I do understand your frusterations, and until recently I had some similar feelings. I went on Pilgrimage, and honestly, it changed my life. Before I had left, I was unsure what I thought about organized religion, and one of the best ways to see where the faith fits into the equation, is to study past religions, and see the beauty of progression. From what I’ve come to understand, It had to start somewhere… and it has evolved. (Starting with Abrahamic religions)..It started with Abraham proclaiming one Creator, Moses establishing laws as spiritual beings , Christ in loving others, Muhammad solidifying the family, and finally Baha’u'llah unifying the world. Each were divine educators, helping to educate us with what feeble concept our human minds could grasp in that point in time. They were also physicians, with remedies to attain a progressive goal at hand. Because of this, we are different today. Their teachings fit a specific purpose, humans are infalliable, and we inevitably messed up, which caused him to renew His word, thus transforming the world once again.

Fast forward to present day… being in an infancy stage, there is a lot of struggle on our self identities versus what the writings say. In the future, it will be much more clear. To be a Baha’i is to work together for the good of the world, not the individual. What is good for the world is also good for the individual. It leads to peace. There have been two components to this Faith that have literally floored me after much contemplation… the first is that there is not one concentration in the world. It is the second most widespread religion in the world… and it benefits people of all creeds, races, religious backgrounds, economic standings, and cultures. Each one, no matter how different, finds truth. The second component is the centralization, which I know you struggle with. When you look at other religions, they have inevitiably broken up into sects… yet ours is still in tact. There is a greater good, a greater purpose. Baha’is are NOT perfect… nor will they ever be. Yet, when we understand we are all working towards the same goal, we put our gripes on a shelf and realize there is a greater good. Some of the components that you gripe about centralization may seem tedious, but they are the seeds which will inevitably cultivate a unified future.

I love the story in the seven valleys, of the lover searching for his beloved. He complained in the beginning as to what he thought was bad, but praised it when the end result was revealed to him. The line where it says those who look to the end see peace in war, and friendliness in anger really hits home with me. There is so much love and wisdom that is yet unknown to us, that is our challange, yet our reward. The Iqan and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf were two books that really put things into perspective for me.

To recognize Baha’u'llah is to have faith in his word and his plan. We carry it out the best of our abilities, and love those who are trying to do the same.

Take care

Some of the religious cults in Meanwhile City include “The Seventh Day Manicurists” and a washing machine religion whose doctrines and beliefs come from a washing machine instruction manual.

[…] This is what I wrote as my first foray into this uncharted territory: Introduction. […]

I just wanted to say thank you.

Many Blessings,
Lobo Siete Truenos

You are such a perfect present day Bahà’í. You should be praised! You are a male, maybe you will aspire to that highest seat someday. Take all the books and keep up the story. Make you’re $$$ for the marble flooring of your future office…

I will not debate the born guilty by birth of being a CB unless one repents of the actual grandchildren of Abdul Baha … ALL BS

But thank you for you thought provoking blogs.

And let me guess, they taught you how to think or question? They taught you how to “use your mind” and doubt. Those two characters have done nothing but talk for 50 years.

AMAN wrote:

Check the Kitab-Aqdas…the Baha’i Faith doesn’t have bishops, but the UHJ was setup by Baha’u'llah.

AMAN according to the Will and Testament of Abdu’l_Baha the Bahai’i Universal House of Justice is to be elected by the Baha’is of the entire world and serve the entire people of the world in every useful way possible.

I read it that if it functions in this Spirit of Free and Open Sacred Purity on behalf of all of the people of the world it will then receive Divine Guidance in the SPIRITUAL NEW LAW of the NEW WORLD AGE. This is what I thought it was all about when I joined the Faith in 1971. I thought the vision was breath taking.

