Signs of the Times - What’s happening to our world?

[dfnj]

they are supposed to have God's answers to fix the world. But can they?

I am pretty sure the answer to the World's problems are not going to come from God. If we crap in our own beds, it is up to us and not God to clean up our own mess. If we are going to wallow in crap and misery I don't think God is going to intervene. He hasn't up to this point!

I'm not sure the answers to the World's problems are going to come from religion. The people who are promoting a particular religion tend to be more concerned with accumulating power than anything else. The size of the flock is more important than egalitarian politics. We need to depend on ourselves. Absolute authority comes from within. Anyone who claims to have the answers is trying to sell you something or try to recruit you to become a member of their cult.

I'm not sure the World needs to be "fixed" anyway. I think things are pretty good just the way they are. Yeah, there are tons of problems like poverty, pollution, cancer, pandemics, bla, bla, bla. For tens of thousands of years there's been tons of problems. Problems are not going to go away if people all following your religion.

The way I see it for the most part the people are beautiful and great. The internet is great! NFL football is great! Nature is great! The curves of a woman's body are great! We have so many countless blessing in every possible direction. I just think people are too busy grinding axes, blaming each other, blaming God, blaming themselves to have any capacity left over to appreciate how great we have it.

 

[Trailblazer]

I am pretty sure the answer to the World's problems are not going to come from God. If we crap in our own beds, it is up to us and not God to clean up our own mess. If we are going to wallow in crap and misery I don't think God is going to intervene. He hasn't up to this point!

The only way I believe that God intervenes is to send Messengers who reveal messages that we can use to solve our own problems.

I'm not sure the answers to the World's problems are going to come from religion. The people who are promoting a particular religion tend to be more concerned with accumulating power than anything else. The size of the flock is more important than egalitarian politics.

I do not think that is true for all religions. All religions are not about power and numbers of adherents.

We need to depend on ourselves. Absolute authority comes from within. Anyone who claims to have the answers is trying to sell you something or try to recruit you to become a member of their cult.

The problem with power coming from within is that everyone does not have the answers within, so that can never work as a solution for all of humanity.

I'm not sure the World needs to be "fixed" anyway. I think things are pretty good just the way they are. Yeah, there are tons of problems like poverty, pollution, cancer, pandemics, bla, bla, bla. For tens of thousands of years there's been tons of problems. Problems are not going to go away if people all following your religion.

Yes, there are tons of problems and they are not going to go away with everyone doing their own thing. People have to come together and work together for a unified purpose. Problems are not going to go away just because people all follow a religion, they have to follow the instructions that the Prophet Founder of that religion laid out for us.

The way I see it for the most part the people are beautiful and great. The internet is great! NFL football is great! Nature is great! The curves of a woman's body are great! We have so many countless blessing in every possible direction. I just think people are too busy grinding axes, blaming each other, blaming God, blaming themselves to have any capacity left over to appreciate how great we have it.

The problem is that life is great for some people but it is not great for other people. I believe we have to consider the needs of all people. That is why I became a Baha'i. If I only thought about myself, I would not be a Baha'i. It is not an easy road to travel.

 

[CG Didymus]

No, I have not read If you haven't read the "Modest Proposal." I just found it online so I will read it as soon as I have time... I see it was written in1987. Has it been that long that the American Baha'i community has been in trouble? Maybe I am not wrong about the heads in the sand after all.

David Langness writes and edits for BahaiTeachings.org and is a journalist and literary critic for Paste Magazine. He and his wife Teresa live in the Sierra foothills in Northern California.
David Langness, author at BahaiTeachings.org

I get those articles every day in my e-mail. If the Baha'i administration has a problem with those articles, I sure don't know why.. At least someone is doing something to teach the Faith and they do a very good job.

I guess he got his voting rights back? I go by Grass Valley and Nevada City a lot. I'll have to see if he's speaking at a meeting somewhere and stop by.

