-Baha’i aspects of life. This would be to wrongly assume that there is an aspect of one’s life that isn’t, or perhaps shouldn’t be, called to account by the Baha’i Revelation. Just as Jesus is Messiah seven days a week and not just on Sunday, so too, the transforming potency of Baha’u’llah’s Word is to be brought to bear in some way on every facet of human life. This, of course, has to do with one’s approach to studying. The central activity of college life is obtaining an education and is highly praised in the Baha’i Faith. And, of course, the pursuit of a degree does not override everything else in life. But beyond one’s studies, this insight greatly affects the way a student builds and develops relationships with others during that time. If it is at cross-purposes with one’s spiritual commitments then efforts to engage with others on a spiritual level will feel all the more contrived and unnatural. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to go back and visit Earlham now that I’ve graduated and been away for so long. Sadly, I wouldn’t know anyone besides the faculty. But it also occurred to me that if I did get into conversations with students I would probably be relatively confident conversing with them about spiritual matters. In fact, I suspect I would be far more confident than I was when I was a student. And the crucial difference is that the way I would relate with those students would be entirely different than the way I related with friends and acquaintances when I was myself a student.

Looking back, I think one of the biggest obstacles to being a more effective teacher was a fear of social stigmatization. I was afraid people might look at me in a less positive light if I were to present the Baha’i Faith with more courage. This is in large part because most of the relationships I developed in college were generally unrelated to my commitments and passions as a Baha’i. This is obviously related to the fact that I was nearly half way through my second year by the time I became a Baha’i. But even if I had, I think the outcome would have been quite similar. The Baha’i Faith had little to do with the way I made and developed friendships, even after I became confirmed in the faith. And once that lifestyle was established I feared that people might feel betrayed if I started broaching spiritual matters more directly. As an aside, it never occurred to me and others that our friends and acquaintances might feel pleasantly surprised rather than betrayed in such a scenario. But however torn I and others felt by this inner conflict, there is another way. And this is to establish relationships upon a spiritual basis. By this is not meant a doctrinal or sectarian basis. Rather it means, perhaps, that interactions are based around activities and topics that uplift the human soul, spread joy, and advance the cause of justice in the world. This is further strengthened, if these relationships are built around studying the Word of God for this age and striving to put it into practice.

As I mentioned earlier, the beginning of a semester is a great time to start anew. Just as this is the case for individuals contacted during an expansion phase, it is all the truer for those confirmed collaborators stepping out to begin those relationships in the first place. This presents an exciting opportunity for incoming Baha’i students. As you probably know, Baha’i youth are increasingly at the forefront of teaching efforts before they reach an age for beginning higher education. And increased focus on the education of children and the spiritual empowerment of early adolescents will only reinforce this trend in the years to come. With growing frequency, Baha’i youth will begin their college career with the will and capacity to engage in intensive teaching efforts. Effective planning and coordination between Baha’i upperclassmen and these incoming students can help draw them to the forefront of teaching as soon as they step on campus. Not only can this greatly augment the capacity and enthusiasm of the broader effort, but it can also be a profound blessing for the incoming student. There are many ways to make new friends and get established when entering college. Some are better than others. But looking back, I can’t think of any better way of beginning college than to seek and find new souls with whom to walk on a spiritual path of service.

Human Civilization

For 3 billion years the earth was made up of nothing but single celled organisms that functioned as individuals. Then, a billion years ago, gradually the cooperation of some cells created a new kind of life. The world of multi-celled life created new potentialities that allowed human intelligence to form. In the same way, throughout the evolution of humans, each person functioned as an individual. Then gradually the conscious cooperation of different people allowed communities to form. The world of community life created new potentialities, such as language, education, and technology.

If the cells that make up your body were to develop an ego and free will, they may decide not to cooperate with the rest of the body. If your liver became self-conscious it could demand to be better compensated because you wouldn’t survive without it. Luckily your cells and organs have no choice. They are composed and function with perfect cooperation, following a code that instructs their behavior. The human body regulates and heals itself, but your conscious self is not involved in the instruction of cells and organs.

Humans do have free will. An individual may decide to act selfishly, a nation may decide to use force against another, but in reality we are all part of the same world community, and the full potential of human civilization has only dimly been realized. When true cooperation, love, and unity become a reality, the organism of human civilization will throb and produce fruit.

Religions, over the centuries, have been the primary gardeners and advancers of human civilization. In the centuries following, Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, and others, a civilization thrived under their teachings and achieved the highest level of development and unity possible at the time. Baha'u'llah's teachings will bring about the first true world civilization, and create a new organism, as significant as the cooperation of cells that created life on earth.

Self Identity

Who are you? What makes up... you?

Are you a collection of cells? Are you a brain? A personality? Memories? This seems like such a simple and fundamental question, but the answer is not apparent. If you are your body, then chopping off a finger or arm would reduce your essence, but that doesn’t happen. A person may lose all 4 limbs and still be considered a whole person. Likewise, a person may lose their memory entirely, but still keep their intellect intact.

You can’t live without a heart. Is the essence of you in your heart? No, it just pumps blood. What about the brain? After all, your brain is where it feels like your “thinking” takes place. Your brain controls your nerves, processes your senses, gives you endorphins when you do what it likes, but your brain is not you. If you switched brains with Barack Obama, which one would be you? The body with your brain? Or your body with his brain? The brain would retain much of the memories of your life, but where is the thing that makes YOU.

“When you wish to reflect upon or consider a matter, you consult something within you. You say, shall I do it, or shall I not do it? Is it better to make this journey or abandon it? Whom do you consult? Who is within you deciding this question? Surely there is a distinct power, an intelligent ego. Were it not distinct from your ego, you would not be consulting it. It is greater than the faculty of thought. It is your spirit which teaches you, which advises and decides upon matters. Who is it that interrogates? Who is it that answers? There is no doubt that it is the spirit and that there is no change or transformation in it, for it is not a composition of elements, and anything that is not composed of elements is eternal… the body may become weakened in its members. It may be dismembered, or one of its members may be incapacitated. The whole body may be paralyzed; and yet the mind, the spirit, remains ever the same. The mind decides; the thought is perfect; and yet the hand is withered, the feet have become useless, the spinal column is paralyzed, and there is no muscular movement at all, but the spirit is in the same status.”

Abdu’l-Baha

After some time passes, your body will get old, your brain will falter, your hair will grey, and you will get old. Is that old person you? After all, that person will likely not remember anything you’re doing right now, and will probably have different values and priorities. You will work for decades putting away a retirement fund for that old person to spend on vacations to Italy. Think back to when you were in second grade, was that you? That young person who if you met now you might be annoyed with. Is YOU a momentary thing? Are you only YOU right now at this moment?

