Spam

I just had my first comment spam, and I can't find any way to delete it. Darn! I had forgotten to turn on word verification for this blog.

Freedom from estrangement

One of my biggest challenges now, in practicing freedom from estrangement, is learning to see some good in global corporations, and in governments I see revolving around global corporate interests.

The swords of wisdom and of utterance

I'd like to try studying and practicing what Baha'u'llah says to the people of Baha. I'll be searching for passages addressed to the people of Baha. I'm starting with The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, because I've been wanting to read that.

"O people of Baha! Subdue the citadels of men's hearts with the swords of wisdom and of utterance.

(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 78)

That's from a letter to Napoleon III. It's in a series of paragraphs addressed to the people, following some words addressed to the King, and followed by some words addressed to priests and monks.

I never noticed this before:

"On other than these four consummate days, engage ye in your daily occupations, and withhold yourselves not from the pursuit of your trades and crafts."

Just before these paragraphs addressed to the people, Baha'u'llah says to the King:

"Adorn the body of Thy kingdom with the raiment of My name, and arise, then, to teach My Cause."

In the next paragraph after that He writes:

Say: He from whom, in this day, the sweet savours of the remembrance of His Lord, the All-Merciful, have not been diffused, is indeed unworthy of the station of man. He, verily, is of them that have followed their own desires, and shall erelong find himself in grievous loss. Doth it behove you to relate yourselves to Him Who is the God of mercy, and yet commit the things which the Evil One hath committed? Nay, by the Beauty of Him Who is the All-Glorified! could ye but know it. Purge your hearts from love of the world, and your tongues from calumny, and your limbs from whatsoever may withhold you from drawing nigh unto God, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Say: By the world is meant that which turneth you aside from Him Who is the Dawning-Place of Revelation, and inclineth you unto that which is unprofitable unto you. Verily, the thing that deterreth you, in this day, from God is worldliness in its essence. Eschew it, and approach the Most Sublime Vision, this shining and resplendent Seat. Blessed is he who alloweth nothing whatsoever to intervene between him and his Lord. No harm, assuredly, can befall him if he partaketh with justice of the benefits of this world, inasmuch as We have created all things for such of Our servants as truly believe in God.

After I read the whole letter, I'd like to consider this section addressed to the people, one sentence at a time, and look for ways to improve my practice of what Baha'u'llah is saying.

Comments

I just discovered that there were some restrictions on comments in this blog. Sorry! I've fixed that now.

Building a harmonious society

One of my interests is to participate somehow in China's initiatives for building a harmonious society, so I've been looking for articles on that subject. Here's an example, from China Daily:

Deciphering 'harmonious society'
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/21/content_426617.htm

"Xiao Zhuoji, professor of the School of Economics of Peking University and vice-chairman of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, believes that a harmonious society is one that puts people first."

"What are the main characteristics of a harmonious society? It will put people first and make all social activities beneficial to people's subsistence, enjoyment and development. In a harmonious society, the political environment is stable, the economy is prosperous, people live in peace and work in comfort and social welfare improves."

"A harmonious society should also see great improvements in morals and education."

"All people should co-exist harmoniously, love and help each other, encourage each other and make an effort to contribute to the building of a harmonious society."

Links

Bahá'í Internet Agency
http://www.bcca.org/bia/

The Bahá’í Internet Agency assists the global Bahá’í community in its use of the Internet, providing technical support to Bahá’í institutions and supporting promising initiatives of individuals. Established in 2004 by the Universal House of Justice, the Bahá’í Internet Agency operates under the guidance of the International Teaching Centre. The Agency can be contacted at: info at bia.bahai.org

Resources:

* Individual Initiative on the Internet
* Participation and the Internet
* Blogging and the Baha'i Faith
* Podcasting
* Guidelines for Internet Communication
* Basics of Search Engine Optimization
* Building Internet Communities
* Baha'i Blog Survey - Pheonix Conference (M. Naeimi)
* Cultivating the Roots Presentation
* NEBY Fest Presentation
* The Internet Perspective

Getting help from the person I'm trying to follow

As part of practicing and promoting blog reading for purposes of learning and encouragement and support, I've read a few of one person's posts on performance art, and posted some thoughts that came to me. That led to some friendly exchanges that I've enjoyed. Now I've read a post and came up with a blank. Of course I don't need to respond to every post, but the thought came to me that I could ask her for help in getting more out of her posts.