But now 37 long years later, my assessment is that the current Universal House of Justice does not serve the interests of humanity at all, but only serves the interests of it’s own organization and the tiny clique that runs it. It is completely inward in orientation. I believe it is more inward than ever despite what the people at the top say. These people have not been out for dinner and a movie for 40 years on their Mt. Olympus. How do they truly know anything at all about what is going on among either the rank and file Baha’is of the world and/or the rank and file people of the world?

Secondly, the current version of the Universal House of Justice is NOT elected by the rank and file of the Baha’is of the world AT ALL. They began to change HOW it is elected in 1983. It is now elected from a closed list of tightly controlled candidates that are the personal friends and colleagues of the current sitting members of the Universal House of Justice who have been in waiting as members of the International Teaching Center which is now essentially the closed loop ideological think tank system of the elite of the Baha’i Faith. Is this what Baha’u'llah had in mind? Or Abdu’l-Baha? Or Shoghi Effendi? Or The ancient Hebrew Prophets who spoke about Mt. Carmel? If you can explain it so I can accept this change in how it is elected as being of the Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha, I will. I will keep an open mind. But I just don’t see that this process is either of the Letter or the Spirit of what we are supposed to have for this World Age. It is top down at the dictate of a very, very tiny handful of very pompous and arrogant people living in a bubble of their own friends and own colleagues with no term limits who answer essentially to no electorate ever. Once elected they will never be voted out of office by the worldwide NSA’s who will hold no one accountable for anything ever. The record so far speaks for itself. It is essentially lifetime incumbency for a tiny group of people who reinforce each others ideas. If you can explain that this is what we are supposed to have, make the case. I will listen. But after all my years in reading and studying the Writings of the Faith I just don’t see that this is what we are supposed to have. There is no living sitting Guardian so who is going to perform the function of asking the Universal House of Justice to reconsider a decision if the living sitting Guardian thinks it is against the Spirit of the Teachings? This was one of the most important functions of a living sitting Guardian in Shoghi Effendi’s writings. How is this going to work now? Who is going to hold them accountable to the Writings as an equal? I do acknowledge you are intelligent and sincere. I will listen. And I will not write back anything this week. Tell me your vision of the future as to how this current set up is going to help the human race? To my observation the current situation is essentially that a tiny closed group of people who answer to no one will run the Faith in sets of 9 for 40 years at a time. That means essentially 9 sets of men times 21 (40) year intervals over the next 850 more years equals. This equals 189 total people ever in these positions who answer to absolutely no one - not even their own personal conscience - will tell the entire world what to do on every matter facing 7 billion people in every sphere of human endeavor for the next 850 years. Shoghi Effendi said they must answer to their own conscience (you can find the quote in Ocean) but now according to both Douglas Martin and Peter Khan in the deepening materials they wrote for the Canadian Baha’i Community back in the 1970’s, conscience is not a factor in the Baha’i Faith like it is in Christianity as Douglas Martin expressed again more recently in that quote after 9/11. So if they are supposed to be accountable to their own conscience in conducting the affairs of the Faith in their lifetime incumbent positions but conscience is now not a factor in anyone’s conduct, how is this going to work?

I will respectfully stay off BR for the next two weeks so you can take the time to think this all out and explain how the current system is what the Central Figures and Ancient Prophets of Israel hand in mind and what the world needs right now to skillfully solve the problems facing the planet.

Please set me right and I will respectfully keep an open mind on what you have to say. Explain your vision of how this is all going to work after every person on Earth has faithfully taken the Ruhi Full Sequence of Courses and filled in every blank with no discussion as asked by the founders of the Ruhi Institute everywhere across the entire world in every land and every person on Earth is now going door to door doing home visits and Core Activity acts of service and checking on everyone that all is well and waiting on every instruction in their own personal lives, and every elucidation on everything in life that they must do from 189 total people ever.

I will not post for two weeks on BR for you to think this out and reply at your leisure over time as you are so inspired.

I am serious. Let’s hear your vision as you see it. Explain it to me. I will be respectful and wait in silence for your explanation.