Let’s say that you are your brain. If that’s true, then what part of your brain? If you cut out whole chunks of your brain, the rest will still function. And what’s a brain? A bunch of cells, billions of neurons connected by synapses, running trains of electrical pulses that even with today’s technology cannot even be dimly deciphered. What does a brain get us anyway? Jellyfish get by without a brain, and they are able to hunt very intelligently.

“The mind which is in man, the existence of which is recognized—where is it in him? If you examine the body with the eye, the ear or the other senses, you will not find it; nevertheless, it exists. Therefore, the mind has no place, but it is connected with the brain.”

Abdu’l-Baha

Obviously there is something special about the human brain, because we have self-consciousness. Modern humans are called Homo sapiens sapiens, which means, “earthly being who thinks about thinking”. We don’t just think, we think about what it means to think. Yet we can never fully comprehend our own self identity, the rational faculty of our minds.

“Having recognized thy powerlessness to attain to an adequate understanding of that Reality which abideth within thee, thou wilt readily admit the futility of such efforts as may be attempted by thee, or by any of the created things, to fathom the mystery of the Living God, the Day Star of unfading glory, the Ancient of everlasting days. This confession of helplessness which mature contemplation must eventually impel every mind to make is in itself the acme of human understanding, and marketh the culmination of man's development."

Baha’u’llah

Religions of the world teach of this conscious self as continuing on after physical death. This, in a sense, is the essence of religion, and the next world is taught to be the real world.

“Thou hast asked Me whether man… will retain, after his physical death, the self-same individuality, personality, consciousness, and understanding that characterize his life in this world. If this should be the case, how is it, thou hast observed, that whereas such slight injuries to his mental faculties as fainting and severe illness deprive him of his understanding and consciousness, his death, which must involve the decomposition of his body and the dissolution of its elements, is powerless to destroy that understanding and extinguish that consciousness? How can any one imagine that man’s consciousness and personality will be maintained, when the very instruments necessary to their existence and function will have completely disintegrated?
“Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. Consider the light of the lamp. Though an external object may interfere with its radiance, the light itself continueth to shine with undiminished power. In like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal...
“Consider, moreover, how the fruit, ere it is formed, lieth potentially within the tree. Were the tree to be cut into pieces, no sign nor any part of the fruit, however small, could be detected. When it appeareth, however, it manifesteth itself, as thou hast observed, in its wondrous beauty and glorious perfection. Certain fruits, indeed, attain their fullest development only after being severed from the tree.”

Baha’u’llah

Depression as an Opportunity

What is depression but an opportunity to tackle (bear hug) an emotive and neglected soul?

A loom to climb upon between layers of lint and dust atmosphere, a toy to fight for-cry over. Big energetic snow dog, tail wagging against the flattened tire, is only a symbol of much needed warmth. "Your teeth are strung with tendons, does this mean you have to leave? No, please, don't 'leave', run away, into...The sky dominates the vast, empty, long transformed, shrubby excuse for land. Broken and vulnerable. Streaks of light discover themselves illumined orange on the abrupt white peaks, reflecting and being absorbed into the supple and defiant storm clouds. Abyss. Isolated rain bursts alternate preseance of the horizon. The dream landscape has escaped its prison, has broken into my waking. Turned inside beyond. "Is the spiritual world this beautiful?" "Can it really be this lonely?

Going back home to Taos where I grew up is always accompanied by nostalgia and beauty, but more and more now, by depression and angst. I try so hard to cling on to its foundation of my life. The dirt is too soft however, too many ghosts. There are many different memories, places, situations, songs, movies, even people, that invoke these feelings. It seems natural to avoid situations which bring them about, but is it healthy to avoid them?

Awake...again...but from where? The gray skies, the muddy memories. What have I done now, at this moment (the only one that matters), to deserve the events drawing me into these warm blankets. What does it mean, standing here, eyes fixed in the mirror, this flesh is still so young, someday old with rot. He couldn't understand. The mold in the corner. How every indication of age and growth all boiled down to the single moment. Now cold, damp, alone. Alive, terribly. Exhilarating sadness.

I remember moving to Oregon from Taos in the 8th grade. Moving from the expansive skies and towering mountains which could be seen from miles away, I was suddenly in a place sunk in, always damp and gray. I didn't get along with anybody either, for the first year I was largely friendless and alone. Never had I been so depressed; never had I felt anything so strongly. After a while it became exhilarating. I started to seek that isolation, not as a form of nihilism or narcissism, but as a form of self reckoning. I began walking around the city late at night, writing poetry, reading books, listening to the Doors, and doing other things which fed this feeling of being truly alive and authentic.

I think we have grown up in a culture that emphasizes self-distraction. When we say, "I need to get motivated", what we really mean is, "I need something to distract me from this desperate loneliness and pain that I feel". Psychiatric treatment can be useful and necessary, especially when a person has been through a traumatic experience or the brain's chemical state has been altered. But generally, by pursuing distraction, aren't we just avoiding the existential fear of nothingness, fear of mortality, fear of God, when we need to be embracing it? What if God resides in our depression? What it is the gateway to our liberation?

Uncovering Nobility in a Fallen World

*This post was co-written with Brenden Rogers*

A while back I wrote about the Christian idea of "original sin" and reinterpreted it from a Baha'i point of view, Adam symbolizing the physical self, and Christ symbolizing the spiritual self. In the post I outlined the Baha'i's view of people as inherently noble. Baha'u'llah exhorts us in "Gleanings" to "Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value".

Inherent nobility is definitely not a new idea, even if it has fallen out of favor with Christianity. It can be argued however, that the recognition of Christ as Savior presupposes a human capacity to recognize the truth. To recognize something is to remember...

Plato wrote extensively about inherent nobility. In chapter 7 of Plato's "Republic", Plato depicts a fictional conversation between Socrates and Glaucon about the nature of education in search of the idealized form of "the good". He uses the now famous "allegory of the cave", where he asks Glaucon to imagine a number of individuals shackled since childhood in an underground cave so that they can only look in the direction that they are sitting. Above and behind them there is a bright fire burning, and in between there are other people carrying statues and images which are reflected onto the wall in front of the prisoners. At a certain point one of the individuals is compelled to break free and is dragged up out of the cave and into the light. If told that the images he had been watching were mere shadows of reality, and that the things towards the light are more true, he would be confused and stubbornly insist that the old images more real. Then as his eyes adapted to the light, and he became accustomed to the world above, he would eventually recognize that his vision had actually been increased, a whole new world had been revealed. If he were then to go back down into the cave and rescue his friends, they would laugh him to scorn and mock his poor vision in the dark.

Plato uses this analogy to argue for the existence of a soul in each individual which, if oriented properly, is naturally drawn towards true reality. He describes this reality as the "good", the search for which can become lost in the lower states of ignorance and delusion.

