Continuing with the readings from Nader Saiedi’s Gate of the Heart, I’ve turned to the first of six principles of moral and spiritual action that Saiedi finds in the Persian Bayan. He calls it ‘the mystic character of action.’ Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘The Bab’
Religious law as a symbolic language, in Gate of the Heart
Posted by Sen on September 14, 2010
Posted in Aqdas and Law, Theology | Tagged: Aqdas, Bahai Faith, bahai theology, Nader Saiedi, Persian Bayan, Sen McGlinn, The Bab, بهائی, سن مک گلین | Leave a Comment »
Perfection and conservation in Gate of the Heart
Posted by Sen on August 12, 2010
Continuing with the readings from Nader Saiedi’s Gate of the Heart. I’ve selected a section beginning on page 315, where it is headed ‘Perfection and refinement’ — a title that doesn’t do justice to the implications of these concepts for a theology of positive stewardship for the natural world.
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Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Bahai Writings, Ethics and Morality, Theology | Tagged: Bahai, bahai theology, Nader Saiedi, Sen McGlinn, The Bab, بهائی, بهائیت, سن مک گلین | 2 Comments »
Worship as Paradise, in Gate of the Heart
Posted by Sen on July 20, 2010
Continuing a series of postings to give readers a taste of Nader Saiedi’s Gate of the Heart , I’ve chosen a section on pages 248-251 entitled “Worship as Paradise.” Naturally, in the book, Saiedi cites his sources, but if you want those, you will have to buy the book.
Posted in Bahai Writings, Devotions, Theology | Tagged: bahai theology, Nader Saiedi, Sen McGlinn, The Bab, بهائیت, سن مک گلین | 3 Comments »
Destiny and Freedom in Gate of the Heart
Posted by Sen on July 13, 2010
I’ve been reading Nader Saiedi’s Gate of the Heart and I’m boundlessly enthusiastic. It’s more than a milestone of Bahai Studies: it contains much understanding that will help many of us trying to live the life of Faith – which the Bab, I think, would call the life of the heart. With the author’s permission, I’m going to make paraphrases of some sections, starting with a section on the Bab’s teaching on Destiny on pages 210-216. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Theology | Tagged: Bahai Faith, bahai theology, Nader Saiedi, predestination, Sen McGlinn, The Bab, بهائیت, سن مک گلین | 5 Comments »
An account of the burial of the Bab
Posted by Sen on February 9, 2010
The following description by Mirza Munir Zayn, of the final burial of the Bab’s remains in the Shrine dedicated to him, on Mount Carmel in Israel was published in Star of the West volume 11 page 316 (March 2 1921). In addition to its inherent interest, Zayn’s account is clearly the source of a description of the same event by Shoghi Effendi, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in History | Tagged: Abdu'l-Baha, burial, Haifa, Mount Carmel, Sen McGlinn, Shrine of the Bab, The Bab, بهائیت, سن مک گلین, عبدالبهاء | 4 Comments »
Church and State in Scripture
Posted by Sen on October 6, 2009
In a conversation with a friend about the translation of the 8th Ishraq (discussed here), I realised that he thought the whole question of the Bahai teachings on church and state hinged in some way on doubtful matters: on the translation of the Ishraqat, on whether the words “the consummate union and blending of church and state” had been interpolated into a report of Abdu’l-Baha’s words, (See the entry ‘A consummate union’), and such like.
Nothing could be further from the truth: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Church and State, Theology | Tagged: Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'u'llah, bahai theology, Church and State, Kitab-i Iqan, kitab-i-aqdas, monarchy, Quran, render to Caesar, Resaleh-ye Siyasiyyeh, Sen McGlinn, separation of church and state, Shoghi Effendi, spiritual sovereignty, The Bab, بهائی, بهائیت, سن مک گلین, شوقی افندی | 2 Comments »
It’s Friday: thank God
Posted by Sen on April 11, 2009
[Revised October 2019]
The wikipedia page for the Bahai Calendar state: “Like Islam, Friday is also the day of rest in the Baha’i Faith.”
That’s not true for Islam: Friday is the day on which attendance at the congregational prayers at noon in the mosque is obligatory for those Muslims who are able, but it is not a ‘day of rest’ in Islam. But what about the Bahai Faith? We do not say our obligatory prayers in congregation (although we may say them, each for himself, during the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar service, but that is another story). Do we have a day of rest, as the Wikipedia article says?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Aqdas and Law, Bahai Writings, Community, Devotions, Translations | Tagged: Abdu'l-Baha, Aqdas, Badi` Calendar, Baha'i calendar, Baha'u'llah, Bahai Faith, bahai theology, Bayan, day of rest, dhikr, Friday prayers, Gerald Keil, Mason Remey, remembrance of God, sabbath, Sen McGlinn, Sunday, The Bab, بـهاءالله, بهائی, بهائیت, سن مک گلین, عبدالبهاء | 11 Comments »