95 Theses of the
Reform Bahai Faith
in French
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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
20,000 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
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 may
associate 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.
FG
95 Theses of the Reform Bahai Faith
www.ReformBahai.org
August 19, 2004