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| Oxnard-Ventura Bahá'í |
Newsletter of the Oxnard and Ventura Bahá’í
Communities
October 2005 |
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“Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and
confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice, of tranquility and
peace cease to shine.” ~ Bahá'u'llah |
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The purpose of the Oxnard-Ventura Bahá'í News is to provide
information about the Bahá'í Faith and activities of the Bahá'í's to those who wish to learn more or attend Bahá'í devotional
gatherings. If you have comments or do not want to receive the Bahá'í News,
write PO Box 7344, Oxnard, CA 93031, call 648-1222. No donations requested or
accepted. Informational
Talks A
brief talk on a general topic about the Bahá'í Faith is followed by
discussion. A time to bring up any question in your heart about spiritual
topics. Friday, October 28th, 7:30 PM Tuman
Residence, 984-1222 Birth of the Báb Wednesday, October 19th6:00PM
Birth
of Báb Celebration Potluck Dinner, followed by Program Bring a friend/seeker to
share in our celebration! Tuman
Residence, 984-1222 Prayers and Crafts
Nights 6 pm, Thursday October 6.
We’ll say prayers at 6 pm, when we finish we’ll do crafts – bring
anything you are working on or a craft you’d like to learn.
Bring a friend who night enjoy the evening.
If you’d like, come at 5 pm with food - we’ll eat together too. Bring a friend who night enjoy the evening.
If you’d like, come at 5 pm with food - we’ll eat together too. Bahá'í Administration
The
principle of unity lies at the heart of Bahá’u’llah’s teachings. In order
for Bahá’í’s to effectively spread those teachings, they must become the
embodiments of unity. Historically, the problem of religious authority has
proven too great a burden for the followers of the world's religions, resulting
in schism after schism. |
This Covenant is a critical feature of the Bahá'í Faith,
and the Bahá'í administrative order is the chief instrument of that Covenant. In past times, the details of religious administration were
left primarily in the hands of the followers, but in this age Bahá’u’llah
Himself provided the blueprint for administration. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and
other documents, He provided for succession of authority, authorized
interpretation of the Holy Writings, and legislation on matters not covered in
the Holy Writings. Because Bahá’u’llah was the Messenger of God, the
institutions He created for these purposes must be regarded as
divinely-ordained. They did not come into being through the whims of the
followers nor did they claim authority for themselves. Rather, they were created
by Bahá’u’llah were given their authority by His explicit command. Think of what it would have meant for Christianity had
Jesus spelled out the administration for His church, and you'll have a good idea
of how important this administrative order is to Bahá’í’s. The Bahá'í administration can be thought of as being
comprised of a center of authority and two administrative "pillars",
as follows: A Center of Authority The question of authority has plagued religions throughout
human history. Bahá’u’llah resolved this by stating clearly in writing that
after His death, all Bahá’í’s should turn to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His oldest
son, for leadership and guidance. He referred to 'Abdu'l-Bahá as "the
Center of the Covenant" and made it clear that to oppose Him was to oppose
God's decree. The power to interpret the Holy Writings was given to Him and to
no one else. |
However, Bahá’u’llah had also provided for the long
term by creating two types of administrative institutions known as the
"rulers" and the "learned." The institutions of the rulers
He christened "Houses of Justice" and provided an outline for their
makeup and election. He did not provide many details about the institutions of
the learned, although He did appoint a few of His followers to act as
"Hands of the Cause of God", the first such institution. After His death it fell to 'Abdu'l-Bahá to flesh out the
details. To head the institutions of the learned 'Abdu'l-Bahá created the post
of "Guardian" and designed it to be a hereditary position. The power
to interpret the Word of God would be given to the Guardian. Thus there would never be more than one center of
interpretational authority. In His will and testament, 'Abdu'l-Bahá appointed
His grandson Shoghi Effendi to be the first Guardian. To be continued next
month. Used
by permission from <planetbahai.org> All
Faiths Public Gathering for Prayer and Devotions Fillmore CommUnity 1st Saturday of the Month, October 1st Call
Luanne at 524-0683 for details Oxnard CommUnity 1st Sunday of the Month, October 2nd 10:30 AM. Locations May
vary. Call Barbara at 984-4390 Camarillo CommUnity 3rd Sunday of the Month, October 16th Call Renee
at 383-3904 for details. Dawn Prayers Join us for dawn prayers, 7 am every Wednesday morning; at the beach at
the foot of San Jon/ on Harbor Blvd, followed by a quick trip to the coffee
shop. Call Allison, 653-6011 for
more information. |
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