DJALCHEMI

We tend to think that whatever is in vogue today is the greatest thing since sliced bread. In many ways Baha'is believe that human society as a whole is advancing, however, Baha'u'llah stated that 'belief in God is dying out in every land' and that is a crisis for man of incredible proportions. Baha'is believe that in spite of all the gifts and achievements that have brought us to our present state, we are not the ultimate authority on reality and, in fact, to the degree that we put our whole faith and confidence in our own ability to understand and control our world we are doomed to disaster. The reason that Baha'is have a 'rigid adherence to the Word' is that we believe that man requires God's guidance to progress and that is given through the revelations of the founders of the world's religions. Baha'u'llah's revelation in particular, speaks not only to the 19th century, but to the 29th century as well (no new manifestation for a full 1000 years). It is lays out for us what is required to move to the next stage of our social and spiritual evolution as a species. The next stage is the unification of the whole planet - the Baha'i Revelation stands alone in the world today as giving us the blueprint for that next step.

For us, that is a big deal and if we have trouble with the little stuff like homosexuality, chastity, alcohol, etc. well, we just have to put things in perspective don't we?

Nice talking to you.
Myles

Thank you very much, Myles, for taking the time to comment on my posting. Reading what I wrote four months later, it seems a bit mean-spirited — so thanks for responding with generosity.

I think perhaps a lot of people would agree that "we are not the ultimate authority on reality and, in fact, to the degree that we put our whole faith and confidence in our own ability to understand and control our world we are doomed to disaster." But not all of these would say they had a belief in God, even though they would like to believe — if you see what I mean.

The Baha'i Faith seems to me like one of the best ways there is to get out of this fix. But my inability to make the leap of faith leaves me in a different fix, a tautologous one: if we are not the ultimate authority on reality how can we know that Baha'u'llah's revelation is the true one?

It's the homosexuality thing that most undermines my confidence in accepting the revelation. Notwithstanding my earlier jibe about drinking, I accept that chastity and alcohol is 'little stuff.' I can change my behaviour in these areas. But I can't change the fact that I am heterosexual and my friend is homosexual (neither can they).

I am suspicious of an authority that says I should hold my friend to be wrong. Accepting that I have no ultimate way of judging, it just doesn't feel like what I would expect the revelation to say.

Thanks for encouraging me to think more about this,
David

". . . how can we know that Baha'u'llah's revelation is the true one?"

Indeed. How can we know?

If you're really asking, if your mind and heart are really open to the possibility that it matters, if you take responsibility for ferreting out the truth yourself rather than putting the burden on others to do all the work for you, it seems to me that you yourself might have some ideas about how to investigate that question.

If case you don't have any better ideas, it might be worth considering what Baha'u'llah Himself says, about how a sincere inquirer can investigate the truth for himself. You might also read the accounts of some of the Biblical prophets, and sympathetic accounts of the story of Muhammed, to get some idea of what Baha'u'llah means by calling Himself a manifestation of God. I've found the story of Ezekiel very enlightening. You might find that the claims of Baha'u'llah can be independently validated much more easily, by ordinary people in their everyday lives, than quarks, black holes, the Big Bang, WMD, what really happened to David Kelly, or what really happened on 9/11, and with ultimately much more significant and beneficial consequences, for each of us and for human progress.

I have other ideas about how to investigate Baha'u'llah's claims. Let me know if you're interested.

As far as homosexuality is concerned, I have an intense interest in that question. I've been working very hard for some time to find ways to serve gay Baha'is, and to help create a more welcoming and nurturing environment for them in the Baha'i community.

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that defenders and detractors have joined hands in reading homophobic messages into the statements of Baha'i institutions and central figures. Others, seeing the agreement on that between defenders and detractors, never seem to think of examining those interpretations critically. I won't try to disprove them. I will just offer my own point of view. First I'll describe the implications I see in the writings of Baha'u'llah, that might concern gays. Then I'll describe my guesses about the current status of gays in the Baha'i community.

A. My understanding of some implications of Baha'u'llah's writings.
1. Anal sex between men is prohibited.
2. The partners in the marriage prescribed by God, can only be a woman and a man.
3. It's very good to abstain from pursuing sexual pleasure outside of the marriage prescribed by God.

B. Some background.
1. In my understanding, marriage, in the writings of Baha'u'llah, is not a rank or a privilege, or the manifest destiny and inalienable right of a couple in love. It is strictly a set of socially enforceable responsibilities assigned to a woman and a man who include coitus in their relationship. In fact, as in the Bible, it is by an act of coitus that a woman and a man become husband and wife. I've asked gay Baha'is if they would *want* all the Baha'i laws of marriage to be imposed on their relationships, and I haven't found any that would.
2. In my understanding, apart from anal sex, everything that can be said against two women or two men enjoying sexual pleasure together, according to Baha'i writings, applies equally, if not more, to masturbation. I say, "if not more," because I think the possibility of redeeming social value, with masturbation, is less than with two women or two men.

C. Current status of gays in the Baha'i community.
1. I've read about cases of administrative action against gay Baha'is, but they are all from at least ten years ago. I've asked again and again, in Internet discussions where gay Baha'is were posting, if anyone knew of any more recent examples, and I have never heard of any.
2. I'm an everstraight Baha'i, about as straightlaced as any you'll find. I've served on spiritual assemblies for at least 30 years of my life. I, personally would be opposed to any action against gay Baha'is, unless they were so promiscuous that we started hearing questions about it from sympathetic inquirers. In fact, I would promote even more patience with gay Baha'is, than with unmarried heterosexual couples.
3. I've seen the same prejudices and stereotypes concerning gays, among Baha'is, that I've seen elsewhere. I've seen rabid anti-gay posts in Internet discussions, by people posting as Baha'is. I think there are also many Baha'is who imagine that gays have a responsibility to try to change into straight people. I imagine that many gays feel very unwelcome in the Baha'i community. I think they are seriously marginalized and repressed. Socially, not administratively.
4. The Universal House of Justice has explicitly condemned prejudice agianst gays. "To regard homosexuals with prejudice and disdain would be entirely against the spirit of Bahá'í Teachings." (The Universal House of Justice, 1995 Sept 11, Homosexuality)
5. I know of efforts of other Baha'is besides me, to promote gay equality among Baha'is. I think that, apart from the impossibility of applying Baha'i marriage laws to gay couples, there will continue to be steady progress in gay equality in the Baha'i community.

Jim

Regarding your second paragraph, it is correct that the Baha'i Faith is non-sexist and internationalist. It is not correct to say that it is "pacifist." This is a commonly made mistake, even one made by declared Baha'is, but a mistake nonetheless.

While Abdu'l Baha did say that when a thought of war arises, we should oppose it with a stronger thought of peace, he also clearly endorsed the use of military force in the cause of collective security. Careful study of the Faith reveals that it places a premium on law and order, and recognizes that, just as police force is necessary to maintain civil order, some military force is necessary to maintain international order, however restrained.

This is a fascinating area that I encourage you to investigate further. All best, Avrel