• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

How are these Great Beings explained?

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
What? Passive sarcasm?

Everything you are reading, are written (well, typed) words.

Can you practice your religion without your theology?

Then it is agreed the written word is required to educate Humanity. Be it for Faith or any other pursuit in life, we must learn and learning is recorded for future benefit of others. :)

Regards Tony
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Yes as no Baha'i has any knowledge of worth that is from their own selves.

It is the Teachings of Baha'u'llah and that is important to know.

Regards Tony
 
Last edited:

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Can you practice your religion without your theology?

Yes and No -

Yes if I was 100% aware of my True Self, as that would encompass all the Theology, and

No as God has Given His Word in written form as He knows we will struggle to acheive that aim.

The more we learn of our selves the more this verse has meaning "The good deeds of the righteous are the sins of the Near Ones. This is established." (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 126)

Regards Tony
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Again the Written Word is more than Logical. You talk via the Net because of this. Where did the Surgeon learn of their Trade? How did Medicine get better and better?

My comment was in regard to the psychological NEED some people have for a holy book, a prophet, etc. You distorted it into something else altogether. But I'm getting use to distortion. It seems to be a theme somehow. I'm with Carlita in wondering whether or not some folks even read what we write, as there always seems to be huge misunderstandings.

Needing a surgeon was just an analogy. So I'll use a different one. Thinking all people NEED a prophet or a book because you personally do, is like thinking all people suddenly NEED to use the washroom because you do.

It's called projection. Just to explain in more simple words, so that 'projection' isn't distorted into something like movies on a screen or something else totally unrelated.

Projection of ideas onto others means that you think other people should thing the same way you do. Do you understand now?

Nearly 7 billion people don't NEED the words of your prophet.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
So is the Lover of a Name greater than the Lover of the Spirit behind the Name?

Regards Tony
I have absolutely no idea what this is supposed to mean. It's nonsense to me, all this capitalisation.

Does Nameless the Great Finger Man from Mars create the Universe after the Sun shines?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Yes and No -

Yes if I was 100% aware of my True Self, as that would encompass all the Theology, and

No as God has Given His Word in written form as He knows we will struggle to acheive that aim.

The more we learn of our selves the more this verse has meaning "The good deeds of the righteous are the sins of the Near Ones. This is established." (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 126)

Regards Tony

Now that is something I don't internally get when it comes to a book. It's like saying you can't exist without a book to define your life.

When there were no books and no one could write, they didn't sit in their rooms, look at the wall, and say they are spiritually dead. Their spirituality was in their deeds.

I mean, I remember hearing the modern generations are becoming lazier and lazier. It's true, because they depend on everything else to do their work rather than doing it themselves. Children to their video games is like adults to their sacred books.

Yet, when there were no books and people couldn't write, people worked in service and that was their spirituality. If we can only get back to that.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
So is the Lover of a Name greater than the Lover of the Spirit behind the Name?

Regards Tony

The Spirit behind the name means more than the name itself. Get rid of the name, and focus on the spirit. (keep reading before you agree)

The practice behind the words of the sutta are more important than the written suttas themselves. Get rid of the written suttas, and focus on the practice.

The practice behind jesus words are more important than the actual written hebrew and NT scriptures. Get rid of the bible, and focus on the practice of being christian with other people of like mind-that is the bible. Not written words.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
My comment was in regard to the psychological NEED some people have for a holy book, a prophet, etc. You distorted it into something else altogether. But I'm getting use to distortion. It seems to be a theme somehow. I'm with Carlita in wondering whether or not some folks even read what we write, as there always seems to be huge misunderstandings.

Needing a surgeon was just an analogy. So I'll use a different one. Thinking all people NEED a prophet or a book because you personally do, is like thinking all people suddenly NEED to use the washroom because you do.

It's called projection. Just to explain in more simple words, so that 'projection' isn't distorted into something like movies on a screen or something else totally unrelated.

Projection of ideas onto others means that you think other people should thing the same way you do. Do you understand now?

Nearly 7 billion people don't NEED the words of your prophet.

The discussion was started as it was stated in previous posts that we do not need a Book to learn and not the subject of "the psychological NEED some people have for a holy book, a prophet". I read your and Carlita's replies and give an answer suited to the questions that I understand has been asked. Take away any Religion and their Book which they learn from. Yes not all learn from those books.

How is Man Educated as a Whole, it is from Books, books that have recorded the past lessons of life?

Yes some traditions have been passed down and can be shown from the master tradesmen, but when they are gone the skills are lost. How does man solve this - Record it for the benefit future generations.

Be well be happy and at least it has been determined that Books are important to our education.

Regards Tony
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The Spirit behind the name means more than the name itself. Get rid of the name, and focus on the spirit. (keep reading before you agree)

The practice behind the words of the sutta are more important than the written suttas themselves. Get rid of the written suttas, and focus on the practice.

The practice behind jesus words are more important than the actual written hebrew and NT scriptures. Get rid of the bible, and focus on the practice of being christian with other people of like mind-that is the bible. Not written words.

Ha ha this is what we are saying "and focus on the spirit".

We just acknowledge the Dawning Points of that Spirit and that to learn what is needed to practice is recorded in a book.

Regards Tony
 

loverofhumanity

We are all the leaves of one tree
Premium Member
So when those people asked him his age, and he said, 'Discuss it, and decide for yourselves.' that was wisdom? How exactly is that wisdom? A much more intelligent answer would have just been, "I'm 42."

It's His Wisdom and the wisdom of His Teachings which has made the Baha'i Faith the only religion amongst all of the worlds major religions that has not been involved in any major conflict or wars.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
I understand your points fully. I just have a different opinion.

That's laughable actually. Again ... saying you understand something and understanding them are often two different things. You have proven time and again that you simply don't understand our points.

People cannot understand a paradigm from outside the paradigm. I remember one time talking to a male with a huge ego. When I said. "You can't possibly understand what its like to be a woman and have a baby,' he responded, "Oh but I do understand that."

So we have different understandings of the term 'understanding'. Do you understand that? Or perhaps you, like my ego-enhanced acquaintance. also understand what it's like to be a woman and have a baby?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Ha ha this is what we are saying "and focus on the spirit".

We just acknowledge the Dawning Points of that Spirit and that to learn what is needed to practice is recorded in a book.

Regards Tony

I won't say you didn't read what I said. I knew you were going to agree, that's why I gave different examples that your perspective is different and not the same as half the other world's.

You do not need Bahaullah's words at all.

You just need god.

That is the point. Spirit over words. Not words over spirit.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
It's His Wisdom and the wisdom of His Teachings which has made the Baha'i Faith the only religion amongst all of the worlds major religions that has not been involved in any major conflict or wars.

And yet there are letters to the House of Justice about how to deal with incest in a Baha'i' home.

Baha'i' is also not a major religion at all. That's just a goal of Baha'i' that has yet to happen. It's a faith. There are many sects and groups within Hinduism and Buddhism that haven't been involved in wars. Many Eastern Orthodox sects like the Doukhabours in Canada were and still are conscientious objectors to war, refusing to enlist through both world wars.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Yes some traditions have been passed down and can be shown from the master tradesmen, but when they are gone the skills are lost.

Many Hindu sampradayas still function entirely on the oral tradition, and the skills are not lost because a successor is always appointed. But you wouldn't be expected to know that, as you don't know much about Hinduism at all.
 
Top