"Whereas, our present argument shows us that there is a faculty residing in the soul of each person, and an instrument enabling each of us to learn; and that, just as we might suppose it to be impossible to turn the eye round from darkness to light without turning the whole body, so must this faculty, or this instrument, be wheeled round, in company with the entire soul, from the perishing world, until it be enabled to endure the contemplation of the real world and the brightest part thereof, which, according to us is the ideas of the good...

Hence, I continued, there should be an art of this turning around, involving the way that the change will most easily and most effectually be brought about. Its object will not be to produce in the person the power of seeing. On the contrary, it assumes that he possesses it, though he is turned in a wrong direction, and does not look towards the right quarter-and its aim is to remedy this defect."

I believe that a core human attribute is the ability to recognize truth when we see it. Often times our vision is veiled and we become content with the shadows on the wall. While it is possible to be shaken violently out of slumber, or dragged out of a cave kicking and screaming, most of us are best served by the gentle guidance of a mentor, teacher, or friend. Our system of education can and should play a role in this. The word education comes from the Latin root educare (ex + ducare), literally meaning to "bring out". Socrates and the classical philosophers held that education is not something one takes in, but rather something one uncovers and "brings out" of themselves. While no one can find the gems for anybody else, they can help them open their eyes to self discovery and ignite a passion for seeking out truth. In the second part of the aforementioned quote from "Gleanings, Baha'u'llah states that "Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom."

Baha'u'llah describes the search for truth in the "Seven Valleys"

"the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One."

Socrates and the Baha'i Faith: Parallel Thinking on the Nature of Leadership

Approximately 2500 years ago, Socrates, according to Plato in "The Republic", broke into a conversation with a fellow named Thrasymachus over the qualities of a ruler and the nature of justice. Thrasymachus's basic argument was that justice was a relative concept, defined by the interest of the stronger party. Power and happiness could best be obtained by the unjust, who could then define justice according to their choosing:

"Therefore, my good sir, my meaning is, that in all cities the same thing, namely, the interest of the established regime, is just. And superior strength, I presume is to be found on the side of regime. So that the conclusion of right reasoning is that the same thing, namely, the interest of the stronger, is everywhere just..."

"...But when a man not only seizes the property of his fellow-citizens but captures and enslaves their persons also, instead of those dishonorable titles he is called happy and highly favored, not only by the men of his own city, but also by all others who hear of the comprehensive injustice which he has wrought. For when people abuse injustice, they do so because they are afraid, not of committing it but of suffering it. Thus it is , Socrates, that injustice, realized on an adequate scale, is a stronger, a freer, and a more lorldy thing than justice; and as I said in the beginning, justice is the interest of the stronger; injustice, a thing profitable and advantageous to oneself"

Through the characteristic Socratic method that we know and love, Socrates went on to systematically dismantle the argument through a barrage of relentless questioning. In the process he defined justice as a requisite quality of leadership, and a just leader as one who does not crave leadership, but who accepts it reluctantly out of necessity. In other words a just leader accepts some responsibility for the affairs of others in the capacity of servitude:

"Now the heaviest of all penalties is to be ruled by a worse man, in case of one's own refusal to rule; and it is the fear of this, I believe, which induces virtuous men to take the posts of regime and when they do so, they enter upon their rulership, not with any idea of coming into a good thing, but as an unavoidable necessity, not expecting to enjoy themselves in it, but because they cannot find any person better or no worse than themselves, to whom they can commit. For the probability is, that if there were a city composed of none but good men, it would be an object of competition to avoid the possession of power, just as now it is to obtain it; and then it would become clearly evident that it is not the nature of the genuine ruler to look to his own interest, but to that of the subject- so that every judicious man would choose to be the recipient of benefits, rather than to have the trouble of conferring them upon others."

Clearly, his account of leadership is visionary, even by today's standards. The electoral process in the United States is set up as a campaign style election, which favors those with the most money and well crafted, poll-tested message. Leadership is a thing to aspire for, requiring careful planning and relentless self-promotion.

The definition and process of electing a leader in the Baha'i community is completely different; it actualizes much of Socrates's vision of leadership. This is not surprising, he was the favorite philosopher of Baha'u'llah. In the "Tablet of Wisdom" he writes:

"After him came Socrates who was indeed, wise, accomplished and righteous. He practised self-denial, repressed his appetites for selfish desires and turned away from material pleasures. He withdrew to the mountains where he dwelt in a cave. He dissuaded men from worshipping idols and taught them the way of God, the Lord of Mercy, until the ignorant rose up against him. They arrested him and put him to death in prison. Thus relateth to thee this swift-moving Pen. What a penetrating vision into philosophy this eminent man had! He is the most distinguished of all philosophers and was highly versed in wisdom. We testify that he is one of the heroes in this field and an outstanding champion dedicated unto it. He had a profound knowledge of such sciences as were current amongst men as well as of those which were veiled from their minds. Methinks he drank one draught when the Most Great Ocean overflowed with gleaming and life-giving waters. He it is who perceived a unique, a tempered, and a pervasive nature in things, bearing the closest likeness to the human spirit, and he discovered this nature to be distinct from the substance of things in their refined form. He hath a special pronouncement on this weighty theme. Wert thou to ask from the worldly wise of this generation about this exposition, thou wouldst witness their incapacity to grasp it. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth but most people comprehend not."

Abdu'l Baha, the center of the "Covenant" and the preeminent figure in Baha'i history who isn't considered a "manifestation" of God, thought of himself primarily as a servant of God and humanity. In a letter to Baha’is in the United States, he wrote,

"My name is `Abdu'l-Bahá [literally, Servant of Baha]. My qualification is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My praise is `Abdu'l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection [Bahá'u'lláh] is my glorious and refulgent diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion... No name, no title, no mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have, except `Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning. This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory."

Following on his grandfathers example, Shoghi Effendi, the "Guardian" of the Baha'i Faith, outlined the system of Baha'i elections that explicitly elect individuals who have the greatest capacity to serve. The transparency of an individual’s desire for power often precludes them from consideration. In a letter to a local spiritual assembly, he wrote

"I feel that reference to personalities before the election would give rise to misunderstanding and differences. What the friends should do is to get thoroughly acquainted with one another, to exchange views, to mix freely and discuss among themselves the requirements and qualifications for such a membership without reference or application, however indirect, to particular individuals. We should refrain from influencing the opinion of others, of canvassing for any particular individual."

Arash Abizadeh has written a useful summary of how Baha'i's should vote

Assembly members, when elected, hold no individual power and receive no individual glory. Through the rules of consultation, nicely outlined here by Farzin Aghdasy, assemblies guide community life. The attitude is one of servitude and responsibility, which are not usually associated with positions of power.