Temptations to respond contentiously to some posts

In reading some blogs, I'm often tempted to respond contentiously, in posts in my own blog. I want to learn not to do that. I want to practice reading those posts to learn from people and to encourage and support them in whatever good I can see them doing. I want to learn to turn my contentious impulses in other directions, which I will discuss some time in relation to responding to campaigns against the House of Justice, and responding to defects in the Baha'i community.

Reading blogs

I want to practice and promote reading people's blogs to learn to encourage and support them, and inform them about resources that might interest them. I've been reading a few blogs at random, but I've chosen one blog to read systematically over a long period of time. I'm continually tempted to respond to everything with my opinions, rather than trying to get to know the person better and learn how to encourage and support her.

Reading people's blogs

I'm reading some people's blogs at random, but I've chosen one person for special efforts to consistently read and ponder her posts.

Learning from people

I want to practice and promote reading people's blogs as a way of getting closer to them, learning from them, and learning how to serve their interests. I just read a post on "Love's Labors Lost" which mentioned the "4th wall." I didn't know what that meant, so I googled "fourth wall" with "theater" and found a Wikipedia article on it, and had lots of fun reading it.

The Hidden Words (continued)

I worked for about 40 years on learning to possess a pure heart. Then a few years ago I started noticing a lot of unkindness in my posts in Internet discussions. That might surprise some people. Some people have told me I'm very kind. Maybe they see me trying not to do any harm to anyone, and showing concern about people's feelings, and learning to walk with and work with abused and marginalized people. I do see a lot of kindness in my intentions.

I became aware of unkindness in my posts, and I started seeing much more in the idea of kindness than I had ever seen before. I'm not sure which came first. Anyway, I decided that even though I'm still a long way from having a pure heart, it might be time to focus on kindness. Then maybe in twenty years I'll focus on radiance. I don't want to wait 40 years this time.

The Hidden Words

Many years ago, when I was a student at Purdue University, I decided to try systematically mastering the knowledge in the writings of Baha'u'llah the way I did with books on mathematics: study the material and do exercises. I decided to start with the hidden words. I spent a year searching for ideas about what it might mean to possess a pure heart, and how to go about it.

One day I was searching for books about purity in the card catalog at the library, and I saw this title: "Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing."

I didn't even need to look at the book. The title itself answered all my questions.

Baha'i fellowship and me

One of my ideas to help check the disease of sectarian hatreds has been to practice and promote fellowship among people who are divided over Baha'i administration. I was thinking about that this morning, and I thought of my decision not to attend the Baha'i foreigners devotions here in Shanghai, because it looks and feels so much like the Baha'i church that I detest. The thought came to me that going to those devotions and developing a friendship with other people who go there might be a good way for me to practice what I'm promoting.

This morning, in the middle of the night, I was thinking about Karen and Alison and Steve and other friends I've met on the Internet in connection with AO feuds, and about my periodic concern that their preoccupation with Baha'i administration might be holding them down and holding them back. The thought came to me that I could try showing more interest in other things they do which seem more healthy and potentially fruitful to me.

Some random thoughts about promoting better conduct

Some random thoughts about promoting better conduct on the Internet:

• Working on improving my own conduct, and appealing to others to do the same.
• Learning from others, observing them and asking about their efforts and experiences.
• Looking for the best things I can see people doing on the Internet, and finding ways to help.
• Practicing the vision of cordiality that came to me, thinking about one of Alison's posts.
• Three vital issues in The Advent of Divine Justice.
• The Big Three: truthfulness, courtesy, fairness.
• Courtesy and kindness.
• Responding to abuse and injustice.

