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A worldwide community called “the Baha’i Faith”

Jim

Nets of Wonder
... what would you do with those words then?
What words do you mean? Words that are not there? “Illness”? Not there. “All homosexual relations”? Not there. “Gay marriage”? Not there. Those words are not words of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha or Shoghi Effendi.
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
They are what they are and what was said was said and cannot be changed. So other than what is written in the English, which gives the words meaning for us to undestand, what would you do with those words then Jim?

Thus the test is ours, do we accept that or not?

Regards Tony
Sorry, I might be making you feel unwelcome to say what you’re saying, but actually I’m glad for it, now that I think more about it. I think that it’s very important for people to see Baha’is saying what you’re saying.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
What words do you mean? Words that are not there? “Illness”? Not there. “All homosexual relations”? Not there. “Gay marriage”? Not there. Those words are not words of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha or Shoghi Effendi.

It's not me saying all that Jim. Good thing is, they are all there in the Bahai.org library and all can read them Jim.

There is another site also that compiles Baha'i writings, but not an official source.

I see at least 2 people have replied and they have their own conclusions.

Search – Authoritative Writings and Guidance | Bahá’í Reference Library

This is an approved source.

Lights of Guidance/Homosexuality - Bahaiworks, a library of works about the Bahá’í Faith

Regards Tony
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
I see at least 2 people have replied and they have their own conclusions.
How do you see that as being relevant to what we’re discussing?
From your first link, results for homosexuality as an “illness”:
A5741A00-E674-47EF-9702-BD796E005863.jpeg


Results for “gay marriage”:

45DFF9B5-AA95-41C0-80A3-45366369DCE5.jpeg


Results for “all homosexual relations”:

92F645C6-BF81-4105-832B-B5DA20425129.jpeg


444599E2-3A2A-4CCD-A323-5EA728E48983.png


From your second link , results for “illness,” none:

E53EF79F-ECC0-470F-82DE-56C3A3A5321F.png


Results for “gay marriage,” none:

D97E7285-80B3-4181-B9C0-93F7782BD1D4.png


Results for “all homosexual relations“:

35DC968B-1538-4CE7-A8A3-3AEEBD973A1E.jpeg


First, that note was not written by, or on behalf of, the House of Justice, and is not intended to communicate any decision of the House of Justice. It was written by the research department, and is strictly the personal opinion of some members of that department. Second, even if it had been written by the House of Justice, it would have no authority as an interpretation of Baha’i writings. Third, the words “all homosexual relations” are not the words of Shoghi Effendi. They are the words of the research department. I wrote to the research department and asked them. They said that they did not know of any place in the writings of Shoghi Effendi where he interpreted the passage on the subject of boys as a prohibition on “all homosexual relations.”
 

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Jim

Nets of Wonder
The only prohibition that I see against any kind of marriage between two men, in Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Baha’i scriptures, is Leviticus 18:22. I don’t see any prohibition against any kind of marriage between two women in those scriptures. In fact they explicitly allow marriages that include two or more women, without any prohibition against any kind of sexual interactions between two women.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The only prohibition that I see against any kind of marriage between two men, in Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Baha’i scriptures, is Leviticus 18:22. I don’t see any prohibition against any kind of marriage between two women in those scriptures. In fact they explicitly allow marriages that include two or more women, without any prohibition against any kind of sexual interactions between two women.

Will have to leave you with those thoughts Jim.

I wish you well and happy.

Regards Tony
 

Darkforbid

Well-Known Member
I agree. That’s exactly why I object to calling homosexuality an “illness.” That’s exactly why I object to saying that there’s a prohibition against all homosexual relations. That’s exactly why I object to saying that there’s a prohibition against gay marriage. I see all of that as reading things into Baha’i writings that aren’t there, under the influence of prejudices and political propaganda.against gays.

You actually seem to be saying Baha’i write rules for all of making. Not just for its followers,,
 

Darkforbid

Well-Known Member
That isn’t what I was thinking in that post, but I do think that the laws given by Bahá’u’lláh are for all the people of the world.

Thanks for the link above: I which you say you've been a Baha’i member for 10 year. Or is it 50 years like you've also claimed
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
I accidentally drifted away from what I wanted to discuss in this thread, which is some common interests and activities of some Baha’i communities around the world. I’ve been saying thousands of communities. I didn’t think that there would be any controversy about that, but maybe there is. If anyone wants to know my reasons for thinking that it’s thousands, I’ll explain them.
- Working with neighbors to help build a healthier, happier, more loving community life.
- Economic and social development revolving around continual self improvement, with continually growing love for all of nature including all people everywhere.
- Systematic training for those purposes, for people of all ages.

I also wanted to point out that beliefs about all religious, political and social issues range as widely in the community as they do in all the rest of society. That can easily be verified with some research on the Internet, for example with a Web search using the words “gay” and “Baha’i.”
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
I’ve changed my mind about discussing the training in detail. I’ll just make a few comments about it. It does include a lot of indoctrination, including indoctrination into beliefs about life after death, about God, and about prophets including Baha’i prophets. Part of it though, is training in spiritual growth and community service. The first practices in community service are in helping with the Baha’i training, but later it expands into all kinds of service in the larger community.
 
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