Cycles of Growth

"As ye have faith so shall your powers and blessings be. This is the balance -- this is the balance -- this is the balance."

-Abdu'l-Baha

everyday Issa: lingering daylight

everyday Issa: lingering daylight

I was deeply moved by this Japanese gentleman's daily activity. Each day he gets an English translation of one of the haiku by the master Issa.

Social Action and Baha’u’llah’s Addresses to the Kings: Part I

Let us take as our starting point that one task for the Baha’i world in the coming years is the systematic study of social action that resembles, to a great extent, the systematic study of expansion and consolidation that has at this point come to dominate Baha’i life. With the global establishment of the Ruhi Institute, Baha’is around the world consult upon the requirements of teaching using passages from the Baha’i Writings on topics such as the nature of living a Baha’i life, the power of Divine assistance, making new contacts, confirming new believers, educating children, etc. Similarly, new forays into social action will require intensive re-visitation of Baha’i teachings on such topics as education, the environment, health care, agriculture, power relations across racial, gender, and religious lines, and a number of other pressing matters. For so long, the vast sea of statements from the Writings on these topics has been glossed over with single expressions, buzzwords, and clichés. A deeper understanding is needed. And a conscious basis for action, let alone which passages to focus on, is not a matter of flipping a light switch.

Fortunately, there are many books and tablets that are clearly relevant to such an endeavour. Undoubtedly, Shoghi Effendi’s letters on World Order will be essential for consulting on the global and historical context of Baha’i social action. And certainly, Abdu’l-Baha’s “Secret of Divine Civilization” and his recorded utterances while travelling the West will be indispensable. But what of Baha’u’llah Himself? Certainly, His later works, those written in Adrianople and Akka, will be the most important. Focus will of course be given to the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Tablet of the World, Tablet of Maqsud, and other tablets included in the compilation “Tablets of Baha’u’llah.” And then there’s Baha’u’llah’s addresses to the kings and rulers of the world, largely contained in the compilation “Summons of the Lord of Hosts.” This is where, philosophically we run into a problem. And that’s what I want to look at here. These tablets are specifically addressed to generally autocratic rulers like Nasiri’d-Din Shah, Sultan Abdu’l-Aziz, Napoleon III, and others. His commands to them are written with the assumption that the reader is a Head of State: A Just king is the shadow of God on earth. All should seek shelter under the shadow of his justice, and rest in the shade of his favor.[1] Should thou cause rivers of justice to spread their waters among thy subjects, God will surely aid thee with the hosts of the unseen and of the seen and would strengthen thee in thine affairs.[2] The poor… verily. Are thy treasures on earth. It behoveth thee, therefore, to safeguard thy treasures from the assaults of them who wish to rob thee.[3]At the moment there are no Baha’i Heads of State. And even if there were any then that wouldn’t detract from the fact that Baha’i social action is conducted by the generality of believers taken from all walks of life. The gems of wisdom Baha’u’llah encloses in these addresses must be disclosed in such a way as to guide broad-based collaborative action they undertake. I don’t think it’s enough to say that Baha’u’llah enjoins justice, and that this can be abstracted from the recipients’ legal and social status. The relation of sovereign/subject is essential to a great many of these passages. The final passage I quote above is a good example of this: The position of sovereign entails a responsibility for the affairs of the poor and downtrodden. I think what’s needed is a conceptual framework by which to translate these tablets from an autocratic context to a collaborative context. We need a way to learn how to apply what Baha’u’llah teaches them specifically to a social situation very different than that of Napoleon III or Czar Alexander II.


[1] SH 217 pp. 112
[2] SM 64 pp. 211
[3] SM 68 pp. 213

Social Action and Baha’u’llah’s Addresses to the Kings: Part II

There are two concepts that I think are vital for this enquiry. The first is power. The second is decision, choice, free-will, or however else one might call it. I think, what matters most about these figures is the combination of power and decision. The way these two combine in the figure of “the kings and rulers of the world” is very rare. Baha’u’llah addresses these tablets to the most concentrated and intense instances. But the combination of power and decision is something that characterizes the lives of all people, high and low alike.

First, we must recognize the distinction between social power and the power exercised through large institutions. For example, it doesn’t make sense to say that one is “powerless.” Certainly, a person can be excluded from the decision-making processes of certain institutions. But, though that may be the case, the mere utterance of the words “I am powerless” is itself an exercise of power, however small. And in most cases, a person is capable of quite a few other things besides that. One theorist writes: “Power is everywhere, not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere.” The condition we casually refer to as powerlessness is not so much the absence of power, but rather the lack of will or organizational capacity to make use of what power is at hand.

Secondly, the same can be said for decision-making. Very few of us are CEOs or politicians. Some of us may supervise other workers on the job, but even then, that responsibility probably has more to do with enforcement than substantial choices. Nonetheless, each of us are endowed with choice, far more than is comfortable to think about. I don’t have to eat today. I could choose not to. I could grab a blunt object from the trash and smash someone’s head in. I could refuse the laws of the State. I could refuse the Manifestation of God. All of this is within my choice. What’s key is recognizing that the iron law of necessity, especially with regard to society, often has more to do with an unwillingness to recognize the reality that one does have choice in the matter, and that a person could do otherwise. I could dedicate my life to the spiritual and material upliftment of my community. Or I could just watch TV. Both are viable choices.

I think what defines the figure of the sovereign is the combination of power and decision. Anyone can decree that the US government will dedicate 50 billion dollars to renewable energy research, but if that is not in one’s power then it won’t happen. And someone or some group can hold the power to do exactly the same. But that money will never be allocated if no decision is ever made, if that power is left to sit idle, or is directed towards other ends. Power and decision are only combined in the sense of “kings and rulers of the world” very rarely. Baha’u’llah could list them off by name. But power and decision are combined in innumerable ways through society. The two come together to some extent with all people. Each of us is a Napoleon in our own little way; some more so than others. But the coordination of a great multiplicity of these small instances of power and decision can create enormous forces for social change. The great triumph of the Ruhi Institute is the finesse with which it does this.

I think, what is required of us when reading writings of Baha’u’llah addressed to the kings and rulers of the world is that each of us is responsible in some way for carrying out the social transformation mandated therein. Very few of us could rightly be called kings or rulers. But each of us can make a substantial difference if only we arise individually, coordinate and consult with others, develop each other’s capacity, channel our energy into sustainable endeavors, learn along they way, build momentum, and keep looking to the horizon for what possibilities we might choose to seize upon next. This is a major way in which the Baha’i Faith is democratic. The demos arises to rule, not at the expense of the State or God’s appointed authority, but rather inasmuch as the people are the animating force that decides on the structure of future society.

