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  1. T

    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Abdul Baha has long been dead, so why is his appointment still relevant? The most recently alive person Baha'u'llah named as his successor in the Kitab i Ahd was Mirza Muhammad Ali, and once Abdul Baha died and Mirza Muhammad Ali became the successor, Mirza Muhammad Ali nullified all the...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    This system is called "Council Democracy", and it was used by the Soviets, and does not in practice deliver the best of the best: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_democracy
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    No I have not been sanctioned as a Covenant Breaker. I don't think the UHJ has declared anyone a Covenant Breaker in the last decade. Unitarian Baha'is disagree that "The Covenant" as Haifan Bahais understand it is an ordinance of Baha'u'llah. Even though these quotes contain the phrase "The...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    There is no such quote in Baha'u'llah's writings. I would have known about it if there were. The reason you are not posting it is because you do not have it.
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    I think just because there is an election does not mean voters decide their leader. For example, imagine that 90% of Bahais hate a certain NSA member and want him unseated and replaced with just about anyone else. Even in this case he wouldn't be unseated, because there is no opposition leader...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    The lack of campaigning just makes the problem worse, because it makes it easier than ever for those already in power to manipulate the system. For example, if the NSA wants to fill a vacancy in the NSA with the person they want, the NSA can just invite that person as a guest speaker at the...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    This only applies to things which the believers "understand not". It does not say Bahais should abandon their own understanding of the text and follow whatever is Abdul Baha's interpretation. Furthermore, there is a good possibility Baha'u'llah was not referring to Abdul Baha exclusively, and by...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Unlike Haifan Baha'is, Unitarian Baha'is do not necessarily believe in the UHJ, because it was Abdul Baha who created the UHJ (and the NSA/NHJ and the associated hierarchy) and Unitarian Baha'is reject Abdul Baha's infallibility. The large hierarchy in Haifan Baha'ism is a problem, because...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    What exactly makes it clear? Baha'u'llah neither calls Abdul Baha "infallible" nor an "interpreter" in any of his writings. Of course Abdul Baha was against Mirza Muhammad Ali, this is no surprise. Would you mind quoting the "brought to naught" quote in its full context, and citing which...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Well I think at this point you might as well call it a Bible. I mean, if a Ruhi book contradicts something written in the Kitab i Aqdas, which one do you think Haifan Bahais would follow? Most Bahais I have encountered are far more preoccupied with "institutional guidance" than with the actual...
  11. T

    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Haifan Bahais say they believe Abdul Baha has a lesser status than Baha'u'llah, but in practice Abdul Baha's status is greater. First he is the one whose picture Bahais hang up in their houses, not Baha'u'llah. And whenever Abdul Baha and Baha'u'llah conflict, Bahais side with Abdul Baha. For...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    I meant I agree that the Most Great Infallibility does not apply to Abdul Baha. The comment I was quoting applies to Abdul Baha, not the Most Great Infallibility.
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    No, Baha'u'llah did not mandate that the UHJ would come into existence. Baha'u'llah never even mentions the UHJ in his writings, nor does he ever describe a concept like it. The quote you posted is not about the UHJ and contains nothing that would make one think it is about a global...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    If 30 years ago Juan Cole had led a breakaway Baha'i sect, then there might have been a serious Baha'i community in the world today. But now there is none. Today's Baha'i communities resemble nursing homes. They are on their way out, they are dying one by one. A serious Baha'i sect would be...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Muhammad Ali revealed verses when he was 6 years old, under the shadow of Baha'u'llah. Here is more info on this: I agree with this, and it would also apply to Abdul Baha. Baha'u'llah places no such condition on the succession. One could also say Abdul Baha joined partners with God by...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    It's difficult because the overwhelming majority of the Baha'is are so set in their ways that it will be nearly impossible to get them to break from the mainstream Baha'i Faith. So I think a breakaway Baha'i movement would have to be organized online initially. Boomers Baha'is will never give...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    Most of these boil down to Ruhi books. Cluster Reflection are meta-Ruhi gatherings where Bahais discuss plans to do Ruhi books. Nineteen Day Feasts are basically the same these days, with the long letters that are read from the UHJ about Ruhi/Institute Process. Core activities are a synonym for...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    A note on terminology: The phrase "community building" in Haifan Baha'i lingo refers to group study of the UHJ's Ruhi books. It does not refer to actual building of communities, as evidenced by the fact that there aren't any real Bahai communites in the world (that is, communities that are...
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    It has been 150 years since the Aqdas was written. The official figures are that there are 6 million Bahais in the world. You don't find it odd that after all these years these people are not organizing into Houses of Justice like the Kitab i Aqdas instructs?
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    Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

    If the Kitab i Aqdas instructs to build a House of Justice then why don't Bahais have more than one House of Justice in the present?
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