A Bahai-related news and opinion aggregation site. http://bahaisonline.net Thu, 17 May 2012 22:25:59 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://bahaisonline.net/images/M_images/logo.gif http://bahaisonline.net A Bahai-related news and opinion aggregation site. http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3357&Itemid=2 As the marriage equality movement builds momentum in states across the nation, many couples are stuck in a tragic Shakespearean time warp. Like modern-day Romeos and Julians, Romitas and Juliets, binational same-sex couples are struggling for the right to simply be together. “It’s a really exciting time,” says Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality. “We’re seeing change very rapidly, but not fast enough for people that need to keep their family together today.” According to the Williams Institute, there are at least 36,000 LGBTQ families directly affected by immigration discrimination. For these families, there is currently no relief in legal marriage because the Defense Against Marriage Act bars recognition of same-sex marriages for the purpose of immigration. Full story... (http://www.pqmonthly.com/2012/05/love-in-exile-fighting-for-the-rights-of-binational-couples/) Entries - The Subject of Boys Thu, 17 May 2012 16:41:54 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3356&Itemid=2 A lot of ye heathen have a favorite phrase whenever the question of God, man and the meaning of it all comes up: "I'm not religious. I'm spiritual." Granted, ye only say this when accosted by a Jehovah's Witness or downing a Natural Light in the drowning hours of night. But good on ya anyway, fair pagans. Alas, if you truly are spiritual, and looking for a house of worship where the only person who is wrong is the one who believes he alone is right, the ol' OCeeker has a place for you, oh man of weak conviction: Baha'i Center in San Clemente. Worship tip: meditation time is a great way to fake the sacred and catch up on some sleep. Just off the 5 Freeway and next to a box of apartments, the dowdy brown building in which the Baha'i meet is home to a group of warmhearted believers in things greater than themselves, each on their own road to God, and evidently more welcoming than any sanctuary desecrated by the OCeeker's presence. Full story... (http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/05/bahai_center_san_clemente.php) Entries - Buildings Mon, 14 May 2012 16:15:11 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3355&Itemid=53 In conversation with someone, I explained that the last week or so had been heaven in that I'd had beautiful weather and I could sit outside on my porch in the sun and have a coffee and read and enjoy the trees. For me, this ritual is crucial to my wellbeing. I always feel spiritually uplifted by it and believe I am at my best spiritually when I have made time each day for it. The person I was in discussion with commented that it would be nice to do that, implying they did not have the time. I suggested giving up the rat race, to which they replied that they like the rat race. And that, I think, is the heart of the matter. We all make choices about what we want. For me, the important thing is to make time for Baha'u'llah in my life, which means not being so busy each day that I am unable to focus on the beauty he reveals. If there's noise going on inside me from my day, it's all over for an actual connection with the Boss. Full story... (http://meditationsonbahaullah.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/i-think-it-comes-down-to-choices.html) Baha'i Life - The spiritual path Sun, 13 May 2012 20:40:15 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3354&Itemid=53 Full story... (http://syrinx-karenthesyrinx.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/on-death-and-dying-and-mongrel-mob.html) Baha'i Life - Virtues Sun, 13 May 2012 20:13:13 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3353&Itemid=2 Not much is known about the Baha’i that started this food line during the Great Depression, only that he was living true to these words from the Baha’i Writings. In what ways can we be a treasure to the poor today? Full story... (http://fundamentals.bahai.us/post/19397622701/not-much-is-known-about-the-bahai-that-started) Also, see New York Breadline (http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=edit&id=2584&Itemid=2&Returnid=2) Entries - Social Action Sat, 12 May 2012 20:47:18 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3352&Itemid=2 This is another in a series of articles exploring homosexuality within the Baha’i Faith (http://bahairants.com/bahaullah-the-subject-of-boys-123.html). The first was delving into the historical and semantic context of the infamous excerpt in the Aqdas where Baha’u'llah refers reluctantly to the “subject of boys”. Unfortunately the exact practice that Baha’u'llah was referring to cryptically is still being practiced today in Afghanistan. You can watch the PBS documentary following the above link as well as find a brief update on the situation from this recent Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afganistans-dancing-boys-are-invisible-victims/2012/04/04/gIQAyreSwS_story.html) article. Full story... (http://bahairants.com/pathology-of-homosexuality-1763.html) Entries - The Subject of Boys Fri, 11 May 2012 06:47:19 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3351&Itemid=2 Dr. Farrokh Rohani always maintained his innocence, but he won’t be getting a new trial. On Tuesday, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld his conviction for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male