From: McKenny Michael <bn872@FreeNet.Carleton.CA>
Subject: Re: Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedom of Conscience
Date: Saturday, February 13, 1999 7:26 AM
Greetings, Pat, from Ottawa.
Many thanks for your comments.
Pat, if everyone in the Baha'i Faith really behaved as you say you do,
there would be no trouble at all in the religion at a personal level. In
my opinion, you are doing precisely what Baha'u'llah asked all his
followeres to do.
You say that if Baha'u'llah wrote that Baha'is are to recite 95 times
a day the greatest name that's what you do, and here you are telling us
about it, and anyone who understands this passage otherwise than you do
is free to have and to share and to act upon this other understanding.
What has happened, at least in North America, as posts to Baha'i cyber-
space indicated (though I hope experience has been beneficial and the
relatively flame free nature of this newsgroup will continue forever) is
that some prominent Baha'is, I mean by reputation or rank, thought they
had a right, even a duty, to tell others these others had to believe
everything according to the literal meaning of the words, even taken out
of the context of the larger writing from which the passage appeared and
the wider context of just where, when and to whom this passage had been
written.
This insistence that others believe and express only the literal
interpretation went from such extremes of idiocy as taking Baha'u'llah's
remarks to a Persian that there are no detailed histories prior to the time
of Alexander the Great, true, it seems, if we are speaking of works written
in Old Persian, as tossing into a black hole the books on my shelf that
were written by Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenephon to the awesome item
which sparked the entire cyberspace Baha'i saga of Michael McKenny, the
most blatant violation of essential Baha'i principle, the censoring of
the Service of Women Paper and the whole anti-liberal response to it,
rather than acknowledging the necessary eligibility of women to serve on
the Universal House of Justice.
It is not plain reading that makes a world religion a cult. And, my
very biting remarks at times about such plain reading impel me to seek to
make the distinction crystal clear. It is the expectation that everyone
else has to possess and practise such plain reading. In addition, at the
most essential level, if it is plain reading rather than the fundamental,
the basic, the elementry principles of the religion that officials seek
to impose, in that case, this plain reading is diverting the religion
from the high road of a world religion into the ditch of being a cult.
Baha'i liberals will likely be where they belong when the essential
principles of the Baha'i Faith are practised.
I cannot maintain this pace. I do have a life outside this newsgroup.
I do, indeed, have my trees, as you put it. However, if, to an extent, I
return to what I would personally prefer to be doing, this is not a cause
for complacency or relief on the part of those high officials whose real
duty is to live their Baha'i life as you tell me you are doing, and hats
off to you for living the life. I mean, if they wish, by all means, being
able to read plainly, only not imposing such plain reading on anyone who
reads otherwise, and not forcing the broad-minded and progressive movement
revealed by Baha'u'llah to violate the essential principles, with which he
endowed it.
My perception is that by circumstance this particular articulate
person was one of the first to venture into Baha'i cyberspace and learn
the lay of the land within the Faith at its higher levels. As openness
increases more and more will the knowledge of what is be available to
anyone, including the naturally large number of those who know there's
a problem with the practise of essential principles. May they soon see
the re-vitalization of the religion, may they soon witness the practise
of essential Baha'i principle, may they soon behold the justly esteemed
leaders of the Baha'i religion guiding a world religion. Otherwise, some
of these, not because I'm party to any nefarious plot, but simply as the
reasonable response of decent human beings completely unknown to me, will
arise to cry out, "Hey, that's not proper..."
Pat, in my opinion, you've demonstrated a real strength in the Baha'i
Faith. I hope life treats you very well, I hope the religion you're a part
of does really well, while your alive to see it, and whatever the
specifics of the life to come, may you be very happy there, as well.
All the Best,
Michael
>
> I accept Bahá'u'lláh's writings as they are written. In many cases, what is
> written is symbolic. In many cases what is written has a plain and clear
> meaning and this is the first valid meaning I draw from it. Where
> Bahá'u'lláh tells me to recite the Greatest Name 95 times as day, I read that
> as something for me to do. It is not my job to beat the friends up over
> this; the text does not encourge me to act as a shepherd or pastor. If _you_
--
"My name's McKenny, Mike McKenny, Warrant Officer, Solar Guard."
(Tom Corbett #1 STAND BY FOR MARS p2)
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