I’m still just getting started with this blog and will have a lot to add to this posting, but for now, I’ll list a few ideas that are coming to mind as I do my research.
This list shows where I’m going with this site. I want to expand on and write about all these items. My hope is that in writing about these issues, others who are recovering from years of being in the Baha’i religion will be aided in their abilities to look objectively at Baha’u’llah, his life, his teachings, and how we were affected by being Baha’is.
1. He doesn’t compare well with Jesus
a. He claimed to be a supreme manifestation of God but his life shows none of the qualities that made Jesus who He was: no miracles, no healings, no love, no gentle compassion, no life sacrifice.
b. Biblical prophecies cited are either vague or inaccurately interpreted.
2. His family was a mess!
a. He was a polygamist with four wives (don’t forget Jamaliyya, the one he married in his old age)
b. He had at least six children die in early childhood (WWJD? Heal them?)
c. He abandoned his family in Baghdad and his son died because of no medical care (ie: neglect)
d. His sons couldn’t get along well enough to fulfill his covenant
e. His descendants were thrown out of the main sect of the religion (excessive family disunity)
3. His writings are questionable
a. There are many talented speakers and writers who could produce similar books (Joseph Smith, for example, with his “Book of Mormon” – or Mary Baker Eddy with her “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” and many other writings; the idea that only Baha’u’llah could do this is just ludicrous)
b. He focused on his own problems calling himself “wounded one” over 170 times
c. No gospel of salvation similar to what’s found in the Bible
d. Laws – the legalism of the Baha’i Faith is outstanding. Christ came to set us free from legalism so why should we go back to it? The Bible says: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. . . . you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Galatians 5:1,4 … Excessive legalism is a sign of a false religion. Cults are controlling.
e. Hypocrisy – write one thing and do another; not a good sign
f. World government is a bad idea
g. Works more important than grace
h. Prayerbooks interfere with directly talking to God (ie: prayer)
i. Inequality of men and women despite saying otherwise
j. He said God was unknowable and denied any relationship to God (first section of Gleanings)
k. Some laws are irrational and some cause extreme emotional pain to those trying to follow them
l. Threatening people who leave the religion (see the last page of the Kitab-i-Iqan)
4. The cultish religion
a. Hypocrisy & members in denial about that
b. Marketing strategies
c. Exclusion methods are cultish
d. Difficulty with withdrawal
e. Overemphasis on administration
f. Deceptive numbers … membership statistics
g. Spy tactics
h. Requests for money
i. Attempts to make other religions fit the Baha’i paradigm
j. Information control (publishing)
k. Information control (re: covenant breaking)
l. Excessive paranoia about “protection of the Faith”
m. Treating members like they’re not able to make up their own minds
n. Little teaching about spiritual concepts (Baha’i life is mostly admin work)
o. Possibly fixed elections since admin people stay the same year after year
p. Tracking people by number
q. Keeping files on members
r. The Archives building is a replica of the Parthenon, a temple to a mythological goddess
s. No tolerance for dissenting opinions
t. Tearing families apart in the name of the Almighty Protection obsession
u. Shaming people who make mistakes
v. Proselytizing while claiming they don’t proselytize
5. Personal
This section is about how the religion affected me.
a. No love
b. Judgement and accusations
c. Caused feelings of inadequacy
d. Caused depression
e. Exclusion
f. Guilt trips
g. Failed promises
h. Isolation
i. Loneliness
j. Cognitive dissonance
k. I ask myself: “Would a religion that treats me this way be from God?”
That’s it for now, from my point of view. This page will be expanded with explanations added as I continue to research the Baha’i religion.
You’re welcome to leave a comment here with other issues in case I didn’t touch on what you believe about him.
This posting is a work in progress… incomplete!
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