 

[CG Didymus]

I am pretty sure the answer to the World's problems are not going to come from God. If we crap in our own beds, it is up to us and not God to clean up our own mess. If we are going to wallow in crap and misery I don't think God is going to intervene. He hasn't up to this point!

I'm not sure the answers to the World's problems are going to come from religion. The people who are promoting a particular religion tend to be more concerned with accumulating power than anything else. The size of the flock is more important than egalitarian politics. We need to depend on ourselves. Absolute authority comes from within. Anyone who claims to have the answers is trying to sell you something or try to recruit you to become a member of their cult.

I'm not sure the World needs to be "fixed" anyway. I think things are pretty good just the way they are. Yeah, there are tons of problems like poverty, pollution, cancer, pandemics, bla, bla, bla. For tens of thousands of years there's been tons of problems. Problems are not going to go away if people all following your religion.

The way I see it for the most part the people are beautiful and great. The internet is great! NFL football is great! Nature is great! The curves of a woman's body are great! We have so many countless blessing in every possible direction. I just think people are too busy grinding axes, blaming each other, blaming God, blaming themselves to have any capacity left over to appreciate how great we have it.

I don't know what I'd do without God... Who'd I have to blame? But, I do appreciate how he made women... But, then I hate how his Son said not to lust after them.

 

[Trailblazer]

I guess he got his voting rights back? I go by Grass Valley and Nevada City a lot. I'll have to see if he's speaking at a meeting somewhere and stop by.

He lost his voting rights? His publication is doing so much good for the Baha'i Faith.

 

[dfnj]

I don't know what I'd do without God... Who'd I have to blame? But, I do appreciate how he made women... But, then I hate how his Son said not to lust after them.

It's not really lust when they have that come on look in their eyes.

 

[dfnj]

The only way I believe that God intervenes is to send Messengers who reveal messages that we can use to solve our own problems.

Nonsense. God talks to anyone who listens. It has nothing to do with messengers. I don't need someone else to tell me how or what to think. The Zen Buddhists have a really great saying, "If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him." Meaning, the answers to what we are seeking do not come from outside of ourselves. If you seek the answers outside of yourself you will be manipulated by others. Anyone who tells you differently is either trying to sell you something or make you join the power structure of their cult. If someone is telling you what to think then this is very different from helping you build up your own inner strength and confidence in who you are. Maybe someday you will learn how to trust your own inner voice as opposed to someone else's. As if someone else's voice is more worthy than yours!

 

[Trailblazer]

I don't know what I'd do without God... Who'd I have to blame? But, I do appreciate how he made women... But, then I hate how his Son said not to lust after them.

And don't forget what Baha'u'llah said about that. It was much more than what His Son said.

 

[dfnj]

I don't know what I'd do without God... Who'd I have to blame?

Boy, your faith in God must be very weak. It would never occur to me I would ever be without God. I think each of us is responsible for our own spirituality.

 

[Trailblazer]

Nonsense. God talks to anyone who listens. It has nothing to do with messengers.

But God does not reveal thousands of Tablets to anyone.

If you seek the answers outside of yourself you will be manipulated by others.

Only if you allow yourself to be manipulated.
If you seek answers inside yourself, you may or may not get the right answers.

Maybe someday you will learn how to trust your own inner voice as opposed to someone else's. As if someone else's voice is more worthy than yours!

I consider the Voice of God a lot more worthy than my inner voice.
The Voice of God is infallible whereas my inner voice is fallible.

 

[dfnj]

I do not think that is true for all religions. All religions are not about power and numbers of adherents.

Of course they are. All religions are political. Spirituality is personal.

The problem with power coming from within is that everyone does not have the answers within, so that can never work as a solution for all of humanity.

Just because you use a toilet everyday doesn't make you a master plumber. Religion is no different. Idolizing scripture is not the same experience as creating your own religion. The only way to experience real spirituality is by doing the hard work of becoming a expert on your own spirituality. "The truth is in the Bible but that is not where you will find it."

they have to follow the instructions that the Prophet Founder of that religion laid out for us.