Theory and Development

The topic of my master’s thesis was on the spatial accessibility of healthy and affordable food in Bernalillo County. I collected a broad range of data to perform three types of analysis: physical proximity; personal mobility; and human perception. The first type of analysis required using a network analysis to find the median nearest network distance by census block group to three types of geo-coded food retail locations. The second type of analysis required the creation of a personal mobility index by census block group using five census indicators. The final type of analysis required the identification of block group clusters with different combinations of the prior two accessibility metrics, and then sending out surveys to these areas to see how perceptions of food accessibility matched up with the quantitative indicators. What I found was that there are clearly some areas which would fit the description of a “food desert”, or areas where poor accessibility adversely affects diet above and beyond cultural norms and income.

It was quite an effort and I am proud of it, but I wonder what the next step would be. My research will likely sit in the UNM library and provide nothing towards the advancement of humanity. Thinking about the following Baha'i quote, it makes me wonder how this, and other academic knowledge can be made useful.

"5. O SON OF DUST!
Verily I say unto thee: Of all men the most negligent is he that disputeth idly and seeketh to advance himself over his brother. Say, O brethren! Let deeds, not words, be your adorning."

According to the predominant models of development, the next logical step would be a discussion of what, if any, actions should be taken by the government or outside observers to FIX the problem. Clearly businesses could use this information to better locate areas lacking a sufficient variety of healthy and affordable food. Often the market fails in this regard, especially in urban areas with poor minority populations. This is where non-profits could jump in and use this information to promote affordable subsidized produce or promote urban gardens.

Another model of development, espoused by educators such as the late Paulo Freire, planners such as Bent Flyberg, development organizations such as FUNDAEC, and the Baha'i Faith, focuses on developing human capacity through consultation, action, and reflection within a community. In my example, this process would probably start with directed consultations on the perceptions of food and nutrition in general. My study area has had a long tradition of local agriculture which has since faded out as a source of livelihood. Many of the people I surveyed expressed a desire to consume more fresh produce, but face serious time constraints to merely purchase the food, let alone grow it. The most accessible food is often found at gas stations or mini-marts which contain mainly packaged food. Assuming that people decide that they want to eat healthier and promote local agriculture, the next step would be for community members consult, possibly in collaboration with scientists and planners, about the human and natural resources in the community, and how these resources could be mobilized to promote food awareness, start their own business and cooperatives, attract outside business into their area, etc. Finally, every few months or so, community members would reflect on what has been learned and develop a more coherent plan of action.

It is my view that social and economic development on a large scale is not possible without a parallel process of spiritual development. The Baha'i framework for action enshrined in the institute process provides an early template on how spirituality can inform this new mode of learning.

The Rambling Brink Mirage

Slog along towards the brink; "just over the hill now". Through the footsteps in the wilderness. Towards "I am what I am to be". Formation of energy- solid grip of sand.

"That is safe, there must be a meticulous foundation, so much wasted time, how depressing, what a scandalous thought."

"What is scandalous is your envy of freedom and reliance."

"oh is that so? You mean reliance on God? You have no idea my tests!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"No, I can be a little dramatic, and...I'm sorry too. It's just that..."

"What?"

"Well, I hope this doesn't sound pretentious, but they are a very peculiar"

"Your talking about tests?"

"Yea, I have never known anybody else who has had them. I suffered almost as much from, you know, the lack of understanding, um...the misguided diagnoses, the cross-eyed looks, as I did from, from the test itself."

"I take it by your use of the past tense that these tests are past?"

"Well, sort of, ok. My original plan was, and I know this sounds cliche, but it was transcendence, or synergy. There were no details, but I knew that the world would bend to the spirit that I was tapped into. That's it. Now when the tests came, and the particular circumstance of these were not important, though I did think so at the time, it was more like what I can describe as a conceptual catch 22 way of addressing the moment. I couldn't live through my own eyes, I always felt compelled to approach a situation how I would think of somebody else thinking it. Anyway, it's hard to describe, but I prayed and prayed, screamed, and when others were around, inside. It was really the only hopeless time I have felt in my life."

"Was anybody aware of what, or, how you were doing?"

"Well again, either I couldn't verbalise, or it just wasn't like other...um...I have never really heard of being stuck in competing conceptual, um, mindsets when being just in a regular circumstance, does that make any sense?"

"Sort of. Your descriptions are kind of vague, I wish it made more. "

"So do I. Thank you for listening to me, I wanted to answer your original question about still being tested, um we were talking about reliance on God and tests in relation to freedom. I got over this test by accepting that I couldn't apply my enlightenment to the world how I had thought. I think it was a prayer by the Ba'b that did it. I forgot which one, or what exactly it was about, but I got from it that I needed to let go of my need for synergy and freedom."

"That seems kind of counter-intuitive. It seems like those are things you would want"

"Well, I know. It was more like, I needed to accept my limitations, build within them, and somehow leverage them for my long term growth. I felt that maybe I could, well, I realized that I couldn't act with the freedom and spirit, even charisma, that I might have wanted, but I could do the things that don't require that so much. More things to do with patience and diligence. Such as reading, studying, planning, and these naturally applied to what I pursue now, from going through school, to being available, maybe not effective, but available and present, for faith activities, to carry out the plan. I think getting married is a part of that. It allows me to be more comfortable, and time, to be myself, to share with someone, and to love someone beyond the remote ideal of love for mankind."

"And to be loved."

"yes. Absolutely...I want to say that how you approach life is very inspiring to me."

"Thanks"

"I am sorry for my condescending tone earlier. Part of it I think is jealousy. I seem to have developed a lack of patience for those attitudes that I have resigned to be, well what I think is not possible for myself. I think that this mode I have been in, now I am near the brink. Soon I can be the final definition of what I have settled for desperately. But now I think, why settle. It has almost become too easy to fall back on the crutch of what God has ordained, in my view, that I cannot do, and that I can. I don't feel that I am ready to form."

"Hmm, I am glad you are realizing this, though I am not totally clear on what you are talking about exactly, a lot of your descriptions are kind of vague."

"I know, they were more for me to better understand this brink that I am supposedly standing on. Thank you for listening, for drawing me out and asking questions. It is not always easy...Some people can easily express themselves. I need people to ask questions, to dig deeper."

"I didn't do very much."

"But you did. You listened, and I don't know where this torrent came from."

"I am not quite sure what you mean by 'being on the brink of form."

"It doesn't exist, it is a mirage."

Recognition of the Manifestation of God: Event or Process?

