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From: Finding the Unity in the Diversity of World Religions Project Leader #1
Date: Feb 10, 1995, 10:06:29 PM
To: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Grade 8 students need assistance..

Our 8th Grade World Religion class is seeking your assistance in a class
project. Through various Internet newsgroups we are seeking information
pertaining to the various religions studied in our course. It would be
most appreciated if you could provide us with some information on the
following areas of interest;
1. the founder(s) of your particular religion/tradition,
2. sacred texts/books--who written by, when..
3. major festivals--origins, purpose, when celebrated, etc,
4. if your religion/tradition worships a Diety, how you would personally
describe that 'Being',
5. as most, if not all religions/traditions have various symbols, we
would appreciate some information on yours, particularly the purpose they
are meant to serve, and finally
6. as an all-girls class we would very much appreciate some comment from
you as to why the Diety in most of the major religions is represented as
a male figure?

Our class thanks you for taking the time to respond to our questions.

--
85mr...@susie.stemnet.nf.ca



----

From: Just...@aol.com
Date: Feb 14, 1995, 1:50:14 AM
To: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Re: Grade 8 students need assistance..

>Our 8th Grade World Religion class is seeking your assistance in a class
>project. Through various Internet newsgroups we are seeking information
>pertaining to the various religions studied in our course. It would be
>most appreciated if you could provide us with some information on the
>following areas of interest;
>1. the founder(s) of your particular religion/tradition,

First of all, we are called the Baha'i Faith, with accents, or empheses on
the second 'a' and the 'i'. The word "Baha" is Arabic for "Glory" and the
ending "i" connotes "of" or "follower of" or "from". We have two "founders"
or prophet-founders as you will find it in the encyclopedia (we use the term
'Manifestation of God among ourselves).

The first is Siyyid Muhammad Ali (1819-1850), called The Bab (Arabic for
'Gate'). The Bab first revealed himself to the world on May 23, 1844. This
is the same day in the same year that Samuel F.B. Morse sent his first (and
the world's first) telegram - "What hath God wrought". Within six months of
revealing a new message from God the Bab was imprisoned. For 5 1/2 years,
while his new religion spread throughout his native Iran he remained in
prison, revealing more books for his followers (then called Babis (Followers
of the Gate)). On July 9, 1850, the Bab was executed by Persian authorities.
The early history of the Bab and the Babis was written in 1890 by a man named
Nabil while Nabil (who had been an early follower) was able to talk directly
with other survivors about events they had participated in. Between 1848 and
roughly 1852 the Persian authorities killed over 20,000 Babis in an attempt
to exterminate the newborn Faith. See "The Dawn-Breakers" Baha'i Publishing
Trust (BPT), "The Bab" by H.M Balyuzi, George Ronald (GR) (UK). All
references are available from the Baha'i Distribution Service is in
Chattanooga, Tennessee at 617.999.9019 or from local Baha'is in your own
community (look up Baha'i Faith (sometimes Bahai) in your telephone directory.

Among the Bab's early followers was a man named Mirza Husayn Ali-i-Nur,
called by the poor people of Tehran Baha'u'llah, the Glory of God, for his
numerous acts of charity and kindness. In 1844 Baha'u'llah had accepted a
letter from the Bab addressed to "Him Whom God would make Manifest" delivered
by Mulla Husayn, the first person in the world to believe the new message of
God. In the summer of 1848, while Susan B. Anthony was holding her first
women's conference in the U.S. calling for the equality of men and women,
Baha'u'llah called a conference at Badasht on the Black Sea coast of Iran
to proclaim that God had ordained the equality of men and women. At the
Badasht conference the independence of the Babi religion from Islam was also
proclaimed. Tahirih, the daughter and wife of a leading mulla (or priest),
the only woman among the first 18 followers of the Bab (called the Letters of
the Living and equivalent to the Christian apostles) appeared before the
mostly male gathering unveiled - an act unheard of in the Muslim world by a
woman of her status. In 1852 Baha'u'llah received his first revelation from
God through a personage he identified as the Maid of Heaven while in a
deep dungeon in Tehran. He was subsequently exiled to the Ottoman Empire
and, ultimately, to Akka in what is now Israel where he ascended on May 29,
1892. See "God Passes By" by Shoghi Effendi, BPT; "Baha'u'llah, King of
Glory" by H.M. Balyuzi, GR; "The Revelation of Baha'u'llah", 4 volumes, by
Adib Taherzadeh, GR.

>2. sacred texts/books--who written by, when..

The Bab wrote many books and prayers during his six years. His greatest work
is called the Bayan and was written in 1850.

