Syncretic?

[Breathe]

I think that if I wasn't a theist, I might have followed Buddhism. I like the philosophies of Buddhism and I have had a lot of friends who followed it. Hinduism seems to also have a few of the same kinds of philosophies as well. There is a lot of wisdom in the philosophies of Dharmic religions- I prize wisdom very highly, and I hope someday to possess it.

That's one of the benefits of being on a religious forum I guess.

 

[BruceDLimber]

[T]he Baha'i Faith can not even allow those who are against the Universal House of Justice to be called "Baha'is."

A Baha'i is someone who endeavors to follow and obey the Baha'i Covenant, which is an explicit part of our scriptues!

Anyone who does NOT do this isn't a Baha'i no matter WHAT name is used!

Baha'is who are faithful to the Universal House of Justice strictly are told not to participate in former places of worship of the former religions because they are 'former' dispensations.

Sigh.

Yet another lie.

Why is the Big Lie Technique so popular with you?! :-(

The Baha'i scriptures explicitly state:

"Consort with the follower of all religions with friendliness and fellowship,"
and attendance at their churches and ceremonies is perfectly OK!!

They are also forbidden to partake in world politics, be part of politics, and are not to celebrate other religious holy days such as Vaisakhi or Christmas. Only Baha'i Holy Days are to be followed and implemented, and all these things are found in the Lights of Guidance.

Grossly wrong again.

We avoid partisam politics (not politics generically) because partisanship operates via a "divide and conquer" technique that is exactly opposite our stress on fostering unity.

And Baha'is are perfectly free to celebrate other religions' holy days with the followers of those religions!

This is getting to the point where if we simply REVERSE whatever you say, we'll be a whole lot closer to the truth! :-(

Bruce

 

[Gaura Priya]

A Baha'i is someone who endeavors to follow and obey the Baha'i Covenant, which is an explicit part of our scriptues!

Anyone who does NOT do this isn't a Baha'i no matter WHAT name is used!

The Baha'i Faith was never truly organised in this way. Besides, you can never ever prove that Baha'u'llah has installed the Universal House of Justice. The Covenant of Baha'u'llah is centered, or at least should be centered, on His authority alone, and not of the 'Guardians' or the Universal House of Justice.

You can not copyright a concept such as the Baha'i Faith or being a Baha'i.

Sigh.

Yet another lie.

Why is the Big Lie Technique so popular with you?! :-(

The Baha'i scriptures explicitly state:

"Consort with the follower of all religions with friendliness and fellowship,"
and attendance at their churches and ceremonies is perfectly OK!!

I used to BE a Baha'i, Bruce. This is not a surprise to me. We were explicitly told in my community to try to disassociate ourselves with the holy days of the former dispensations as much as possible and make Ayyam-i-Ha most accomodating for the children. These passages from the Lights of Guidance prove my point, and my personal experiences should also be taken into consideration instead of being called a downright lier.

531. We Must Have the Courage of Our Convictions

"...No Bahá'í can any longer dissimulate his faith and practise the laws and ordinances of a previous dispensation and call himself at the same time a believer. No compromise, no vacillation can any longer be tolerated. We must have the courage of our convictions and preserve the integrity of our glorious Cause...."

(Postscript by the Guardian to a letter written on his behalf to an individual believer, May 21, 1933)

1029. Celebration of the Christian Holidays Among the Bahá'ís Should Be Discontinued

"As regards the celebration of the Christian Holidays by the believers: It is surely preferable and even highly advisable that the friends should in their relation to each other discontinue observing such holidays as Christmas and New Years, and to have their festal gatherings of this nature instead during the intercalary days and Naw-Ruz."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 19, 1938)

Grossly wrong again.

We avoid partisam politics (not politics generically) because partisanship operates via a "divide and conquer" technique that is exactly opposite our stress on fostering unity.

And Baha'is are perfectly free to celebrate other religions' holy days with the followers of those religions!

This is getting to the point where if we simply REVERSE whatever you say, we'll be a whole lot closer to the truth! :-(

Bruce

And where are the Entry by Troops, my friend? World unity is not a Utopian vision like Baha'is see it. One's involvement with politics have been integral for the rights and freedoms of others, such as the emancipation of women, interracial marriages, etc. Since God works in such ways, it only makes sense that the hand of God was in their midst.