patient. “Unlike many other sexual assault trials, this was not a case in which the judge had only the trial testimony of the complainant and the accused on which to base her decision,” wrote Chief Lance Justice Finch in his decision supported by two other judges. Rohani was the only medical doctor serving the small North Island community of Port Alice when he was arrested in August 2008, after the teenager accused him of sexual assault. Full story... (www.campbellrivermirror.com/news/151028175.html) Entries - Individuals and groups Fri, 11 May 2012 06:36:21 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3350&Itemid=2 In a recent discussion we looked at the question of growth in Baha’i communities (http://bahairants.com/is-your-bahai-community-growing-2665.html). While it may be relatively easy to calculate the size and growth rate of an individual Baha’i community from the regular annual reports which show new enrollments, resignations, and deaths, coming up with an accurate aggregate national number is not so easy. I know of no National Spiritual Assembly which shares this information in their annual reports. An alternative source is the government census data, as Steve pointed out in the comments section of that previous article. ...for the most part there has been no major decadal change in Baha’i US population, with new declarants balancing losses. In the US unfortunately we do not have access to census data because Public Law 94-521 prevents the US Census Bureau from collecting such information. So we must rely on third party or academic sources. Entries - Community and administration Wed, 09 May 2012 05:30:26 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3349&Itemid=2 In the universe next to ours, a woman emails her sister: Hey, sis, good to hear from you. Have you seen Elyse lately? I wondered if she talked to you. Did you know what's been happening at our place? You will have to tell me you are surprised. Elyse came out as straight. So our household has been in a bit of an uproar. Well, of course we are supportive. Debs and I are very conventional parents but we have always supported our daughter's choices and we will always love her no matter what. We may express concern, that's what mums do, but we will always support her. And she is a good kid, we just never saw this coming. I don't want her in some straight pigeon hole living with a bunch of people who, let's be honest here, just breed. I guess there were some signs. She never took much interest in other girls and when she was about 13 she had a crush on a male teacher, but that's no big deal, it's just experimentation. Even now at 16 I wonder if she's just playing with the idea. Like, she says down at the skating rink some of the girls like it when girls kiss guys, it makes the girls seem hot apparently. A bit of gender bending seems fashionable these days, I don't know. Full story... (http://syrinx-karenthesyrinx.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/we-will-always-love-her-no-matter-what.html) Entries - The Subject of Boys Wed, 09 May 2012 04:36:11 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3348&Itemid=2 With Ridvan comes the National Baha’i Conventions as Baha’is everywhere around the world elect their new National Spiritual Members. Due to a systematic incumbency bias, the “new” NSA’s are more than likely exactly the same as the “old” NSA. That certainly is the case in North America. Full story... (http://bahairants.com/bahais-elect-new-national-spiritual-assembly-members-2698.html) Entries - Community and administration Sun, 06 May 2012 02:33:38 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3347&Itemid=53 Happy new year! My congratulations to all my Baha’i readers for surviving another Fast. Naw-ruz was probably my favorite Baha’i holiday. I was always relieved the fasting was over. It wasn’t just the going hungry and thirsty. It was the waking up before sunrise, and the having to give up snacking (something I’m very fond of). One thing about Naw-ruz though… It seems like non-Baha’is who celebrate it have a lot more going on than the Baha’is do. It’s not just the “Seven S’s” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haft_Sin) table, which I never saw in my 9 Naw-ruzes as a Baha’i, even at Persian homes. Apparently Iranians also have this jolly fellow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haji_firouz) to spread Naw-ruz cheer. Not quite an Ayyam-i-Ha Camel, but hey. And the best part about non-Baha’i Naw-ruz is, you jump over fire. Full story... (http://bahaicatholic.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/naw-ruz-potluck-ideas/) Baha'i Life - Holy days Tue, 01 May 2012 19:37:52 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3346&Itemid=2 Does it matter if Baha’is think reparative therapy works? Here is Spitzer’s retraction and why it matters. “I believe I owe the gay community an apology for my study making unproven claims of the efficacy of reparative therapy. I also apologize to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works with some ‘highly motivated’ individuals.” Robert Spitzer. M.D. Full story... (http://justabahai.