Can I stay a Baha'i and also be a member of the Nazarenes? What if my Baha'i friend finds out? She'll stop visiting me.

I'm having my friendly visit with Linda, the older woman who is disabled and lives alone. We have just settled into the "comfortable chairs"--two big, green, puffy chairs that you sink into when you sit down. We're talking about religion. I had discovered several visits ago that I could talk religion with Linda and not worry about offending her. I'm agnostic, and though she believes in God, she hasn't found a religion that's stuck.

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The current Universal House of Justice and many Bahais use the quotes from secretaries of Shoghi Effendi to justify opposition to same sex relationships as the Bahai way. But I've always been curious about one such letter written in the 1950's. It's as follows:

Regarding the question you asked him about one of the believers who seems to be flagrantly homosexual-- although to a certain extent we must be forbearing in the matter of people's moral conduct because of the terrible deterioration of society in general, this does not mean that we can put up indefinitely with conduct that is disgracing the Cause. This person should have it brought to his attention that such acts are condemned by Bahá'u'lláh, and that he must mend his ways, if necessary consult doctors and make efforts to overcome this affliction, which is corruptive for him and bad for the Cause. If after a period of probation you do not see an improvement, he should have his voting rights taken away.

Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi,
letter dated 6/20/53 to NSA of Canada.

I have to wonder, what happened to this flagrantly gay Bahai in Canada back in 1953. Did he just leave the Faith? Did he have his voting rights removed? Did he pretend that he was now straight so he could remain in the community? Or worse, did he actually listen to this advice? That is what scares me. It is so immoral and irresposible for a the head of a world religion that claims to be the voice of God on earth today, to offer such a quote as an eternal truth -- as God's word. Did the UHJ, or any Bahai for that matter, stop and think -- what happened to this guy? Let's assume he actually went to a "competent doctor" in his day to overcome his homosexuality. Would you all like to know what some of the prescriptions were in those days in the West to help gays get over their sickness of being gay? Here are just some I'd like to share:

• Electric shock therapy (one of the most common treatments)
• Oestrogen treatment to reduce libido; and other methods such as chemical castration
• Injections of apomorphine which could have serious side effects
• And worse case scenario, if the individual was desperate, a lobotomy

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I would like to respond to some notes I’ve read recently from a presentation given at the Vancouver conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies (ABS). The ABS invited Ms. Lynne Schreiber to present a talk on “Re-thinking Same-Sex Attraction,” and lists many Baha’i quotes on the issue of homosexuality. The list can be read here.

Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another’s ears, nor comprehend with another’s brain.

I’m particularly interested in #2 on the list, for a couple of reasons: first of all, I fail to understand how it supports her point; and secondly, it seems to contradict the statements made by the Universal House of Justice that are quoted so frequently on the list. Every quote given here from both Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice demonstrates the intolerance and hatred the Haifan Baha’i Faith has for their homosexual brothers and sisters, and the hypocrisy of the organization who preaches the unity of mankind and the elimination of prejudice, while perpetuating the outdated and prejudiced view that homosexuality is a disease which must be cured.

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THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

He was not to return to the Holy Land for three years.

29 August 2010

To the Baha’is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s departure one hundred years ago from Haifa for Port Said signalled the opening of a glorious new chapter in the annals of the Faith. He was not to return to the Holy Land for three years. Referring to that historic moment the Guardian would later write: “The establishment of the Faith of Baha’u'llah in the Western Hemisphere–the most outstanding achievement that will forever be associated with ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s ministry–had … set in motion such tremendous forces, and been productive of such far-reaching results, as to warrant the active and personal participation of the Centre of the Covenant Himself….” With the inauguration of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s travels to the West, the Cause of Baha’u'llah, hemmed in for more than half a century by the hosts of enmity and oppression, burst its restraints. For the first time since its inception, the recognized Head of the Faith enjoyed a freedom of action to pursue unencumbered its divinely prescribed mission.

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