Older Bahais, like me, will have noticed a new way of referring to the Universal House of Justice, as “the supreme institution.” I think I first noticed people saying this about 1985. In Anna’s Presentation we find “We have already spoken about the supreme institution, which is the Universal House of Justice…”. Paul Lample, in his Preface to A Wider Horizon, Selected Letters [of the Universal House of Justice] refers to “a continuous flow of guidance that comes from the Supreme Body.”
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Posts Tagged ‘Paul Lample’
The Supreme Institution
Posted by Sen on December 16, 2008
Posted in Community | Tagged: Ahmadiyya, Anna’s Presentation, Bahai, Bahai Faith, constitutional monarchy, covenant, doctrinal exaggeration, Guardian, International Teaching Centre, NRMs, Paul Lample, Shoghi Effendi, The Supreme Body, Universal House of Justice, بهائی, بهائیت, شوقی افندی | 5 Comments »
The knower as servant (response to Paul Lample)
Posted by Sen on October 20, 2008
I’ve been reading Paul Lample’s “Learning and the Evolution of the Bahá’í Community.” From page 15, he presents various possible roles for the “learned Bahai” in the Bahai community, saying among other things that learned Baha’i is not an “artist”, and concluding “Perhaps the learned Baha’i is more like the ‘scout’ who helps to guide an expedition on a journey into unexplored territory.” I found it striking that he did not mention the possibility that the learned Bahai could be a servant, someone who uses knowledge to minister to the faithful.
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Posted in Community, Theology | Tagged: Baha'u'llah, Bahai, Bahai scholarship, bahai theology, Community, creative theology, creativity, evolution, learned Bahai, learning, Paul Lample, postmodern, postmodern theology, scholar, scholar as archaeologist, scholar as artist, scholar as scout, scholar as servant, scholars, scholarship, Sen McGlinn, بهائیت | 6 Comments »