The great thing about being in a cult is you no longer have to think. It's like someone else is doing your math homework for you!

The problem is that life is great for some people but it is not great for other people. I believe we have to consider the needs of all people. That is why I became a Baha'i. If I only thought about myself, I would not be a Baha'i. It is not an easy road to travel.

Life is great for everyone. You don't need wealth and privilege to experience God's blessings. Everyone suffers joy is optional.

You are still only thinking about yourself by letting other people tell you what to think. You will not have the capacity to help others if you are not capable of thinking for yourself. You will be too busy waiting for someone to tell you what to think and do next.

 

[dfnj]

But God does not reveal thousands of Tablets to anyone.

How do you know what God does or does NOT do.

So now you are speaking for God. Now your inner authority is absolute and full of confidence when you say these messengers are the real messages and these guys over here don't know what they are talking about. You have no idea what God is thinking. You have no idea which messengers are the true messengers of God.

Only if you allow yourself to be manipulated.
If you seek answers inside yourself, you may or may not get the right answers.

But then the problem becomes how do you know the "messenger" has the "right" answers. You don't. You are trusting someone else to tell you what is worth trusting. How do you know the messengers are not giving wrong answers? The way I know is I trust my own inner voice.

For example, consider the following quotes of scripture.

In this verse, Samuel, one of the early leaders of Israel, orders genocide against a neighboring people:

“This is what the Lord Almighty says... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:3)

The killing of infants is often omitted from readings in church:

“Happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” (Psalm 137:9)

Another blood-curdling tale from the Book of Judges, where an Israelite man is trapped in a house by a hostile crowd, and sends out his concubine to placate them:

“So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, ‘Get up; let’s go.’ But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.” (Judges 19:25-28)

As if my wife would ever allow me to have a concubine. Also, don't you find it a little strange if the Bible were the absolute truth and word of God that having a concubine would be morally okay?

In this story from the Book of Judges, an Israelite leader, Jephthah, makes a rash vow to God, which has to be carried out:

“And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’ Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’” (Judges 11:30-1, 34-5)

“Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.” (1 Peter 2:18)​

I just know in my heart these are all morally wrong. My own inner compass is all I need to trust.

I consider the Voice of God a lot more worthy than my inner voice.
The Voice of God is infallible whereas my inner voice is fallible.

Wow. Too funny. You are so submissive to authority. Religion is not about submission to authority. Submission to authority outside of ourselves is not our natural state. I'm sorry to hear you have given up.

People who are not capable of thinking for themselves are immature. You really seem like a cultist. One time I was having an argument with a born-again Christian. I told the guy I can't trust what someone tells me from the pulpit. I then said, "I believe absolute authority comes from within." The guy said, "who told you that?" At which point I realized there are just some people who will never be able to think for themselves.

Sure, I might get it wrong. But getting it wrong is one of the way of how I learn.

Why do you think people who pretend to be a messenger from God or the way people interpreted what they think God is talking are not making mistakes. Messengers are just as imperfect as you or I. No one is perfect. No one is God. I guess I just prefer my own mistakes to someone else's.

 

[Trailblazer]

Of course they are. All religions are political. Spirituality is personal.

All the great world religions teach us to seek personal spirituality.

Just because you use a toilet everyday doesn't make you a master plumber. Religion is no different. Idolizing scripture is not the same experience as creating your own religion. The only way to experience real spirituality is by doing the hard work of becoming a expert on your own spirituality. "The truth is in the Bible but that is not where you will find it."

We all have to create our own spirituality, religion is just a tool we can use to help us build it..

The great thing about being in a cult is you no longer have to think. It's like someone else is doing your math homework for you!

That is a common misconception. Religious people have to think in order to apply the teachings of their religion.

Life is great for everyone. You don't need wealth and privilege to experience God's blessings. Everyone suffers joy is optional.

Life is not so great for everyone around the world right now. Just ask them.

