"Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform." Mark Twain - Notebook, 1904
I always thought the above quote was an astute observation. If you find yourself in the grip of group-think, believing things and following along because everybody else does, then I think it is time to pause and reflect upon whether it is time for reform. Group-think allows people to feel safe holding opinions that are just plain wrong and eliminating the need to examine one's beliefs or opinions. "Everybody knows that...." is the refuge of fools.
"Everybody knows that" the Guardian must be an Aghsán.
"Everybody knows that" the Guardian must be able to speak Arabic or Persian.
"Everybody knows that" there was no promise that the Guardianship would continue into the future.
"Everybody knows that" the Hands, after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, acted in good faith to take leadership of the Faith until the UHJ could be elected.
"Everybody knows that" the Hands had an elevated spiritual station and therefore it would be absurd to believe that their actions violated the Covenant.
I don't know these things so I don't think that "everybody knows" them. I think that upon examination these statements are proved to be false, that they are not consistent with the fundamental verities of the Faith as identified by Shoghi Effendi in The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh. The fact that many people believe them is not relevant to me. Nobody has been able to satisfy me that these are the correct teachings of the Faith.
The principle of independent investigation of truth means that you make your own inquiries before you accept any statement as true. Think for yourself. It is one of the principles revealed by Bahá'u'lláh for living in this Day.
"Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?" Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Jeffrey
I always thought the above quote was an astute observation. If you find yourself in the grip of group-think, believing things and following along because everybody else does, then I think it is time to pause and reflect upon whether it is time for reform. Group-think allows people to feel safe holding opinions that are just plain wrong and eliminating the need to examine one's beliefs or opinions. "Everybody knows that...." is the refuge of fools.
"Everybody knows that" the Guardian must be an Aghsán.
"Everybody knows that" the Guardian must be able to speak Arabic or Persian.
"Everybody knows that" there was no promise that the Guardianship would continue into the future.
"Everybody knows that" the Hands, after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, acted in good faith to take leadership of the Faith until the UHJ could be elected.
"Everybody knows that" the Hands had an elevated spiritual station and therefore it would be absurd to believe that their actions violated the Covenant.
I don't know these things so I don't think that "everybody knows" them. I think that upon examination these statements are proved to be false, that they are not consistent with the fundamental verities of the Faith as identified by Shoghi Effendi in The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh. The fact that many people believe them is not relevant to me. Nobody has been able to satisfy me that these are the correct teachings of the Faith.
The principle of independent investigation of truth means that you make your own inquiries before you accept any statement as true. Think for yourself. It is one of the principles revealed by Bahá'u'lláh for living in this Day.
"Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?" Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Jeffrey
From The Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, number 70, paragraph 4:
"The teachings of Baha'u'llah are the light of this age and the spirit of this century. Expound each of them at every gathering. The first is investigation of truth,..."
I think it is not a coincidence that this was the first teaching mentioned. Interestingly the pamphlet provided by Heterodox Bahai's to visitors at the House of Worship in Willmette, Illinois does not even mention this very important teaching in its list of teachings. How very sad.
Posted by: Janice Franco | June 16, 2008 at 02:55 PM