Some are inclined to think of recognizing the Manifestation of God (aka becoming a Baha’i) as an event. One might hear people talking about, “the day I became a Baha’i,” “the moment she caught the spark of faith,” “the point at which I realized Baha’u’llah was from God,” etc. Others are inclined to think of it as a process, that it is the journey of a soul over a span of time. For example, one might hear that when we first commit ourselves to Baha’u’llah we can rarely have much more than a dim vision of what that might mean, inasmuch as in the course of life in this world we can only catch a glimmer of the import of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation.

I’d like to see what are some of y’all’s thoughts on this topic.

I, for one, tend to think of recognition as a momentary act that happens whenever a soul is touched by the Manifestation of God. The Writings use a number of images to describe this: gazing on the Beloved, catching the fragrance of His garment, hearing the call of God, etc. It can happen when praying, when reading the Writings, when receiving Anna’s Presentation, and in many other ways. We might say that there is a first time that this happens. But qualitatively there isn’t a great deal of difference between that and the fruits of routine practices like obligatory prayer. Every time we recognize the Manifestation of God we are influenced to some degree. The process of one’s spiritual development is the aggregate effect of a multiplicity of such moments. In order to sustain one’s spiritual progress, a person must constantly renew her recognition of the Manifestation of God.

The House Can Play (can you?)

The popular party game Taboo is a fantastic lesson in communication with those around us. In it, you are given a word that your teammates, with your assistance, need to guess. You cannot use that word, or a short list of related words. It requires quick and creative speech. Think you can play Five Year Plan Taboo? Let's find out! Try to describe the following as directly and descriptively as possible, without using any of the forbidden words, which can easily be misunderstood by Baha'is and the wider community alike:

Children's Classes
(Sunday School,
instruction,
Book 3)

Devotional Gatherings
(services,
meeting,
verses)

Junior Youth Groups
(middle schoolers,
workbook,
class)

Study Circles
(books,
Ruhi,
practices)

Home Visits
(door-to-door,
information,
declare)

I'm sure you did a great job ... but let's take a look at how the professionals play:

Children's Classes

“lessons that develop their spiritual faculties and lay the foundations of a noble and upright character”
-20 October, 2008

Devotional Gatherings

“acts of collective worship in diverse settings, uniting with others in prayer, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, and shaping a pattern of life distinguished for its devotional character”
-Ridvan, 2008

Junior Youth Groups

“assist junior youth to navigate through a crucial stage of their lives and to become empowered to direct their energies toward the advancement of civilization”
-Ridvan, 2008

Study Circles

“enable people of varied backgrounds to advance together and explore the application of the Baha'i teachings to their individual and collective lives”
-26 April, 2009

Home Visits

“they call on one another in their homes and pay visits to families, friends and acquaintances, they enter into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import, deepen their knowledge of the Faith, share Baha'u'llah's message, and welcome increasing numbers to join them in a mighty spiritual enterprise”
-Ridvan, 2008

How grand, how intriguing are these essential activities, described in this way! Why not take advantage of our wealth of letters from the Universal House of Justice, allowing this infallible Institution to guide our words as well as our deeds? Is it not possible that, as our language shifts in ways that begin to accommodate the true breadth of the vision of the Plan, we might find that raising this vital subject of religion in our everyday interactions is suddenly no longer so ... taboo?

Remembering the Promise. Living the Fulfillment

Below this entry are three posts related to the relation between Christianity and the Baha’i Faith. They are experimental in nature. My feelings would in no way be hurt if you felt they were dogmatic, extreme, or poorly articulated. They are an attempt to remain faithful to the two month period immediately following my recognition of Baha’u’llah as the Return of Christ over the course of one morning in March 2005. Dogmatic, extreme, and inarticulate are fairly accurate descriptions of me at that time. In that sense, I’m picking up where I left off. So you may have to bear with me.

In one sense, this period was a transition from Christianity to the Baha’i Faith. It was a way station in which I felt I belonged to both, but was not quite at home in either. But in another sense it was a fully fledged spirituality that was not just an amalgamation of two religions but rather a radicalized version of both. I was a Christian following Jesus in his returned form. And I was a Baha’i who believed that because Christ was the only way to salvation, the teachings of Baha’u’llah were the only refuge of a travailing age. Those were bizarre days. Often it is difficult to rekindle the exhilaration and ecstasy I felt at the time. This is largely because I often forget my fidelity to Jesus. I forget that I haven’t always been a Baha’i. For that reason, I am now making a concerted effort to remember; not just to dig through the attic of my long-term memory, but to know spontaneously that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. This remembrance is what reminds me of the greatness of this Day. I have taken it upon myself to explore those zones of indistinction between Christianity and the Baha’i Faith, between Jesus and Baha’u’llah upon which I thrived during that brief period. My purpose is in no way academic. I am looking to provide the conceptual tools for facilitating a spirituality that strengthens Baha’i efforts to build a new civilization.

My main interest in going down this route is to explore the possibilities of a spirituality that dwells within these zones of indistinction, that loves the light from whichever lamp it might shine. One aspect of this is to appreciate every soul God has sent to redeem humanity. But beyond that, the unity of God’s revelations allows us to look at the fulfillment of his promises from the perspective of those saints, apostles, and common believers who earnestly waited centuries for their fulfillment. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see and never saw it; to hear what you hear and never heard it.”[1] To look at religion in its continuity, not as something beginning in 1844, can give a perspective that highlights the urgency, majesty, and untold opportunity brought on by the Bab and Baha’u’llah’s coming. It can remind us that the dreams of the Baha’i Faith are not just the dreams of Baha’is, but rather they belong to all who have come before.

Personal experience moving from one religion to the other is helpful but it is not necessary for developing this sort of spirituality. Most of the Christian Bible predates the arrival of the Messiah. Most Christians may most identify with the New Testament. But knowledge of the cycles of restoration and exile, prophecy and heedlessness in the history of ancient Israel provides a powerful backdrop to the Messianic drama of the New Testament. One need not be a Jew to sympathize with the hope of ancient Israel. The Biblical text speaks across lines of ethnicity and dispensation. The accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the letters to the early churches would not have the same power if the reader was unacquainted with the constant hope for redemption voiced throughout the Hebrew Bible, especially in the books of prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel wherein the coming of the Messiah was prophesied. By incorporating the history of previous Dispensations, the Christian Bible presents that of its most recent Dispensation all the more powerfully. (With that said, Christian readings of Jewish scripture are tied up in an ancient legacy of Christian violence against Jews. Appropriating the scriptures of other communities is a task fraught with many ethical difficulties. Nonetheless, I have no intention of surrendering this terrain to anti-semites. Theologically, I never like to cut and run.)

There is nothing stopping Baha’is from gaining inspiration from the scriptures of previous dispensations. The development of this sort of spirituality, of course, doesn’t happen overnight. An awareness of the power of Christian consciousness can guide the way Baha’is accompany Christians into the Baha’i Faith. They may learn all sorts of new things upon entry into the Baha’i world. But, God willing, they will at the same time look back and remember.

