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| Reform Bahai Faith... |
 Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:16 pm |
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95 Theses of the Reform Bahai Faith
Please feel free to share and distribute, in any manner, preferably in
full, these 95 Theses.
To His Great Ends, the Reform Bahai Faith invites all souls to a
Convocation of celebration, brotherhood, and Reform, during Ridvan, 2006.
The Reform Bahai Faith, calling to mind the sufferings and imprisonment
of the Bab, Baha'u'llah, and Abdul-Baha, under the brutal oppression of
tyrannical regimes, bent upon silencing and destroying their testimony
of God's New Day, resolves
1. To witness the truth of the deviation of the organized,
incorporated Baha'i Faith from the Path, and its imposition of manifest
corruptions and innovations, over many lamentable decades, that have
wrought ever-increasing alienation, fear, censorship, coercion,
misrepresentation, distortion, and damage, all the stratagems of despots
and dictators, political and religious, upon individual Bahais, their
families, and the community of believers.
2. To seek afresh His Will, as at the dawn of a New Day, whereby the
earth is born anew and man stands transparent before God's manifestation
of His Will.
3. Baha'u'llah execrated execration, slander, and abuse, shunned
shunning, and warned his followers against such unseemly tactics.
4. He prohibited the burning of books and all its evils.
5. The tongue and the pen are the sword of this Day.
6. Liberty was a Teaching of Baha'u'llah, recognized and respected by
His Son, Abdul-Baha.
7. Baha'u'llah envisions a spiritual democracy.
8. The Founders of the Bahai Dispensation teach a Universal Religion.
9. The Founders did not teach a system of stifling rules and regulations.
10. Crippling creeds of the soul and conscience are abominations.
11. The Writings of Baha'u'llah teach freedom of conscience and
respect for the individual.
12. Assemblies are servants of the Bahai community, not dictatorships
that are designed to hector people into submission and servile obedience.
13. At all levels, subtle manipulation of the voting for assemblies
has undermined and destroyed the integrity of Baha'i "administration."
14. A free, open, and honest voting system, allowing for the give and
take of the qualities of individuals, is essential for service to His Cause.
15. The Founders taught not an organization but a Faith.
16. Persecution, harassment, and enmity are barred from the
tabernacle of religious freedom.
17. Baha'u'llah did not "copyright" His Revelation but gave it freely
to all the peoples of the earth.
18. The more than 3,000 martyrs did not die for a trademark and
copyright.
19. Slander and libel, as well as all their variations, are anathema
in the Writings of Baha'u'llah.
20. Legalism is the dead letter of the atrophied spirit.
21. The Ocean of His Revelation beckons all mankind to dive and swim
in it, seeking its pearls of Wisdom.
22. Shoghi Effendi's death ended the era of an authorized interpreter
of Baha'u'llah's Revelation.*
23. Shoghi Effendi did not appoint anyone, directly or indirectly, to
succeed him as Guardian.*
24. The Universal House of Justice has only legislative power, not
interpretive.*
25. Baha'u'llah opened His House of Worship to all mankind at all
times and under all conditions.
26. Baha'u'llah's Universal Revelation transcends the locks and
chains created after the passing of the Master.
27. Reform Bahais make no claim to possess His Truth but seek it
everywhere and always.
28. His Revelation is not a means for a disguised sacerdotal order to
acquire material and monetary wealth and control.
29. His Revelation is a call to service, sacrifice, and brotherhood.
30. All portions of the Bahai Feast are open for the repast of humanity.
31. God's Gift to all mankind is the Most Great Name.
32. Deceiving the governments of the earth, East and West, and the
United Nations, playing them off against one another, misleading their
appointed and elected officials and representatives, is a despicable
practice.
33. The financial and accounting records for the support of Bahai
"administrators" or clergy shall be open and freely available for review
by members and the general public.
34. Baha'u'llah did not reveal a declaration of trust and by-laws.
35. The Bahai Spirit loathes creeds and obscurantism.
36. Baha'u'llah's Call is to Unity and Love: "Consort with the
followers of all religions."
37. Ecclesiasticism and dogmas are the structure of division, abuse,
and exploitation.
38. Baha'u'llah suffered for freedom of conscience.
39. Abdul-Baha taught, "The Bahai Cause is not an organization."
40. Reform Bahais do not seek "the elimination of any non-Bahai views."
41. Abdul-Baha taught it is necessary and acceptable that citizens
participate in the affairs of their nation.
42. Baha'u'llah and Abdul-Baha invoked openness to all of humankind,
not Religious Isolation.
43. Social Isolation is the control tactic of tyrants and despots,
charlatans and cults, fearfully dominating their flock.
44. Fund raising is not an end in itself but a means of service to
the people.
45. The Goal of the Founders was not world domination but attainment
to the knowledge of God and service to one's fellow man.
46. God's gift to humankind is a liberal and lofty Cause, conserving
the spiritual heritage of humanity.
47. No form of the destruction of the press is taught and tolerated.
48. A membership card does not record the testimony of the heart.
49. No man or organization can fathom the depths God has freely
bestowed upon the human heart.
50. At all heights, the bird of humanity soars upon two wings.
51. Baha'u'llah and Abdul-Baha taught independent investigation of
the Truth.
52. Abdul-Baha taught "conscientious opinion" and "freedom of
conscience, liberty of thought, and right of speech."
53. The literal interpretation of Abdul-Baha's Will and Testament has
profoundly damaged Baha'u'llah's Faith and destroyed countless lives and
Bahai communities.
54. Thought-police, under any name, are not included in Baha'u'llah's
Vision.
