Opinion

Entries arguing a particular point of view

Discussion on Reddit Bahai (Killer Robot Calamity)

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I think you're right, but missing a key element. The Ruhi Institute is also integral to the Administrative Order. I've given a few talks to youth about this, which I refer to as my "Killer Robots from Outer Space" talk.

Moving the friends through the sequence of courses prepares them for an event of catastrophic nature (such as killer robots from outer space). When the killer robots come and decimate humanity, we will need to do several things. One is to arrange devotional gatherings, so that we can pray to God together, our only refuge in difficult times. Two is to do home visits. We will need to go to our neighbors to make sure they're okay. Three will be to be able to teach children's classes because the killer robots have burned down the schools. Four is to be able to animate the junior youth, because they're surrounded by all this death and they have a choice - to be a part of the problem (become overseers within the Robotic Army and Binary Cult), or a part of the solution (Baha'i World Commonwealth.)

{josquote}I, for one, welcome our killer robot overlords.{/josquote}

The themes of the books include having a good understanding of life after death, because there will be LOTS of death (killer being the operative term in killer robots.) It is essential to know about Twin Manifestations, the Writings of the Bab and Baha'u'llah being the source of this Revelation that allows us to rebuild society. Memorization of the included verses is also important, because of course the killer robots have destroyed our libraries along with the schools. Teaching the Cause is essential to bringing people to commit themselves to Baha'u'llah. Walking together on a path of service allows the cycle to continue, training these people to now become a Mobile Ruhi Command Unit and traverse the wasteland to serve the few survivors you find along the way. You yourself need to understand the Covenant (lest you think you're the Messiah with the way people come to you for help) and a Historical Perspective, to know where mankind is going you need to know where its been, and all the mistakes that were made along the way.

Everyone needs to get on board with the Ruhi Institute. Pronto. Before the Killer Robots come.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/bahai/comments/3eoz4s/question_about_a_particular_quote/cth3tkz

It’s not our fault! Religion made us do it!

I have come to believe, through long experience, that once we’ve categorized and labeled someone—telling ourselves that all atheists, or all theists or all blacks or all Muslims or all Jews etc. are this or that way—we’ve essentially dismissed them. It becomes easy not to deal with them as individuals, but rather as religious individuals, or black individuals, or liberal or conservative or whatever label we apply. The moment we pop someone into a category or apply a profile to them, we establish expectations for their behavior and thoughts, and filter what they say and do through that expectation, which makes it virtually impossible to see the real person behind the category. Why? Because we simply dismiss any information that does not fulfill our expectation.

In the dialogue I held with one particular correspondent, the original question was whether there was anything good about faith or religion that we should preserve as we aimed to get rid of destructive dogma. When I came up with a laundry list of positives about religion, my correspondent immediately set about psychoanalyzing me. My perception that there was anything positive about religion was the result of my peculiar psychology—my “religious mindset”—which was, he claimed, common to all religious types.

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"I'm a Baha'i" "So?"

{josquote}It is because of such people who are so obviously out of touch with the effectiveness of religion, and its application in daily life, that many are turned off altogether with anything that has to do with religion.{/josquote}

Have you ever noticed how a lot of people share things about themselves that you really could care less about? Or, in some cases, would rather not know? I mean, I generally am not concerned if they consider themselves an alcoholic, or what their sexual preference is, or whatever. Neither of these really tell me much about the person in question, and is often none of my business. I mean, if I'm making them dinner, and they tell me that they follow the laws of Koshrut or Halal, fine, or not to put in alcohol because they're an alcoholic, ok. But really, this should not be the start of a conversation with a stranger. If it is, then it tells me that they're more interested in themselves, and not really interested in a conversation with me. They have their own agenda. And yes, I know that's not always the case, but more often than not, it is. And so I have little interest in any of this until somewhere in the middle of a conversation, when you know that it is a point or topic that will actually interest me, or be of relevance to our relationship. That's rant number one.

Now for rant number two. Have you ever noticed how a few Baha'is (not you, I'm sure, dear Reader) think that the most important thing they can do is mention the word "Baha'i"? If you ask them how their day went, they will say something like, "I was able to tell five people on the bus today that I am a Baha'i."

"Woo hoo. Good for you", I think sarcastically.

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Israel: World Center for Three Great Faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Bahaism

Any mention of Israel by the media as “The Holy Land” almost always entails a colossal verbiage of trite conventional wisdom replete with accolades to the three great monotheistic "Abrahamic religions," Judaism, Christianity and Islam that all regard it as their world center. This is simply patently false, elevating Islam’s regard for Jerusalem (not mentioned by name even once in the Koran compared to more than 800 times in the Old Testament) and ignoring the continued and historic presence of the Bahai faith in Haifa and Acre, places of pilgrimage and universal inspiration for the world’s five million Bahais.

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Baha'i

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