As a final thought, Nabil’s Narrative, Fire on the Mountaintop, and Howard Colby’s Ives’ Portals to Freedom are excellent resources for this sort of spirituality.


[1] Lk 10.23-24

Religion(s) and Religion

There is a great difference between religion(s) and religion. One is the multiplicity of outward shapes, communities, and institutions. The other is the spirit that gives rise to them. From time to time the world must be shaken from the slumber of these established forms by the power that constituted them in the first place. Baha’is call this progressive revelation.

Religion, we might say, is the act of inquiring into the fundamental verities of the world and of our existence within it. Religion(s), on the other hand, function similarly to tribes or nations. A religion, we might say, is the population of its believers and the doctrines they espouse, the practices they observe, the culture they share. The first gives rise to a multiplicity of outward forms without sacrificing the singularity of its act. The latter is a great multiplicity whose diversified elements tend to be sacrificed if there is any attempt at unification. Each element is static and cannot pass over into something else without itself passing away.

Baha’u’llah teaches the unity of religion. All the world’s religions come from God. And they find their culmination in the Baha’i Revelation. This presents a difficult situation for Baha’is trying to explain this principle to others. For example, Christians eat pork. Muslims do not. But they do eat cows, which are revered by Hindus. Uniting these diversified elements into one religion would be absurd. One could say that it doesn’t matter what we eat, that such laws are bad for unity. But that would be to have the Christian view prevail to the detriment of all others. At the same time, people might suggest that Baha’i appreciation for other religions is just a ploy to get others to like the Baha’i Faith and eventually join it, to the detriment of their previous religion. In which case, Baha’is doesn’t seem to much appreciate other religions. After all, Baha’is would be trying to drain them of their adherents, which isn’t very nice. Unity of religion, then, would just be a bait and switch with little substantial meaning.

The reality is that Baha’u’llah did not accept the state of the world’s religions as it was, and does not want us to accept it as it is now. The outward forms enshrined by religions are inadequate and must be exposed to the power from which they are derived. He writes,

Verily, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted upon men. It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.[1]

The unity of the world’s religions is that they have been brought into the world by one spirit of divine revelation. It has from time to time been revealed to humanity giving laws and teachings for that day. And it has in this Day reappeared, first with the Bab, and then with Baha’u’llah. This is what unifies them. It challenges the adherents of all religions to turn to the animating impulse of their own faith and to examine whether or not, outside of their religion (one among others), Baha’u’llah is the return of the spirit that animates it in the first place.


[1] GWB VII pp. 10-11

The Church and her Return

I’d like to advance two theses. First, there is a great theological difference between churches and the Church. Secondly, the Baha’i Faith is the Church; or framed differently: The Baha’i Faith is the Return of the Church.

So what’s the difference between churches and the Church?

The Bible speaks of many churches. There is the church at Jerusalem, the church at Antioch, Rome, etc. These are the different communities, the diverse sites that believers can be found. But beyond that there is a greater sense in which the word church is used. This sense employs a relationship not only between human beings and their physical locations, but also, with Jesus, the one who calls the Church together. The unity of Christ is the unity of the Church. “Church” refers to a spiritual, not a social bond. It concerns the relations between other people only through the mediation of their relation to the Messiah. I address this in greater depth in the entry, “The Church and her Truth,” posted below. That entry examines Paul’s critique of sectarianism among the Corinthian faithful. Though the believers may divide themselves this way and that they are still participants in only one Church. Related to this is the way Paul conceives of the Church as a body. In the same epistle, he discusses the unity of the community in the diversity of its members. In these statements what unites the diverse aspects is always their connection with God, rather than the human bonds between its individual members.

"There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all..."[1]

"For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts- all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body- so it is with Christ. We were baptized into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink."[2]

The Church may have many social and doctrinal cleavages within it. But still there is only one Church by way of its members’ other-worldly connection with the Messiah. Paul writes in his letter to the Collosians,

He exists before all things and in him all things hold together, and he is the Head of the Body, that is, the Church.[3]

The Church is a Communion extending between heaven and earth, and on earth between souls joined in the Spirit with the Messiah. This means that no earthly power can dissolve the Church. Its fundamental unity is in Christ. The social breakup of communities and institutions is only an outward scar on its Body. The Messiah is the beginning of the Church and he is its end. Only through him, can its fundamental reality be altered. With that in mind it is possible to see how the Baha’i Faith is the Return of the Church. In the act of returning, Baha’u’llah restores his relationship to the faithful. Those who are united with him are the continuation of this sacred body. Communities of Christians may reject or remain unaware of Baha’u’llah, (for now, it’s usually the latter) but inasmuch as they are in the Church, they participate in the sanctity of its life by way of Baha’u’llah. And just as the one Church may have many social divisions without dissolving itself as Church, so too the Church can extend across the dividing lines of religions and still be Church.


[1] 1 Cor 12.4-6
[2] 1 Cor 12.12-14
[3] Col 1.17-18

The Church and her Truth

The Apostle Paul begins the body of his first letter to the Corinthians by addressing the factionalism creeping through the Church. In so doing, he develops a vision of Christian identity based on religious truth rather than social association.

Brothers, I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to have factions among yourselves but all to be in agreement in what you profess so that you are perfectly united in your beliefs and judgments. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me about you, brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean is this: every one of you is declaring, “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas [Peter]” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been split up? Was it Paul that was crucified for you, or was it in Paul’s name that you were baptized?[1]

The Corinthians had fallen into a pattern of identifying themselves with different teachers. Losing sight of the divine spirit that animates their faith, individuals were attaching themselves to its human vehicles. Paul highlights the absurdity of this arrangement with his rhetorical question whether it was he that was crucified for them or in his name that they were baptized. For Roman Catholicism, the problem of the Corinthians is at once the problem of the Protestant “churches.” By attaching themselves to different leaders, often switching from one to another quite casually, the universal element of messianic truth is reduced to community ideology. This critique has great force, nearly five hundred years since it was first advanced. But it turns against its wielders inasmuch as they might remain oblivious to the extent that this attitude predates the dissolution of the Roman Communion. After all, the schism with the Eastern churches was no less problematic, as was the vigorous suppression of the multitude of doctrines that had developed in the early church. Within Paul’s critique, individuals are not only declaring “I belong to Apollos” or “I belong to Cephas.” They are also declaring “I belong to Christ.” The Church is especially vulnerable to outward disintegration once Christ has been made into a faction, once “Christ” is the name attached to one human path among others.
Next, Paul goes into an extended discussion of the irreconcilable difference between the Gospel and the wisdom of the world. “The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God.” The depth and implications of Paul’s powerful critique of the Greek Logos are far beyond this discussion. What matters here is that God’s standards are not human standards; that the truth of the Cross cannot be subsumed by inquiry reduced to its human dimension. This is why the Church cannot be a human institution, centered on the social association of particular human figures. Certainly, the Church involves social association. But this is not the entirety of its life. It must retain its connection with the truth of the Cross, the power of the Holy Spirit that is irreducible to any social or ideological construction.