55. Baha'u'llah's Dispensation does not include boards of censorship.
56. Baha'u'llah's model for His New World Order is not the tyrannical
religious institutions of the past.
57. Bahai community life is not based on organized totalitarianism.
58. Charitable works have more value in the sight of God than marbled
ostentation.
59. Fear is the refuge of tyrants and their primary crutch.
60. The Reform Bahai Faith places its trust in God.
61. Spying, informing, and keeping files and records on people for
matters of conscience and opinion, expressed on or off the Internet, in
email or any other form, are all denounced and banned.
62. Reform Bahais embrace loving association with all the peoples of
the earth and do not require identity checks, letters, and cards of
verification.
63. The nine doors of fraternity are open to all human beings.
64. The nine doors are open at all times.
65. Segregation and indoctrination, individually or collectively, are
contrary to the Writings of Baha'u'llah.
66. Excommunication is excommunicated.
67. The practices of the Middle Ages are history and are an
instructive lesson before which Reform Bahais beg God for guidance and
protection.
68. The Soul's Covenant is with God and Baha'u'llah.
69. Abdul-Baha taught, "The conscience of man is sacred and to be
respected."
70. Everywhere in His Writings, Baha'u'llah loathes injustice,
tyranny, and oppression.
71. Guilt by association and collective punishment have no place in
Baha'u'llah's Dispensation.
72. A self-serving clergy, hiding behind the secular nuances of the
word "administration," remains a pack of wolves whatever the clothing
and outward seeming.
73. Non-Bahais and Bahais have the human right to know the fullness
of the historical record, without concealment and revision.
74. Abdul-Baha taught human rights are Bahai rights.
75. The distortion and corruption of historical fact is detrimental
to the development of humanity and of Baha'u'llah's Faith.
76. The Bahai Technique is not Baha'u'llah's.
77. Individual conscience is not a "dangerous delusion out of
Christianity" but a glorious gift of God.
78. Baha'u'llah taught moderation in all things.
79. Abdul-Baha taught humility before one's convictions.
80. Intellectual vigor, especially of the young, should never be
crushed, but nurtured.
81. The descendants of the Bab and Baha'u'llah have no special or
hereditary prerogatives and rights.
82. Abdul-Baha set the requirements for Bahai membership: "To be a
Bahai simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to
serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood."
83. Bahais are enjoined by Baha'u'llah and Abdul-Baha to associate,
consort, with people of all religious persuasions.
84. Receipt of mail or communication is not mandatory.
85. Harassment for declining the receipt of mail is prohibited and in
all cases rejected.
86. Membership statistics are free and open to all interested parties.
87. Shoghi Effendi's writings indisputably contain errors.
88. Bahai experience and history demonstrate that the organized
Baha'i Faith has strayed from Baha'u'llah's Teachings and blindly and
fanatically opposes all discussion and Reformation.
89. Bahais of good conscience have no alternative but to recognize
reality and restore and Reform, at all levels, His Teachings.
90. The Reform Bahai Faith looks not to other Bahai denominations for
its understanding of Baha'u'llah's Teachings.
91. The Reform Bahai Faith looks to the fullness of Baha'u'llah's
Revelation for guidance.
92. The Reform Bahai Faith does not distort nor select single or
unusual passages of the Writings to manipulate or over-emphasize for
organizational purposes of thought-control and indoctrination.
93. The Reform Bahai Faith trusts and allows the individual believer
to pray and meditate on the inner meaning and purpose of His Revelation,
sharing the fruits of reflection with all who are willing to hear,
receive, and discuss, without disgraceful groveling or humiliating
qualifications.
94. The Reform Bahai Faith recognizes and formalizes the inescapable
conflicts of the human spirit that have existed in Baha'u'llah's Faith
since the passing of the Master, exacerbated by an oppressive and
inflexible interpretation of Baha'u'llah's Teachings.
95. The Reform Bahai Faith rejoices at the Glory of His Revelation
and seeks to share His Teachings, with unabashed and renewed enthusiasm,
for the Redemption and Renewal of the human race.
Baha'u'llah called all humanity to feast at His bounteous Table.
Reform Bahais rejoice that God has revealed, through time and history,
the inevitable path, through trial and turmoil, toward fulfillment of
His Vision.
The Reform Bahai Faith invites all non-Bahais, Bahais, ex-Bahais, all
humanity, the tens of thousands of people harassed and driven out by
fanatical extremists, maligned and slandered, to join together in His
Worship and in service to humanity, to restore a sane and moderate form
of community life and association based on love, trust, and brotherhood,
across all barriers of race and division, social and economic,
nationalistic and provincial.
The Reform Bahai Faith bows humbly before His Threshold, supplicating
for His Favor and Guidance, supplicating the Hosts of the Kingdom of
Abha, recognizing the difficulties and obstacles, apparent and hidden,
that confront and will confront the realization of His Vision.
To His Great Ends, the Reform Bahai Faith invites all souls to a
Convocation of celebration, brotherhood, and Reform, during Ridvan, 2006.
95 Theses of the Reform Bahai Faith
www.ReformBahai.org
August 19, 2004
* Please note that the Reform Bahai Articles depart from the acceptance
here of the authenticity of the purported will and testament of
Abdul-Baha and, hence, the legitimacy of any guardianship. See the pages
for Reform Bahai Articles and Abdul-Baha's Covenant.
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
May 18, 2009
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/may/18/local/chi-bahai-18-may18
All my comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Reform Bahai Faith
Rochester, Michigan USA
www.ReformBahai.org |
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