One of the best things I see people doing on the Internet is answering questions in help forums.

What about Covenant breakers?

I saw Baquia and Gerald discussing how to apply the writings about Covenant breakers, and the writings about unity, at the same time. It might help some people to have compilations on both topics, and some examples of how people have tried to apply them together.

I've done a lot of research and thinking about it, since the first time I thought of the possibility of encountering Covenant breakers in Internet discussions. Here are some of my thoughts:

• No one but the House of Justice has any authority to say who is a Covenant breaker and who isn't.
• I don't think that the requirement to avoid fellowship with Covenant breakers requires us to try to find out which people in Internet discussions are Covenant breakers according to the House of Justice. What we need to avoid in Internet discussions is not certain people, but certain kinds of discussions.
• In Internet discussions, I try not to make any distinctions in the way I treat people individually, between people who are promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi and others. People who are promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi rarely address me, but when they do, I try not to respond any differently from the way I would respond to anyone else.
• I have always strictly avoided forums which I thought were primarily gathering places for people promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi.

Where to go from here

Since yesterday I've been wondering where to go from here with my "Deeds Not Words" pages.

On the goals page I wrote:

I'm planning to use this site to provide information, ideas and other resources for practicing and promoting better conduct on the Internet, and for responding to harmful conduct and to questions it might raise in people's minds.

Under strategies I listed:

• Moral leadership
  
• Using Internet activities to practice virtues and develop capacities
• Reducing and counteracting harmful behavior
• Responding to attacks on the Faith
• Responding to personal attacks
• Working with abused and marginalized people

One idea I had today about where to go from here is to practice and promote spending time on the Internet with other people besides Baha'is, including people whose interests and ideas seem contrary to ours. I'd also like to discuss ways of responding to attacks on the Faith on the Internet, and ways of responding to defects in the Baha'i community and its institutions.

To get some ideas about resources to put on my "Deeds Not Words" pages, I might start with reviewing my efforts and experiences so far, and continuing my efforts, and considering what resources might help me. I might also look at other people's efforts, and discuss with them what resources might help them.

Intercultural fellowship

I'd like to see Baha'is on the Internet spend more time with other people besides Baha'is, doing things that interest them. It might be visiting their forums or reading their blogs for example. I'd especially like to see Baha'is spending time with people whose ideas and interests seem contrary to their own. That could be atheists or Pagans for example. It would also include fellowship between people devoted to the interests of the House of Justice and people with grievances against the Baha'i community and its institutions. They might spend time in each other's favorite forums, and read each other's blogs with friendly intentions.

This morning I looked at Baha'is Online to see if any more of my articles had been posted there, and I saw this from a Baha'i blog:

I could not help but think about what makes a person a good Baha'i or not. Auxiliary Board members have to do what Taubes did, they have long interviews with believers who are on the border between resignation, "dis-enrollment" or breaking the Covenant.

My mind started racing again. "What to do, what to do?" I've given up all hope of people who behave that way changing their behavior. I thought some more about writing to all the Baha'i bloggers I can find, about practicing and promoting better behavior on the Internet. I also did some soul searching about my motives. For a while I thought that I was more concerned about how the behavior of some Baha'is might look, than about the harm it does. Then I remembered that besides the harmfulness of it, it's partly about the divisiveness in it, and partly about moral leadership.

After a while I calmed down, and just saw it as confirmation of the need to practice and promote better behavior. I want to continue to develop the Web pages, then write to as many bloggers as I can, Baha'is and others.

I was also thinking about what good behavior needs to be associated with. I'm thinking now it's turning to Baha'u'llah, and it needs to be framed in a variety of ways, to help people see the spirit of it. Following Him, learning from Him and serving His interests, learning to trust Him. The idea is that to see Baha'u'llah's influence, what people need to look at is not members of the Baha'i Faith, or people who profess certain beliefs, but people who have turned to Baha'u'llah, people who trust Him, follow Him, learn from Him and try to serve His interests.