As long as there are jealousy and rivalry among you, that surely means that you are still living by your natural inclinations and by merely human principles. While there is one that says “I belong to Paul” and another that says “I belong to Apollos” are you not being only too human? For what is Apollos and what is Paul? The servants through whom you came believe and each has only what the Lord has given him. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God gave growth. In this, neither the planter nor the waterer counts for anything; only God, who gives growth.[2]

Paul, Apollos, and Cephas have of course made substantial contributions to the spiritual life of the Corinthian community. Had they not arisen to announce the Gospel, these people could never have been endowed with knowledge of Jesus the Messiah. Nonetheless, the vibrance of the community cannot be attributed solely to the labor of these steadfast teachers. It is God who gives growth. Only the hand of divine assistance can complete the process. And it is only in such completion that the service of the Apostles takes on significance. Otherwise, all they can boast of is wet seeds. Paul then goes on to elaborate a radical formula of spiritual life. In it, the reader can see a connection with the verse of Baha’u’llah: O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.[3]

There is to be no room for self-delusion. Any one of you who thinks he is wise by worldly standards must learn to be a fool in order to be really wise. For the wisdom of the world is folly to God… So there is to be no boasting about human beings: everything belongs to you, whether it is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, the world, life or death, the present or the future- all belong to you; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.[4]

Through Christ, one comes in possession of all things, not in terms of this world and its standards, but in the sight of God which stands above the sight of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, and with them the world, life or death, the present or the future. While retaining their finite human existence, the faithful participate in God’s universal sovereignty.


[1] 1Cor 1.10-16
[2] 1Cor 3.3-7
[3] HWA 1
[4] 1 Cor 3.18-22

The Transformative Power of Jr. Youth Programs

Jr Youth programs began as an effort in social and economic development. Due to their great success in empowering youth ages 11-14 all over the world, the Universal House of Justice decided to promote them as a fourth core activity in the institute process. Oftentimes we forget about this age group, or marginalize them as troublemakers that have to be dealt with. This is a shame because they really can become leaders of their community. This is a video about successful Jr. youth programs in North Carolina. This can be replicated everywhere.

Why should we REALLY care about poverty?

Cross posting from www.omnesunum.blogspot.com

Why should we REALLY care about poverty?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I read Yunis’ Banker to the Poor, and Sachs’ End of Poverty. I’m not trying to argue that we shouldn’t care about poverty; there are many legitimate and compelling reasons why we should care. Rather, I’ve been trying to get at the very core of the issue.

The first level of caring about poverty is somewhat self-serving: we all bear the social and economic costs of poverty to some extent. It could be considered an economic efficiency argument. It’s not efficient that I pay for welfare checks, subsidized housing, and food stamps with my taxes. It would be better, from a market perspective, if everyone could pay for their own food and shelter without externalizing those costs to the tax-paying public. Crime, drug abuse, and illiteracy, which are all associated with poverty, also generate social and economic costs that are externalized to the non-poor public. It is also not possible to conduct trade with the poor. If you are selling widgets and 25% of the population is too poor to afford your widgets, but would really like to have them, then you’re missing out on a large piece of the market.

This first level is a legitimate reason to be concerned about poverty, but what if the poor were all rounded up and put on an island so that their welfare did not impact that of the non-poor public? Should we still care? Suppose that poverty were completely eradicated in your country. Should you still care about the poor in other nations? You are probably thinking “Yes we should still care,” but the reasons are clearly not socio-economic.

The next level of poverty is also somewhat self-serving: poverty damages the environment. The relationship between poverty and the environment has been well studied. Put simply, the wealthy can afford to preserve the environment, whereas the poor cannot. The poor, particularly in developing nations, are primarily concerned with subsistence, so cutting down rainforest for firewood or killing endangered species for food are viewed as necessities of life, not environmental exploitation. Soil loss, species loss, deforestation, and air and water pollution are all more severe in poor countries than in industrialized countries. In poor nations, these problems harm the poor and non-poor alike. Environmental problems in poor countries also affect quality of life in wealthy countries, particularly when the problems are global in nature (such as climate change and ozone depletion).

This is also a legitimate reason to care about poverty, but what if the rich became wealthy enough to effectively isolate themselves in healthy environmental “bubbles?” Should we still care about poverty then? Yes, but not for environmental reasons.

The next level of caring about poverty is more altruistic: it’s not fair. There is clearly a justice aspect to caring about poverty and humans, I believe, are fundamentally compassionate beings. It’s simply not fair that our fellow men, women and children suffer while we do not. Witnessing poverty makes any thinking person sad and angry. Yes, some people ‘tune out’ the poverty they see around them or on television, distancing themselves from any relation to it. If it were a brother or sister in that situation, would they be able to live in comfort while their family suffered? Could they remain satiated while their family was hungry? This gets very close to what I believe is the core or true reason we should care about poverty. Fundamental human dignity requires a certain level of material comfort and that level should be available to everyone.


What I believe to be true reason we should care about poverty integrates all of the above. I believe the purpose of life is to continually advance human material and spiritual civilization. Individuals must develop skills, abilities and capacities within themselves in order to do this. An ever-advancing civilization requires the effort of all everyone. In a society where a significant number of its members are poor, this is not possible. The very poor are not able to develop these skills, abilities and capacities because they are preoccupied with subsistence. They do not have access to education. Their health is too poor to contribute to the advancement of society. If you think of the whole of human civilization as a body, it will not be possible for that whole body to advance materially and spiritually when one part is underdeveloped, feeble or ill.

This reason integrates all of the above. It is unjust to have poor among us and from a moral perspective it is impossible for human society as a whole to advance spiritually while one part suffers. Materially speaking, a healthy and sustainable environment is essential to a continually advancing civilization. Damaging the environment necessarily limits the long-run capacity for human advancement since it serves as a source of our materials and a sink for our wastes. Finally, economically it is detrimental to the advancement of human civilization to have a dependent portion of society. Continual advancement requires that everyone maintains a level of economic well-being such that no portion of society required transfers. Continual advancement also would require a large healthy economy. Having all members of society participating in that economy (buying and selling widgets) provides the necessary strength and stability to perpetuate development.

So why should we really care about poverty? Because we can’t fulfill the purpose of life while it exists.

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