You have worked as a detective, I wok as a medical doctor. You should know as I do that any legislation can have many nuances and subtlies that may or may not apply to the Baha'i Faith. The pieces of legislation I have had to study often come in the form of documents that have hundreds of pages that include consideration of how should be applied (or not) in some circumstances.
I expect that they do......... Up 'til now the med world has groped and blundered its way forward but things are changing rapidaly, I'm told. 40+ years ago my Bahai Wife was afflicted with epileptic seizures in the whole spectrum of severity. She was prescribed with epileptic drugs (Epinutim then Epilim and many others etc) as well as meds for horrific psuedo-seizures many times worse than Freud ever filmed.
I don't know how our daughter and first son survived, but our second son was born with the whole list of disabilities, spina-bifida, hydracephalus, clubbed feet, other severe sicknesses and the NHS told us that to place him on 'feed on demand' was the kindest thing.
Two months ago, for the first time in my life and 40+ years later, I discovered that those meds in pregnancy produce those sicknesses, almost as bad as thalidomyde.
My wife died thinking that it was her, no matter how many times I told her that it must surely be something to do with the male's genes she blamed herself. I am so sad that she never knew the truth.
I don't mind that 'they' didn't know about the risks, I'm so sad that they hid the truth from my wife.
It's been a very very strange autumn for me.
It'll be easier for meds in the future. I met with an amazing pharmacist, doctor (and artist) who has turned down two chairs at Baliol in order to carry on in the commercial world. In casual conversation he explained that thousands and thousands of diabetics die each year because unspecialised meds don't know enough about those sicknesses. With a group of colleagues they have been preparing an IT pragram for GPs to complete from obs and it then takes and precribes meds, doses, lifestyles, the lot. Previously such initiatives have been failing, killing as many as before, but IT is slamming into the medical world and will protect meds as well as assisting them. That will help the legal aspects as well.
If it applies to the Baha'i Faith in England then the National Spiritual Assembly of England will have looked at it, and have availed themselves of quality legal advice, then guided their local assemblies and how that applies.
It's dodgy. I don't know how this law impacts upon smaller groups, but even Private clubs which exclude 'characteristics' are needing to wake up and review their policies.
Even our CofE is being dragged, kicking and screaming, towards equality..... we have female priests and Bishops now.
Are you telling me that this legislation means that Catholics must have women priests or Baha'is must have practising gays on their assemblies?
I doubt it, but I don't know.... am not specialised in the legislation, but look at the CofE....
It just shows how the majority is beginning to think, which cannot offer a very hopeful future for religions and groups who stay back.
The Holy Ghost is part of Christian theology. Abdu'l-Baha was in a Christian country and that's the reason he was explaining possible meanings. As a Baha'i I never think about the Holy Ghost unless a Christian wants to talk about it in references to parts of the Bible. I'm not aware that it is a significant part of what Baha'u'llah taught at all, and why would He refer to it, unless He was explaining Christian theology and the NT.
I have every belief now that Bahais believe in the 'Holy Spirit' of God. And the Holy Manifestation of God. And God............ if not together then separate, if it helps their mindsets.
Names: Our prejudices ban us from using various names. One Bahai here cannot put up with the word theocracy because for him it probably means a terrifying religious government that he has intimate knowledge about.
It may be necessary to face the fact that the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost are the same Divine Entity, there's just prejudice about one of the words.
Baha'is don't believe in a Triune God, but if you want to believe that Baha'is do, we all have freedom of thought and belief.
But we don't have freedom of thought because our past has inserted prejudices into us which make some ideas and words unthinkable.
