> > What I have trouble with is your minimalizing what Mark Foster
> > correctly describes as an issue related to submission to God's will.
>
> Unless I misread you, it *seems* to me you are saying I should have
copie
d
> you in my answer to Mark.
Huh? Where did you get that impression? The thought hadn't even
occurred to me. All of these postings appear to me on the same thread
in my email, whether they are sent to me privately or posted on the
list. I don't see that you answered the post I'm referring to, but it
wouldn't matter if you did. I still agree with it.
Your complaining about my remarks getting personal. Let me remind you
that you yourself dragged me into this discussion by mentioning me by
name and ascribing to me ideas which I had never expressed. If you are
going to use me as your strawman then you had better be prepared for
the consequences.
> Please provide me with a list of the works of 'Abdu'l-Baha that you will
> accept.
Are you asking which of Abdu'l-Baha's Writings are authoritative? The
ones He actually wrote, not the talks He gave. Surely you are capable
of distingui****ng between these on your own?
In the mean time, if you can accept that the words of Baha'u'llah
> can be considered in the context of His Covenant, consider if the
followi
ng
> quote says something more than "just be... a good person".
>
> "Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the
> trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly
face.
Be
> a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the
cry
of
> the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy
> judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all
> meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy
to
> the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an
> upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and
> uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a
bal
m
> to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the
> blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament
to
> the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of
th
e
> temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an
ensi
gn
> of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew
to
> the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in
t
he
> heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a ****ning light in the
> firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."
> (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 93)
That particular quote is something Baha'u'llah wrote for His own son
and I would pace it under the category of a Prince's Mirror. But it
doesn't really have that much to do with the Covenant. If you are
looking for Writings with covenental significance I would suggest you
consider the following:
The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is
the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of
His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who
representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His
Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this
duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived
thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of
every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who
reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of
transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him
Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are
inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.
Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of
Divine inspiration.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 19)
And now, meditate upon these words, which diffuse the breath of
despair, in His sorrowful invocation unto God, the Lord of the worlds.
He saith: "Glorified art Thou, O My God! Bear Thou witness that,
through this Book, I have covenanted with all created things
concerning the Mission of Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest, ere the
covenant concerning Mine own Mission had been established. Sufficient
witness art Thou and they that have believed in Thy signs. Thou,
verily, sufficest Me. In Thee have I placed My trust, and Thou,
verily, takest count of all things."
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 159)
Behold how the people, as a result of the verdict pronounced by the
divines of His age, have cast 57 Abraham, the Friend of God, into
fire; how Moses, He Who held converse with the Almighty, was denounced
as liar and slanderer. Reflect how Jesus, the Spirit of God, was,
notwithstanding His extreme meekness and perfect tender-heartedness,
treated by His enemies. So fierce was the opposition which He, the
Essence of Being and Lord of the visible and invisible, had to face,
that He had nowhere to lay His head. He wandered continually from
place to place, deprived of a permanent abode. Ponder that which
befell Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, may the life of all else be
a sacrifice unto Him. How severe the afflictions which the leaders of
the Jewish people and of the idol-wor****pers caused to rain upon Him,
Who is the sovereign Lord of all, in consequence of His proclamation
of the unity of God and of the truth of His Message! By the
righteousness of My Cause! My Pen groaneth, and all created things
weep with a great weeping, as a result of the woes He suffered at the
hands of them that have broken the Covenant of God, violated His
Testament, rejected His proofs, and disputed His signs. Thus recount
We unto thee the tale of that which happened in days past, haply thou
mayest comprehend.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 56)
And when after the lapse of a few years the heaven of Divine decree
was cleft asunder, and the Beauty of the B=E1b appeared in the clouds of
the names of God, arrayed in a new raiment, these same people
maliciously rose up against Him, Whose light embraceth all created
things. They broke His Covenant, rejected His truth, contended with
Him, caviled at His signs, treated His testimony as falsehood, and
joined the company of the infidels. Eventually, they determined to
take away His life. Such is the state of them who are in a far-gone
error!
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 147)
O My servants! There ****neth nothing else in Mine heart except the
unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth
proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God
hath revealed. Follow not, therefore, your earthly desires, and
violate not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him. With
firm determination, with the whole affection of your heart, and with
the full force of your words, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the
ways of the foolish.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 328)
They whom God hath endued with insight will
readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God
constitute the highest means for the maintenance of
order in the world and the security of its peoples. He
that turneth away from them is accounted among the
abject and foolish. We, verily, have commanded you to
refuse the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt 20
desires, and not to transgress the bounds which the Pen
of the Most High hath fixed, for these are the breath of
life unto all created things. The seas of Divine wisdom
and Divine utterance have risen under the breath of the
breeze of the All-Merciful. Hasten to drink your fill, O
men of understanding! They that have violated the
Covenant of God by breaking His commandments, and
have turned back on their heels, these have erred
grievously in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the
Most High.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 19)
Recite ye the verses of God every morn and
eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been
faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament,
and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this
Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned
away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and
all.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 73)
Ultimately, it seems to me the Covenant is about the acceptance of the
authority of revelation which by extension involves the authority of
all the Central Figures as well as the administrative institution. It
cannot be reduced to simply the acquisition of good qualities.
warmest, Susan
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