tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post4275105294138263329..comments2023-12-15T21:49:46.651+01:00Comments on Pluralist Speaks: Rounding Up: The Opposition GrowsPluralist (Adrian Worsfold)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01922153724523820866noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-32541612433257876572010-07-04T08:37:50.467+02:002010-07-04T08:37:50.467+02:00Adrian,
Regarding Bahaullah, I think what he repr...Adrian,<br /><br />Regarding Bahaullah, I think what he represents -- far and above his claim to be a "Manifestation of God," which IMO is only of minimal importance -- is the potential of Islamic-based spirituality to be universalized and reformed to be compatible with a modern global civilization.<br /><br />Bahaullah came from fundamentalist Muslim origins but became a religious liberal by the standards of his time. Even today, many of the core ideas he taught would seem liberal or even radical in comparison with the typical beliefs of the Muslim world: e.g. the idea that Sharia law can be changed rather than remaining fixed according to Quran and Hadith, abolition of the concept of holy war, promotion of parliamentary democracy as the divinely ordained form of government, and an emphasis on international institutions and peacemaking. He also believed in elevating the status of women and moved away from the ferocious opposition to homosexuality found in previous Abrahamic religious traditions.<br /><br />Basically, I think Bahaullah can be taken to represent an Islamic version of the same progressive impulse that in the Western Christian world led to Unitarian Universalism. What the mainstream Baha'is have done with Bahaullah is another matter, sadly.Eric Stetsonhttp://www.bahai-faith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-25226677606375782612010-06-09T10:48:41.167+02:002010-06-09T10:48:41.167+02:00But he does wear a purple cassock, and that pictur...But he does wear a purple cassock, and that picture could be of a cassock.<br /><br />Unfortunately he doesn't have it laundered frequently enough. Odour of sanctity, anyone?Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06534842755063770798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-70422553691803566532010-06-09T07:38:05.516+02:002010-06-09T07:38:05.516+02:00Not a bad drawing, but Rowan Williams never wears ...Not a bad drawing, but Rowan Williams never wears a purple shirt. Not ever. <br /><br />And oddly, shortly after his appointment, a good number of English bishops began to adopt black as well ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-45058387520880815202010-06-07T07:08:16.889+02:002010-06-07T07:08:16.889+02:00I keep my ear to the ground on Unitarian Bahais. I...I keep my ear to the ground on Unitarian Bahais. I think the concept needs a critical review, that's to say I support it as against the Haifa exclusivism but I wonder what precisely Bahaullah represents outside claims that he is a manifestation of God for the next 1000 years.Pluralist (Adrian Worsfold)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01922153724523820866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-43049710292689334612010-06-07T04:32:04.895+02:002010-06-07T04:32:04.895+02:00'There are competing Anglicanisms now ... Will...'There are competing Anglicanisms now ... Williams's strategy is a non-Anglican innovation of centralisation.'<br /><br />Excellent points.<br /><br />Competing Anglicanisms ... and competing Baha'isms! I'm now a Unitarian Baha'i but I knew Fred Hiltz over twenty years ago: we all knew he was 'bishop material' even then! A wonderful man. If only he could be the next Cantuar!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com