You are still only thinking about yourself by letting other people tell you what to think. You will not have the capacity to help others if you are not capable of thinking for yourself. You will be too busy waiting for someone to tell you what to think and do next.

Nobody tells me what to think. I think for myself.

 

[Trailblazer]

How do you know what God does or does NOT do.

I know by what I see. That is called objective evidence. Do you see thousands of Tablets written by anyone except Baha’u’llah?

So now you are speaking for God. Now your inner authority is absolute and full of confidence when you say these messengers are the real messages and these guys over here don't know what they are talking about. You have no idea what God is thinking. You have no idea which messengers are the true messengers of God.

I do not speak for God, but I believe that the Messengers speak for God.

But then the problem becomes how do you know the "messenger" has the "right" answers. You don't. You are trusting someone else to tell you what is worth trusting. How do you know the messengers are not giving wrong answers? The way I know is I trust my own inner voice.

How do you know your inner voice is giving you the right answers? You don’t. You believe that, but you don’t know that.

As if my wife would ever allow me to have a concubine. Also, don't you find it a little strange if the Bible were the absolute truth and word of God that having a concubine would be morally okay?

Where did you ever hear me say that the Bible is the absolute truth and word of God? The Bible was written by men and there are lots of problems with it.

I just know in my heart these are all morally wrong. My own inner compass is all I need to trust.

I know that too and that is why I am not a Christian or a Jew. You should follow your heart and also your mind. If something does not makes sense to you, you should reject it.

Wow. Too funny. You are so submissive to authority. Religion is not about submission to authority. Submission to authority outside of ourselves is not our natural state. I'm sorry to hear you have given up.

I submit to Baha’u’llah because I believe He speaks with authority since He was the Voice of God who has absolute authority.

People who are not capable of thinking for themselves are immature.

I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself. It is idiocy to say that no religious believers can think for themselves.
With all due respect, I believe that people who think they have all the answers within themselves are arrogant.

Why do you think people who pretend to be a messenger from God or the way people interpreted what they think God is talking are not making mistakes. Messengers are just as imperfect as you or I. No one is perfect. No one is God. I guess I just prefer my own mistakes to someone else's.

Manifestations of God are not like you and I. They are another order of creation. They have a human station but they also have a divine station, and from their divine station they speak with absolute authority, as the Voice of God. That is my belief, but I do not expect you or anyone else to believe it.

 

[loverofhumanity]

Sorry to have gotten side-tracked with my posts to Tony. Obviously, right now is a great time for anything that can help fix the world. But, are Baha'is actually going to do it? Or, is the world, slowly, going to start adopting things that the Baha'i Faith teaches? Like a more equitable economic system, a better form of governing, a universal language etc?

I believe the world will gradually come to the conclusion that working together collectively on many fronts will help solve many problems. To do that we need to put our differences and prejudices aside - no small ask.

 

[CG Didymus]

Is coronavirus a prophecy of your faith? Baha'u'llah died in 1892 and the first virus was discovered by humans in 1892, yet Oceans does not even reveal a mention of the word virus before Shoghi Effendi, in truth Baha'u'llah possibly may not have even been aware of the word.

I imagine the Black Plaque was thought to be a judgement of God. But, if it was caused by rodent poop, then it wasn't necessarily God "sending" a plague to judge the people, it was people living too close to each other in a unsanitary situation.

Then with AIDS, some Christian were saying it was a judgement against gays. But those types of Christians expect everybody accept them to be judged harshly by God. I wonder what Baha'is were saying?

A disturbing "plague" for me was when the Europeans purposely brought smallpox infected blankets to give to the Native America people. I hope they didn't, but wouldn't put it past them, to justify it by saying it was okay to do that because the Native People were heathens.