Here's the guidance from the House of Justice that I mentioned in the previous post, about responding to attacks on the Faith in Internet discussions.

----

The Universal House of Justice

The Bahá'í World Centre
Department of the Secretariat

6 May 2001

Mr. xxx
U.S.A.

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

We have been asked to respond to your enquiries of 31 January and 18 April 2001 regarding the wisest course that a believer can adopt when encountering attacks on the Faith in Internet discussions. The subject was dealt with by the Universal House of Justice in a letter dated 22 November 1999, and we are happy to enclose a copy of relevant excerpts for your information. We apologize for the delay in answering which was caused by the pressure of work at the Bahá'í World Centre.

We are not aware of any letter from the Bahá'í World Centre that commends the owner of the "Talisman" or any other Internet list, as mentioned in paragraph six of your letter of 31 January. Essentially, the position of the House of Justice is that the Internet offers Bahá'ís a very valuable communication tool. As with all other forms of consultation; however, such exchanges are spiritually and intellectually helpful to a believer to the extent that they take place within the context of Bahá'í principle.

We trust that this guidance is of assistance to you in dealing with the questions that have troubled you.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat

Enclosure

----

Extracts from a letter dated 22 November 1999 from the Universal House of Justice on the subject: "Defending the Cause against its Opponents"


Recurring attacks on the Cause and misrepresentations of its teachings, particularly on the Internet, have moved a number of believers to raise questions about the propriety of their undertaking responses. Aware as they are of Bahá'u'lláh's injunction to avoid contention in matters of religion, these friends wonder whether this principle precludes efforts on the part of Bahá'ís to correct serious misrepresentation of the Faith by individuals who, rather than being merely confused about its history and teachings, seem deliberately bent on doing it harm....

While counselling His followers not to view with too critical an eye the sayings and writings of men, but to approach diverse opinions in the spirit of open-mindedness and loving sympathy, Bahá'u'lláh makes it clear that deliberate attacks on the Faith are to be treated in a quite different manner:

It is incumbent upon all men, each according to his ability, to refute the arguments of those that have attacked the Faith of God.... He that wisheth to promote the Cause of the one true God, let him promote it through his pen and tongue, rather than have recourse to sword or violence.... By the righteousness of Him Who, in this Day, crieth within the inmost heart of all created things: God, there is none other God besides Me! If any man were to arise to defend, in his writings, the Cause of God against its assailants, such a man, however inconsiderable his share, shall be so honored in the world to come that the Concourse on high would envy his glory.

That the Faith will increasingly become the target of attacks from within and without is a subject that has been dealt with at considerable length in the writings of the Guardian. Speaking of "the forces that are destined to contest with God's holy Faith", the Guardian foresaw some decades ago the emergence of problems of the kind that have begun to concern present-day Bahá'ís, especially those friends who participate in Internet discussion groups:

They will assail not only the spirit which it inculcates, but the administration which is the channel, the instrument, the embodiment of that spirit. For as the authority with which Bahá'u'lláh has invested the future Bahá'í Commonwealth becomes more and more apparent, the fiercer shall be the challenge which from every quarter will be thrown at the verities it enshrines.

This being the case, Shoghi Effendi drew attention to the clear obligation the situation creates for members of the Faith:

No opportunity, in view of the necessity of ensuring the harmonious development of the Faith, should be ignored, which its potential enemies, whether ecclesiastical or otherwise, may offer, to set forth, in a restrained and unprovocative language, its aims and tenets, to defend its interests, to proclaim its universality, to assert the supernatural, the supranational and non-political character of its institutions....

