◊ Weezer ◊ Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Has anyone looked into the Baha'i faith? I drove by their meeting place a few days ago and Googled them. Sounds like they embrace the idea of a "god", but no particular one, and strive for peace, equality and unity. They certainly don't splurge on church buildings. The one I saw was a simple metal building in an older, but stable part of town. From some pictures on their web site they seem to be a diverse group of people. They claim to be one of the fastest growing religious groups in the world. Has anyone checked them out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted December 22, 2019 Moderator Share Posted December 22, 2019 Heard of them, but that's about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEG Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Do you remember Seals and Crofts? Some of their songs had interesting Baha'i lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TABA Posted December 22, 2019 Moderator Share Posted December 22, 2019 I think Baha’i is infinitely better than Christianity or Islam. A religion like this might be a candidate for replacing those faiths, for those who find atheism unappealing. There is much about it that appeals to me, but I’d have a problem with their prohibition of alcohol and sex outside of marriage. And the theism, that too. I knew that Baha’i originated in Iran and that it is severely persecuted there, but I hadn’t realized it dates only from the 19th century. I think it is somewhat descended from the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. It was a sad day when Zoroastrianism was overrun by Islam. Here’s more than you’ll ever need to know about the Baha’i faith: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼí_Faith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 My oldest brother tried following it for a while during the 70s before his navy chief converted him to fundamentalist Christianity. I also had a couple of classmates in the late 70s whose family is Baha'i. Good folks. I currently have a FB friend who posts quotes from their prophet. Since I don't go for prophets of any kind, I don't read the posts and remind myself that I don't need a god or religion to be kind to others. Some people seem to gravitate towards gurus and prophets, as though they have something extra to say beyond say Will Rogers insightful quotes. A very popular one in my New Age/psychic/crystals circle of friends is Osho. He does have some good quotes. Many of them don't realize he was also known as the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who ran a cult in central Oregon in the 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Fuego said: Some people seem to gravitate towards gurus and prophets, as though they have something extra to say........ Ain't that the truth! I have been contemplating how the world has produced so many "hero loving followers" that are quick to follow flashy, pompous, assertive loudmouths that come along, especially if they are wealthy and nice looking. It's like we have a world of insecure people. Authoritarianism and the doctrine of original sin, with everyone being unworthy, doesn't help. 7 hours ago, TABA said: I think Baha’i is infinitely better than Christianity or Islam. Here’s more than you’ll ever need to know about the Baha’i faith: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼí_Faith Thanks for the link. I agree they sound more healthy than the other two. I am curious as to whether they "bow down" to, or worship their prophet like Christians and Muslims. Guess I need to read the Wikipedia article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted December 22, 2019 Super Moderator Share Posted December 22, 2019 The ultimate goal of Baha'i is global theocracy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 9 hours ago, florduh said: The ultimate goal of Baha'i is global theocracy. After reading the Wikipedia article it doesn't look as great. If they ever got to the point of having political power, they could go the way the Catholic church went with Jesus teachings and start forcing it on people. From what I have seen, the Unitarian Universalist church is the healthiest western "religion". And the philosophy of Buddahism looks benign. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TABA Posted December 23, 2019 Moderator Share Posted December 23, 2019 5 hours ago, Weezer said: After reading the Wikipedia article it doesn't look as great. If they ever got to the point of having political power, they could go the way the Catholic church went with Jesus teachings and start forcing it on people. That’s why I think theism of any kind is a problem. When somebody says “God wants...” or “God told me to...” you’d better watch out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedah Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 From what I have read and seen from Bahai, it's more like "Islam lite". A lot of the nonsense of Islam doesn't exist in it, it's far more liberal and tolerant of other faiths, and the anti-woman sentiment is mostly gone. The basic core teaching is that many prophets of other religions ( IE Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Krishna ) are all "Manifestations of God" which is more like a special divine existence between God and Man that is capable of discerning Gods wisdom. Bahai can in some ways be considered a sort of attempt to merge religions together in this sense in that it views most prophets of other faiths as members of this divine-class. However, the teachings of Bahai themselves are still flawed in the way Islam is in that it is mostly based on the "revelations" of Mid Eastern man, and a lot of the questionable middle-eastern philosophy is still present. So I wouldn't get any hopes up for any of this being actually true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Jedah said: Bahai can in some ways be considered a sort of attempt to merge religions together in this sense in that it views most prophets of other faiths as members of this divine class. Thanks for your reply. That is basically the conclusion I came too. They seem to barely be hanging on in very conservative Kansas. And it seems the Unitarian Universalist are also struggling. But other than humanitarianism they have no "holy ones." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Googled ex-bahai and found https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 10 hours ago, midniterider said: Googled ex-bahai and found https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/ Looks like one more authoritarian, fear based religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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