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/on-the-psychopathology-of-homosexuality/) Entries - The Subject of Boys Tue, 01 May 2012 19:27:56 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3345&Itemid=2 Building and Restoring the Baha'i House of Worship I will not look down. I'm sitting on a metal-pipe scaffold perched on a lip of roof. Behind and below me are 128 feet of perfectly clear autumn air. In front of me is some of the most intricately decorative concrete ever cast. The Sears Tower, 14 miles south, lies blue and vague on the horizon. I will not look down. In the fall of 1983, the Baha'is got serious about maintaining the temple. I am up here, just below the dome of the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, to see the concrete restoration project being undertaken there. Next to me, an unfazed Bob Joyce is holding two six-inch squares of concrete up against the wall. He's general superintendent of William Hach and Associates, the concrete restoration contractor that erected the scaffolding. It seems that one square matches the temple wall perfectly in color, the other is a perfect match in texture, so if you can imagine them together. . . . Full story... (http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-vision-in-concrete/Content?oid=871445) Entries - Buildings Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:45:13 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3344&Itemid=2 “Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence I knew My love for thee: therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.” Bahá’u'lláh, Arabic Hidden Words Alláh-u-Abhá! ...I was asked whether I wouldn’t like homosexuals anymore now. What kind of question is that? Let me just start by saying that it has been a tough week. I’ve been telling many friends that I have decided to join the world community of the Bahá’í faith and personally, I feel great about it. I have not regretted a thing; but yet, I have to stand up to prejudices and answer questions like “So, what will change about you then?” I’m not sure how to answer them, since nothing will change at all! I’ve been part of the Bahá’í community for over two years, I’ve been living it. It is only now that I’ve decided to make it official. And my friends being afraid that I might have joined some kind of sect makes me sad and insecure. Full story... (http://livingbahai.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/all-in-his-image/) Entries - The Subject of Boys Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:56:13 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3343&Itemid=2 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A religious studies class late last year at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, was unusual for two reasons. The small group of students, faculty and faithful there to hear Mormon Elder Marlin Jensen were openly troubled about the future of their church, asking hard questions. And Jensen was uncharacteristically frank in acknowledging their concerns. Did the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints know that members are "leaving in droves?" a woman asked. "We are aware," said Jensen, according to a tape recording of his unscripted remarks. "And I'm speaking of the 15 men that are above me in the hierarchy of the church. They really do know and they really care," he said. Full story... Entries - Interfaith Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:57:13 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3342&Itemid=2 Since I wrote about how Glastonbury was a kaleidoscope of shared, sacred space (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/oct/17/glastonbury-shared-sacred-spaces) the Pilgrim Reception Centre (http://www.glastonbury-pilgrim.co.uk/) in the town has estimated that there are around 70 different faith groups here – including several I've never heard of. Some of those 70 will be emerging from the sociological woodwork on 21 April, when a community ceremony to celebrate this diversity is going to be held at the Chalice Well gardens. Meeting the head of the Baha'i faith in Constantinople in the early 1900s, he became a keen adherent of that faith. The Chalice Well itself is run by a trust founded by the redoubtable Major Wellesley Tudor Pole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellesley_Tudor_Pole), (the lead singer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Tudor-Pole) of punk band Tenpole Tudor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenpole_Tudor) is a relative) the man who proposed the idea of the Silent Minute (http://www.thesilentminute.org.uk/). Originally from Weston-super-Mare, Tudor Pole was one of those stalwarts of the British Empire: an adventurous soldier with an enquiring mind. Meeting the head of the Baha'i faith in Constantinople in the early 1900s, he became a keen adherent of that faith. He served in the directorate of military intelligence in the Middle East throughout the first world war, and information received by him proved pivotal in altering plans for the war in Palestine. After the war, in collaboration with Winston Churchill, he set up the Silent Minute alongside the Lamplighter Movement (http://www.networkoflight.org/links/lamplighter6.htm) – which culminated in the establishment of Remembrance Day commemorations. The Silent Minute itself is a curiously potent idea: a "null", if you like, the absence of action. After the war, one Gestapo officer described it as a weapon that the Germans could not counter: an interesting concept in an age which prioritises speech and the flourishes of rhetoric. Full story... (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/apr/14/glastonbury-meditation) Entries - Individuals and groups Sun, 15 Apr 2012 05:55:12 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3341&Itemid=2 Given the very real possibility that the Supreme Court will overturn the Affordable Care Act, liberals are concerned that the right-wing tilt of five justices and lifelong appointments ensure a decades-long assault on the power of