I am going to post here as my post was denied on /bahai reddit. I have decided to post it here and am looking for some people with the guts to attempt some answers. Here is my original post.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi my first post here and I hope people don't mind answering some of the more controversial topics in the Bahai Faith. I want to be clear I am here to try find answers to what are now commonly found criticisms of the faith doing the rounds on facebook, youtube and the /exbahai reddit. I see a lot of people leaving the faith after finding out certain parts of the faith they feel they didn't know about or were purposely left out when joining the faith. There is also some downright crazy conspiracy theories about the faith that I might touch in other topics. I'll throw out a few and i'm keen to see thoughts and some actual answers from people with more knowledge than myself.
I'll just explain that I am new to reddit and so am not sure if I should start a new thread per topic or should i just add new posts with questions as I go on this one? Also I consider myself a bahai but only was one for a year when I read some negative things about the faith online. I stopped believing for many many months but I felt still drawn to the faith. I have realised its silly to throw away my faith because of some things I have read and my goal is to get solid answers to these topics through proper research and asking questions to people. I wish to strengthen my own faith and use this to create some eventual YouTube vids and blogs that tackle these often controversial or just misunderstood topics that may help people reconsider leaving the faith.
OK up first.
#1 Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House Of Justice.
I often see a few criticisms of Shoghi Effendi and they rage from him being a tyrant who excommunicated everyone in the family to hold onto power to being lazy and taking long holidays that people had to beg him to from back from to being a closet homosexual.
The big one is that his wife faked Abdul Baha's will or added to it to make Shoghi the guardian of the faith. And that he used to power to kick all of Baháʼu'lláhs family out. Where does this come from? Why do people feel this may be true?
This link a very negative story about Shoghi. http://freebahais.org/shoghi-effendi-2/
It paints him as pervert who used Bahai funds to live a lavish lifestyle and excommunicated people for the silliest and smallest reasons. I have seen everything from excommunicating family for marrying a Muslim to preaching without permission etc.
Why did he kick out so many people? Is there a list of all the people he declared covenant breaker and all and the actual reasons? I really want to get to the bottom of this.
The other is people say that because he left no will and had no children it goes again Abdul Baha's wishes and as such ends the covenant making the current UHJ invalid. I don't know much about this I need this explained as it does seem clear that he messed up not having a will.
I'll leave it there for now. Thanks for your time and I hope to get some good responses.
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I often see a few criticisms of Shoghi Effendi and they rage from him being a tyrant who excommunicated everyone in the family to hold onto power to being lazy and taking long holidays that people had to beg him to from back from to being a closet homosexual.
The big one is that his wife faked Abdul Baha's will or added to it to make Shoghi the guardian of the faith. And that he used to power to kick all of Baháʼu'lláhs family out. Where does this come from? Why do people feel this may be true?
This link a very negative story about Shoghi. http://freebahais.org/shoghi-effendi-2/
It paints him as pervert who used Bahai funds to live a lavish lifestyle and excommunicated people for the silliest and smallest reasons. I have seen everything from excommunicating family for marrying a Muslim to preaching without permission etc.
Why did he kick out so many people? Is there a list of all the people he declared covenant breaker and all and the actual reasons? I really want to get to the bottom of this.
The other is people say that because he left no will and had no children it goes again Abdul Baha's wishes and as such ends the covenant making the current UHJ invalid. I don't know much about this I need this explained as it does seem clear that he messed up not having a will.
I'll leave it there for now. Thanks for your time and I hope to get some good responses.
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Their reply was the standard "im not approving that as it will upset the hard work we have done here and just read the scriptures for answer.."
Head in the sand. I keep coming across people not waiting to answer tough questions. I want to deal with them.
OK so anyone wants to give me for and against views. I can take both.
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Deleted thread at www.reddit.com/r/bahai - https://www.reddit.com/r/bahai/comments/n4h8ta/dealing_with_some_criticisms_and_why_people_are/
Comments at www.reddit.com/r/exbahai - https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/n508y4/post_denied_in_bahai_so_posting_here/
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