Baha'ullah revealed many books and papers (or tablets as we call them) over
40 years. My personal favorites are "The Hidden Words of Baha'ullah" (1850s);
"The Kitab-i-Iqan" (The Book of Certitude)(1850s); "The Kitab-i-Aqdas" (Most
Holy Book)(1873). My personal Baha'i library is 4 shelves each 4 feet long,
and it is not inclusive.

>3. major festivals--origins, purpose, when celebrated, etc,

Naw Ruz - New Year's - March 21st each year. Continues the Persian custom of
celebrating the New Year on the first day of spring.
Ridvan (Rizwan) - Paradise - April 21 - May 2. The 1st, 9, and 12th days of
Ridvan are holy days on which work should be suspended. This
commemorates the departure of Baha'u'llah from exile in Baghdad
to exile in Constantinople in 1863. He spent 12 days in a garden
across the Euphrates river being visited by throngs of visitors and
having the ground he walked on covered with rose petals.
Declaration of the Bab - May 23. Celebrates the day in 1844 when the Bab
revealed himself to Mulla Husayn and won his first convert. The
Baha'i Era (B.E.) begins in 1844, this is the year 151 B.E.
Ascension of Baha'u'llah - May 29. Commemorates the Ascension (or death) of
Baha'u'llah in 1892.
Martyrdom of the Bab - July 9. Commemorates the anniversary of the execution
of the Bab by a firing squad (750 guns) in Tabriz, Iran.
Birthday of the Bab - October 20.
Birthday of Baha'ullah - November 12.

>4. if your religion/tradition worships a Diety, how you would personally
>describe that 'Being',

I believe, and Baha'u'llah teaches, that God is an unknowable essence who is
the creator and absolute ruler of the universe, beyond the ability of humanity
to describe or know. The Creator is so much greater than the creation that
the creation cannot begin to comprehend the maker. It is not possible to
describe God.

>5. as most, if not all religions/traditions have various symbols, we
>would appreciate some information on yours, particularly the purpose they
>are meant to serve, and finally

We have three primary symbols. The first of these is the Greatest Name of
God. This is written in the form of Arabic calligraphy pronounced 'Ya
Baha'ul Abha' ('O Glory of Glories' or 'O Glory of the All-Glorious').
This symbol is displayed in homes (at the highest point in the room, above
all other adornments), in Houses of Worship and other places where Baha'i
gather. The other two symbols are that of a 9-pointed star (draw a circle,
start any where and place a dot along the circle every 40 degrees and
connect the dots in whatever pleasing pattern you like) and another
calligraphic work called 'the ringstone symbol'. The ringstone symbol is
another variation on the Greatest Name designed by Abdu'l-Baha, son of
Baha'u'llah and leader of the Baha'i Faith from 1892 to 1921. Abdu-l-Baha
(a title meaning Servant of Baha) visited the United States for 9 months in
1912. (Abdu-l-Baha's writings and talks are held in esteem only below those
of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.) The two stars in the ringstone symbol represent
both humanity and the two Manifestations, the Bab and Baha'u'llah, for this
day.

>6. as an all-girls class we would very much appreciate some comment from
>you as to why the Diety in most of the major religions is represented as
>a male figure?

God is beyond gender. Baha'is generally use the convention of He/Him/His as
the accepted pronouns within the English language. In other languages which
permit the use of a neutral pronoun that is used. Our ability to describe God
is less than the ability of a dog or cat to describe a human being but it
does not stop us from attempting to know and worship God. Baha'is believe
that humanity is like a bird with two wings - one male and one female. If
the wings do not beat with equal strength, in unity and harmony then the bird
will be unable to fly. In societies without public education Baha'i parents
are enjoined to educate their children, but if money is available only to
educate one then that one should be a girl, because girls will educate the
next generation. Many of the greatest Baha'i teachers (we have no clergy)
have been women

>Our class thanks you for taking the time to respond to our questions.

Thank you for asking.

John MacCord
Just...@aol.com--

----

From: NSA Guadeloupe
Date: Feb 17, 1995, 11:07:03 PM
To: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Re: Grade 8 students need assistance..

I would like to make two extentions to John MacCord's excellent
summary:

1. The significance of Ridvan lies in the fact that it was not only
the time at which Baha'u'llah left Baghdad, but also that it was
during these twelve days that He made His first public declaration of
His station as the Manifestation of God for this age.

2. I deduce from your address that you are located in Newfoundland (or
at least that your server is). As the Ditribution Service which John
mentions is in the US, you might want to try the following address for
books, assuming that you don't simply get in touch with the Baha'is in
St John's:

Wayfarer Books, 115 Ardoise Rd., R.R. #1, Ellershouse, N.S. B0N
1L0, (902) 757-2107

Good luck in your studies,

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Louis G Robinson e-mail: C/O nsagua...@usbnc.org
101 Les Ilets
Petit Paris