lunamoth said:
Anyway, the Kitab-i-Aqdas is the Most Holy Book, the book of Baha'i Laws. I heard that it was revealed only very late in the life of Baha'u'llah, and only after the friends had requested it. Is that correct?
Sassafras answered this question well about the Kitab-I-Aqdas, but I thought I would interject one little point. There is no indication that any of the works of Baha'u'llah were written because of a request of a follower. His writings flowed from His pen or, in the situation of when He dictated, from His mouth. At times, there were up to three scribes trying to keep up with his proclamations because the words flowed so fluently and eloquently from His mouth. On the other hand, there are works that were written because of requests from detractors or non-believers, such as the Katab-I-Iqan.
lunamoth said:
Do you have other books that you feel are the most important to the Baha'i Faith? Do you think they will all ever be bound into some kind of canon?
Also, would enjoy hearing you describe what you think the most important 'good news' is about the Baha'i Faith.
peace,
lunamoth
I think if you asked 10 Baha'is a question about which books are most important, you may get 10 different answers. Aside from the Kitáb-I-Aqdas, I, personally, love to immerse myself into "Gleanings From the Writings of Baha'u'llah" or more familiarly called "Gleanings". I also am fond of "The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" which is a series of proofs of Bahá’u’lláh’s claims as the most recent Manifestation, His claims of Progressive Revelations and much, much more. I would also feel it was safe to say that most Baha'is spend time daily in some sort of collection of Baha'i Prayers, written by The Bab, Baha'u'llah or 'Abdu'l-Baha.
Concerning the "Good News" of the Baha'i Faith, "hope" is truly the core essence of His message. Let me add, though, "unity" is the core message of Baha'u'llah, as "forgiveness" was the core message of Jesus of Nazareth and "law" was the core message of Moses. This is useful if you are trying to find one word to describe a religion, and is a starting point in explaining the teachings of a particular Manifestation.
This thread really got me pondering something. Please follow me on this. This is the first time I have put these thoughts down in some sort of order.
Also, keep in mind, this is a sketch, not a finished essay, carefully thought out and organized. Please bear with me.
In the first 1850 years of civilization after Christ (and I want to kind of refer to "European" or "Mediterranean" civilization) most controversy was between politics/rulers and religionists. Historically, we have been taught, that rulers made many major decision that affected their wards based on religion and changing belief systems and many religionists made many decisions based on the politics of the time. Science was not part of it, as science was masked in superstition and mysticism and integrated into both religion and politics. Much of Europe was cloaked in what we call "The Dark Ages", a time of superstition and power struggles between church and state, while Mid-eastern countries were enjoying a rebirth of civilization from the fragrant directions of Muhammad. From the 600 AD and lasting over a 100 years, the Islamic population built a society that still awes us today and influences our every civic structure that we depend on. And then this civilization, historically, darkened.
Then around the middle of the 19th century, a new fragrant wave was unleashed to Mankind and society again began to advance. In fact, the advancements we have seen in the past 150 years are beyond description. When we look at the history of mankind, we can date specific world changing inventions, such as the telescope or man controlled flight, but today, we don't even know what is being invented, it is being done so quickly. When we buy some technology today, we are not surprised to find that it is "obsolete" before we unpack it from the box.
When Darwin shared his views on the "The Origin of the Species", a line in the sand seemed to have been drawn. Controversy switched from political/religion to science/religion. Arguments from both sides have become so convoluted that neither, at some point, make any sense.
Scientists insist that it all came from a "Big Bang" which is happenstance. So their logic seems to go like this. This ordered world, which supports science and the scientific method for discovering and proving things, happened accidentally, not logically.
Religionists insist a Supreme Being created it all in 6 days; everything, including fossils, and historical evidence that would prove otherwise. So their belief system seems to say that there is no logic for the creation but only God's will, which would seem to suggest that logic and God do not go hand in hand Huh? and that God, therefore, is .....illogical...? Huh again.
Very different views and it would seem that there is nothing that can get these two together. By the way, I realize I simplified the views of both camps, so please, don't explain to me how there is more to it than I wrote. I am aware of that, but I think maybe I captured the essence.
Ok, here come my observations. Scientists state, when confronted with Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith, these principles are worthy of study and in some cases implementation, but Baha'u'llah could not be delivering a message from God, because God doesn't exist. Everything is happenstance, so there is no Divine Ruler and Baha'u'llah is therefore not a Messenger of God.
Religionists, when confronted with Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith, also state these principles are worthy of study and in some cases implementation, but Baha'u'llah could not be delivering a message from God, because the Founder of their Religion is the only Messenger of God. He is exclusive to truth. Everything that comes from Baha'u'llah must be happenstance, as He is not who He claims to be. They may state, "I would know, because God would have told me or my minister, at least."
So it seems that the religionists and the scientists have finally united in one campaign; they both believe that Baha'u'llah and His message is no more than a bunch of curious espousals that may have validity, but if these espousals do have validity, then it would be no more than happenstance and not God's will.
There, finally LunaMoth, I have shared with you my feeling of what the Good News is. It is HOPE. It is knowledge that God has a plan and that He hasn't forgotten us and I also shared with you how the world has accepted this Messenger of Hope.
Mick