The problem with religions saying these things were prophesied is that they've always happened. And that includes the Baha'i Faith. Sure the leaders rejected Baha'u'llah. So wars and disasters were going to happen as a result? When haven't wars and disasters not happened? Same with diseases. Even if we lived in a perfect Baha'i world... would diseases ever stop? Apparently, they mutant and evolve into new strains. If all the world believed in Baha'u'llah would God get rid of all harmful viruses and bacteria? If not, then I could play prophet right now and say, "Oh thou foolish ones. Do you think you are serving your God in truth? Nigh, unless you change your ways now, he will send a great plague amongst you on a day you do not expect."

I had assumed you were a Baha'i since you have the name mentioned, but then you add that you're "inspired" by them. I too am "inspired" by some things Baha'is believe, but I'm uninspired by their lack of ability to actually implement the things they talk about. Were Baha'is at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement? In the Women's movement? In the anti-war and anti-nukes movements? I'm sure some people that belonged to the Baha'i Faith were, but was their an official proclamation from the leadership that supported those movements?

I'd imagine the best they could do is state the Baha'i belief that Blacks and other minorities are all equal with Whites. And that woman are equal with men. And that Baha'is are against war and weapons of war, but... And I'd expect a lot of "but's", because Baha'i also have to obey the laws of the land, Baha'is should not take part in protests and demonstrations? Then, because Baha'is beliefs probably don't line up with the beliefs of the other groups that are protesting, they wouldn't want to become labeled along with them. But you as a liberal would be able to do whatever you want. So... since you are not bound by following the "official" Baha'i stand, what do you see as the Baha'i "inspired" things necessary to move society to the next level?

 

[CG Didymus]

Also I may add that guidance is assured under the covenant, when all the requirements are followed.

That is why we are to obey our LSA and support its decisions.

Regards Tony

Okay, NSA's and LSA's will some day become "Houses of Justice". Right now they are not. Right now they are run by fallible people. Therefore, they are going to make mistakes. Maybe you can pretend, or believe, the you UHJ is "infallible" but even they can make mistakes and then correct them, isn't that the way it goes? So let's look at another "infallible" religious institution, the Popes. I wish some of their decisions weren't followed. Will it be the same for the Baha'is... "Oh well, the UHJ or the NSA said it so we better do as they say." And I'm sure you have total confidence in them. I don't.

I've seen many problems at the local level with LSA's. They are far from perfect people. The chairman had as affair with a young Baha'i. He was a nice guy, a great guy. But, he wasn't perfect. How about his decisions as chairman? And I would not doubt that all the members of all the LSA's, NSA's and the UHJ aren't any better then that chairman. Maybe not with the same moral issue but with something. Why expect their decisions to be so perfect as to call them "infallible"? You, I expect, will defend them. But it worries me.

I haven't researched it out, but like with the decision concerning the "Dialogue" magazine, the NSA of the U.S. had some problems. I've also read that there was a problem between people on the NSA. Never mind, I researched it out, I mean I goggled it and this is what I found...

Delegates to the 1999 Baha'i National Convention

Beloved Friends,

We deeply regret the necessity of informing you that James F. Nelson has been guilty of gross negligence in the performance of his duties as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and that, although he has expressed his profound regret for the related occurrences, and has effected full restitution of the damage done, he has felt impelled, by his awareness of the high responsibility of the post in which he has been serving, to tender his resignation from the membership of the National Spiritual Assembly, and the National Spiritual Assembly has accepted this resignation.

From: Steven Scholl
Here is all I know about the situation.
Jim Nelson was helping an elderly Baha'i in Pasadena with her finances. I believe he had some power to sign checks from her account for paying bills, etc. She told Jim that she wanted her payment to the huquq [the 19% tax on some income to be paid to the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel according to Baha'i law] to be set up as an endowment rather than being a lump sum payment. On her death, Jim placed the huquq funds from her accounts into a new account under his name. This led to protests from the estate's executor and prompted the NSA to go on the war path with claims of wrongdoing.​

He goes on to say that the National Spiritual Assembly secretary-general Robert C. Henderson was upset by Jim's action. But that Henderson himself had been accused of mismanagement of funds. And then say that, "this is purely personal speculation on my part." Then Mr. Scholl says...

