Word: baha
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Baha'i as a faith, in fitting with its humanitarian tone, is unencumbered by the ceremony and rituals that drove Porter from his original religion. The only exercise expected of an active believer consists of attending a feast once every 19 days--the length of the Baha'i month. Feasts subsume social, devotional and business functions, with scripture reading and discussion of local and international Baha'i news taking up much of the meetings. At Harvard, the handful of Baha'is also gathered informally each week this spring in the rooms of members. No paid clergy officiate at these...
Mastering Baha'i doctrines does not come quickly. Porter said, only half in jest, that it would take him about six weeks to do justice to the teachings. At its core, the religion claims that God is a living being who cares about human affairs and makes his will known at intervals through Prophets. The founder of the religion, Baha'u 'Llah, began it with the premise that Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ and Mohammed all were "Manifestations of God." Every major religion is part of an organic whole, and the duty of Baha'is is to show...
Fearful Moslem authorities in 19th Century Persia did their best to stamp out Baha'u 'Llah and his camp of followers, coming close to success on a number of occasions, but the leader survived to leave half a dozen books describing the Baha'i plan before he died in 1892. The plan, in the words of an official Baha'i publication, "offers a clear pattern of world order," without invoking any "secret mystic doctrines." That plan is now overseen by an elected nine-mancouncil located in Israel which also sets policy for Baha'is in those areas neglected...
Despite the sophistication of Baha'i doctrine, the Baha'i religion has enjoyed a vast surge in followers during the past decades. Proselytizers have tripled the number of followers in South Vietnam over the past five years to 121,000, and while Harvard membership ebbs and flows, other areas of the United States are responding handsomely...
...recent issue of The American Baha'i, the religion is said to be spreading "like a hungry flame" across Carolina sharecropping districts. The message-- "Have you heard the good news? ...God has sent a new Prophet to the world... His Laws will eliminate poverty, prejudice, injustice..." --was greeted by more than four thousand converts in the first four weeks...