 

[BruceDLimber]

As usual, you're ignoring the nuances of what I said.

Yes, Baha'is are discuraged from celebrating days such as Christmas on their own but remain free to join others in their celebrations of them, just as I said. Ditto my statements on other points as well.

But since you're so bound and determined to attack the Baha'i Faith at every turn regardless, I see no point in continuing this discussion.

 

[Twig pentagram]

Autotheistic / Pantheistic / Humanist / Agnostic.

 

[Gaura Priya]

As usual, you're ignoring the nuances of what I said.

Yes, Baha'is are discuraged from celebrating days such as Christmas on their own but remain free to join others in their celebrations of them, just as I said. Ditto my statements on other points as well.

But since you're so bound and determined to attack the Baha'i Faith at every turn regardless, I see no point in continuing this discussion.

I'm not attacking the Baha'i Faith. Just your faith in the institution instead of Baha'u'llah.

Besides, I try not to call people 'liers' especially when I've never met them in real life. I personally try to be honest in all my endeavours. I was told in my Baha'i community's LSA to do our best not to participate in any religious holidays except Baha'i ones, and if it causes strong rifts with non-Baha'i families. Otherwise, a Baha'i must strive to not participate in holy days of the past dispensations.

"Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness progress and success in all the worlds of God are impossible for any soul."
-- 'Abdu'l-Baha

 

[Antiochian]

In the Religious Adherents Poll I asked what religious belief system you subscribed to and it turned out that many wanted it to be a multiple choice poll rather than single choice. So I want to know how many of you are Syncretic, ie subscribe to multiple belief systems. The debate is naturally, is it good or bad to pull from multiple belief systems? My brother says religion shouldn't be a salad bar where you can pick and chose. I say hes wrong, about this and most other things too.

I'm UU and a 1st degree initiate of Wicca (there are 3 degrees in most sects). I'm also interested in Spiritualism, Vodou, Santeria, Native American religion, Buddhism, and Druidism, among other creeds. To those who say you must be one thing or nothing, I say, imagine having to choose only one color to paint with. How dull! My goodness, Christianity itself is a blend of Judaism, Paganism, and Zoroastrianism. Now what's that about salad bars?

I will say some combinations may work better than others. I thought for a while I could be a Christian and a Pagan. I went to Anglican mass, and did my Pagan thing, but that didn't last long. The 10 Commandments and witchcraft just don't work that well together. I still go to Anglican churches sometimes, but I decided joining was out of the question.

 

[ratikala]

this is a very interesting question ,

to which I would have to say yes ,
having first had training in buddhism , followed by vaisnavism , which fortunately for me dovetail very nicely (being both so closely related )

I'm syncretic.

I think syncretism is good - if done well. It can be easy to screw up and make ugly, but if you can do it well, it's damn beautiful.

so I must agree with odion , as he says it is not easy , it requires an open mind and heart , and a lot of patience and descrimination ot see the points in common rather than to focus on the differences . then when you see the same truth from different angles or veiw points , yes , yes , astoundingly beautifull

A significant chunk of people are. Nepalis are often Hindu and Buddhist. Japanese Shinto and Buddhist. Chinese Taoist/Shenist, and Buddhist, often with Confucian elements. Many people are Hindu and Sikh, or even Hindu and Muslim.

jai ,

and each tradition having a particular quality ,

and for us as outsiders to these traditions the question is can we ever be truely a part of a foriegn mind set as it is culturaly different ?

in many ways yes , but in some no !

so we adopt aspects which resonate with our minds .

and if you look carefully at the list above one can see how neighbouring cultures have influenced oneanother , and in the process of time these seemingly defined and fixed religions are rather more fluid and have a natural syncretism of their own .

so yes , I like this thought ,

yes , for some people it is easier , better for them to stick ridgedly to one system , but for another , if you can handle the self dicipline needed , and the sonetimes beeing allone to work it out , then yes , astoundingly beautifull

jai ho ! :namaste ratikala