Congress. This is especially likely given the relative youth of the bloc’s conservative members: an average of 66 years old, when the last 10 justices to retire did so at an average age of 78. The situation brings to mind a proposal voiced most prominently by Gov. Rick Perry (http://tinyurl.com/bwedmcz) during his run for the Republican presidential nomination: judicial term limits. The idea isn’t new. High-ranking judges in all major nations, and all 50 states, are subject to age or term limits (http://tinyurl.com/6qb7rf6). The power to invalidate legislation is, in a sense, the ultimate political power, and mortals who exercise it need constraint. So why not the highest court in the land? One reason sometimes given is that Congress could not enact strict limits without amending Article III of the Constitution, which provides that justices hold office for the period of their “good behavior.” Long lives were uncommon in 1788, so the issue of prolonged service was not considered by the framers. Full story... (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/10/opinion/bring-the-justices-back-to-earth.html) Entries - Community and administration Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:39:25 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3340&Itemid=2 But there are costs to being a nation in which we’re all heretics to one another, and no religious orthodoxy commands wide support. IN American religious history, Nov. 8, 1960, is generally regarded as the date when the presidency ceased to be the exclusive property of Protestants. But for decades afterward, the election of the Catholic John F. Kennedy looked more like a temporary aberration. Post-J.F.K., many of America’s established churches went into an unexpected decline, struggling to make their message resonate in a more diverse, affluent and sexually permissive America. The country as a whole became more religiously fluid, with more church-switching, more start-up sects, more do-it-yourself forms of faith. Yet a nation that was increasingly nondenominational and postdenominational kept electing Protestants from established denominations to the White House. The six presidents elected before Kennedy’s famous breakthrough included two Baptists, an Episcopalian, a Congregationalist, a Presbyterian and a Quaker. The six presidents elected prior to Barack Obama’s 2008 victory included two Baptists, two Episcopalians, a Methodist and a Presbyterian. Jimmy Carter’s and George W. Bush’s self-identification as “born again” added a touch of theological diversity to the mix, as did losing candidates like the Greek Orthodox Michael S. Dukakis. But over all, presidential religious affiliation has been a throwback to the Eisenhower era — or even the McKinley era. That is, until now. In 2012, we finally have a presidential field whose diversity mirrors the diversity of American Christianity as a whole. Full story... (www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/opinion/sunday/douthat-in-2012-no-religious-center-is-holding.html) Entries - News Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:41:02 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3339&Itemid=2 It is deeply troubling to see the National Assembly of Canada continue to promote Hossain B. Danesh (http://bahairants.com/hossain-danesh-heavily-promoted-by-nsa-1048.html). He is provided with official Baha’i venues, promoted through official channels and presented as a leading figure to the community in the very field from which he was expelled because of sexual misconduct towards his patients. To those unfamiliar with the history, Hossain Danesh was a psychiatrist practicing in Canada as well as a long time member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada from the 1980′s to early 1990′s. He was Secretary General of the NSA for many of those years. Multiple patients brought charges of sexual misconduct against Hossain Banadaki Danesh. The result of the investigation and procedure was that in 1994 the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons along with Hossain Danesh (http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Ejrcole/bahai/1999/danesh.htm) and the victims came to an out of court agreement. This agreement resulted in Danesh being stripped of his membership in that organization as well as losing his legal rights to practice as a psychiatrist and the forfeiting of any future application for re-entry into same. As well, Danesh agreed to pay $10,000 towards the costs of therapy for the three former patients. Danesh did not admit to any of the charges as part of the out of court settlement, which is normal for these sorts of things. Full story... (http://bahairants.com/hossain-b-danesh-seminar-on-bahai-marriage-and-family-2400.html) Entries - Community and administration Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:29:46 +0100 http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3338&Itemid=2 'A Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu and a Bahá'í walk into a Synagogue' is the first production of I.F Theatre, the first and only multi-faith theatre group in London. The project was created in January 2012 by Faiths Act Fellows Charlotte Flowers and Maryam Duale in partnership with Tzedek, MagicDoor and The Central School of Speech and Drama. The group, made up of young Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians and Baha'is, have spent 12 weeks creating a play, exploring faith and extreme poverty. Full story... (http://www.eventelephant.com/interfaiththeatre) Entries - Art and Literature Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:15:39 +0100