• 
  So, what does this all indicate? My take is that for years there has been rivalries and factions on the NSA, especially between the West Coast Gang led by the Nelsons (with Bill Davis and Juana Conrad) vs. the Henderson/Kazemzadeh block. I have heard that in their rebuke to Nelson the NSA refered to his "careless" behavior, while in the letter to the delegates they refer to "gross negligence in the performance of duties." My view is that if the NSA was sincere in their concern for Nelson and his spiritual growth, they would have simply accepted his resignation and informed the delegates that after years of service, Judge Nelson has resigned for health or personal reasons. The letter to the delegates seems to me to be a blatant campaign maneuver. It seems aimed at (1) publicly humiliating Jim Nelson and (2) helping guide the delegates in their voting for a candidate from the Henderson/Kazemzadeh Good Old Boys Network rather than from the now suspect Nelson Network.
  
  As someone who has dealt with Henderson and Kazemzadeh in the past and had them use lies and slander in their attacks on my beliefs and behavior, this latest outburst is not at all surprising and fits their modus operandi perfectly. That is to say, the timing and the pure sleeziness of this blatant political manuvering fits with their history of self-promotion combined with vicious personal attacks against those who might threaten their grip of power over the American Baha'i community.

Oh my God! This next section is unbelievable. I'm going to copy the whole thing on another post.

 

[CG Didymus]

• 
  Sorry Baha'is, can you fix the problems of the world when you have so many internal problems? Juan Cole was a top Baha'i speaker. Now he's no longer a Baha'i. The letter mentions Fred Schechter. I knew him and heard him speak at Baha'i events. I thought he was a great guy. Maybe not so great. But the same with Glenford Mitchell and Robert Henderson. I saw Baha'i promotional films with excerpts of these guys speaking, Jim Nelson too, they were powerful and convincing speakers. But, are they good and honest leaders? Maybe not. Baha'is, if this is true, this ain't good. Hey Old Badger, I think we had reason to worry about the administrative side of the Baha'i Faith. Do we want these guys making infallible rules that will affect the people of the world?

• 
  Date: 4-14-99
  To: [email protected]
  From: Juan Cole
  Subject: Re: NSA elections
  
  Actually, early twentieth century Baha'is under `Abdu'l-Baha had perfectly democratic elections, and were instructed to do it that way by `Abdu'l-Baha. During WW I when there was conflict over whether to support the war effort or adopt a pacifist stance, hawks like Mason Remey organized a campaign for the NSA in 1917 in which they captured it and reversed the previous pacifist policy! Older Baha'is spoke of the times when Republican and Democratic Baha'is wouldn't speak with one another.
  The problem with the current situation is not merely that the voting records of the NSA members are completely unknown. It is that the activities and policies of the NSA as a whole are almost completely unknown! What exactly do these people do? What policies have they made? What effect have the policies had? Have they been good for the growth of the community, numerically and spiritually? Without knowing the answer to this question, how can the delegates even begin to vote intelligently? Though, as we have seen, the very rules of the elections leave them with little potential impact.
  
  We know that there were about 48,000 adult Baha'is with good addresses in the US in 1978. There are now about 60,000. In the meantime 12,000 Iranians immigrated. This means that there has been no growth in over twenty years. *None*. Of course, hundreds if not a few thousands of people have come in during the past two decades, but enormous numbers of them have gone right back out. Would any CEO who had not increased his earnings a single penny over twenty years be reappointed by the board?
  
  The exclusivistic policies of Mr. Henderson, who is frankly mean-spirited, have contributed enormously to this Great Stagnation. He was the one who cracked down on Dialogue magazine in such a nasty way. He bullied Baha'i travel agents in 1991, for the Lord knows what reward from the corrupt Corporate Travel Consultants. He agitated behind the scenes for a crackdown on [email protected]. He has chased travel teachers out of the country, seeing them as an electoral threat should they become successful. I have no idea about the propriety of Jim Nelson's book-keeping practices, but surely for Henderson to publicly smear him after Jim served on the NSA 1971-1999, in circumstances where Nelson cannot even publicly defend himself, is the height of sleaze. Henderson has arranged for himself to live rent free free in a 9-bedroom mansion (having the Bourgeois studio knocked down to build it, against UHJ instructions) with free Baha'i maids and gardeners, and his main business seems to be bullying Baha'is into silence behind the scenes. And I fully acknowledge that he is probably acting rationally given the way the Baha'i system is structured.
  
  So, I think all these things are related: the fact that the Baha'i faith in the US has been going nowhere fast for decades; the fact that the electoral system seems to elect the ambitious and greedy (and paranoid) to the top offices; the fact that even initially upright people are made perpetual incumbents, exposing them to the temptations of absolute power held for decades and corrupting them; the fact that the electoral system provides an incentive for the incumbents to slap down and chase out potential competitors; the fact that it would not be in the incumbents' interest for the faith to expand, become more open, attract a lot of new voters who might rock the boat.
  
  Term limits would go a long way toward solving all these problems. In fact, why not have staggered elections for 4-year terms? You could elect 5 members in 2000 and 4 in 2002. People who don't serve as long as Nelson did might not become tempted to act high-handedly. They wouldn't face reelection and so would have no reason to fear being unseated by active young folks.
  
  Counselor Fred Schechter, one of the people who falsely accused me, once told a friend of mine that anyone who becomes active in the faith will be attacked (by the faith's officials, it is implied). We hadn't at the time realized that Schechter intended to *act* on this observation!
  
  This is a dysfunctional system, folks. There are ways in which it destroyed Dan Jordan (forcing him to live a lie and to resort to secret trysts), Allen Ward, and now Jim Nelson--not to mention the spiritual harm it has wreaked on the Baby Boom intellectuals who were enticed in with promises of tolerance and justice (!!!).
  
  When Glenford Mitchell had become a huge pain in the *** as NSA secretary and was finally elected off it to the UHJ, everyone breathed a big sigh of relief. And when Henderson came in, the word was that he was a good guy, and we were all relieved. And then in a few short years he demonstrated that he was an even bigger pain in the *** than Mitchell had been. Even dumping Henderson wouldn't solve the problem. The *system* creates the Hendersons and the Nelsons. If anyone cared about the fortunes of the faith as opposed to the size of their marble offices, they would fix the system.
  
  cheers Juan

 

[CG Didymus]

No, I have not read If you haven't read the "Modest Proposal." I just found it online so I will read it as soon as I have time... I see it was written in1987. Has it been that long that the American Baha'i community has been in trouble? Maybe I am not wrong about the heads in the sand after all.

David Langness writes and edits for BahaiTeachings.org and is a journalist and literary critic for Paste Magazine. He and his wife Teresa live in the Sierra foothills in Northern California.
David Langness, author at BahaiTeachings.org

I get those articles every day in my e-mail. If the Baha'i administration has a problem with those articles, I sure don't know why.. At least someone is doing something to teach the Faith and they do a very good job.

Okay what's going on? This isn't an "official" Baha'i site? Do they have the "blessing" and support of the Baha'i Administration?

Welcome to BahaiTeachings.org! We helped create this platform so individuals could share their personal perspectives and insights as they strive to implement the Baha’i teachings in their everyday lives. Therefore, the opinions expressed here do not represent any official views of the Baha’i Faith, and BahaiTeachings.org is not an official website of the Baha’i Faith.​

 

[TransmutingSoul]

I seem many problems at the local level with LSA's. They are far from perfect people.

Such is life CG, this always takes time to change.

As a whole, the system works, as it is designed to pick up the flaws and cleanse itself from them.

I wish you well and happy, I doubt if I will post here much more, stay safe.

Regards Tony