The Guardian's reference to the spirit that should govern such responses on the part of the friends echoes the perspective set out in many of 'Abdu'l- Baha's Writings:

You must withstand them with the utmost love and kindness; consider their oppression and persecution as the caprice of children, and do not give any importance to whatever they do. For at the end the illumination of the Kingdom will overwhelm the darkness of the world...

The friends will find reflection on this perspective helpful in freeing themselves from the natural distress that abuse of the Faith they love can at times arouse, as well as from any temptation to respond inappropriately. In correcting misrepresentations of the Faith made by those who are hostile to it, our obligation is to set forth Bahá'u'lláh's teachings cogently and courteously, but firmly, supporting them with rational proofs. Once this has been done, the challenge rests with our hearers, whatever their interests or motivations, to consider our responses in this same spirit of courtesy and objectivity. For Bahá'ís to go further than this, by engaging in acrimonious debate, much less by reflecting on the character of others, would be to cross the line that separates legitimate defence of the Faith from contention.

Because circumstances differ so widely, the responsibility must rest on each individual believer to determine, on the basis of the specific situation, where that line applies. Under most circumstances, it would seem worse than futile for a Bahá'í to attempt to defend the institutions or members of the Faith from the kind of reckless slander that has become an all too common feature of the moral deterioration of contemporary society, and that tends to characterize much of the language of the Faith's current critics. Similarly, for believers to be drawn into discussion of subjects which the Writings themselves tell us will find clarification only through the passing of time, such as the wisdom of Bahá'u'lláh's limiting membership of the Universal House of Justice to men, the full implication of the Will and Testament, and the process by which the Bahá'í Commonwealth will emerge, would tend to divert attention from real and pressing issues. Such speculation may, indeed, be the real reason why such subjects are often so ardently pursued by opponents of the Cause.

Apart from the spiritual principles that must determine Bahá'í conduct in matters of this kind, it is important, too, to bear always in mind the reaction that the discussion of controversial issues, particularly in matters of religion, tends to arouse in those who are merely casual readers and listeners. While appreciating a lively discussion -- and particularly the clarification of important issues -- , most well-intentioned inquirers are understandably repelled by the spirit of argumentation.

Where opposition chooses to assail the Faith on points where scholarly expertise in a particular field is required, the challenge to respond falls directly on those believers who are thus qualified, and the Bahá'í community is fortunate in having the human resources necessary to this purpose. For discussions that are of a more general nature, a wider number of the friends will be in a position to provide helpful comment. While the initiative in all such matters rests primarily with the individual believer, the institutions of the Faith are in a position to offer guidance on how the Faith's interests can best be served. Indeed, where discussions of this kind have a direct and immediate impact on the perception of the Faith among the non-Bahá'í public, the Guardian has emphasized the importance of the friends' seeking "the guidance and approval of the National Spiritual Assembly" in all attempts to counter open attacks on the Cause....

(The Universal House of Justice, 1999 Nov 22, Attacks on the Faith in Internet Discussions)

Here's an article I wrote about "Baha'i Views", for my "Deeds, Not Words" Web pages:

The first topic I want to discuss is a series of posts by George Dannells on his blog "Baha'i Views," promoting Moojan Momen's "marginal" and "apostate" stereotypes and extrapolating them into statements about "apostate," "marginal" and "unenrolled" Baha'is; and about an "oppositional coalition"/"anti-baha'i society." I see that "Baha'i Views" was featured in the March/April 2008 American Baha'i. There might be many more Baha'is reading Baha'i Views now, and some of them may be tempted to follow its example of labeling, stereotyping and depreciating people, and promoting estrangement.

I've sometimes seen people excusing such behavior as "defending the Faith." I urge anyone who might see it that way to prayerfully study and practice the guidance below from the Universal House of Justice, about responding to attacks on the Faith in Internet discussions. I haven't found any place where I can link to it on the Internet, but it can be found in the Ocean Software Library and on the BahaiResearch Web site.

I would also caution anyone who is tempted to repeat the statement that "unenrolled" means "expelled," "for reasons of behavior following a long process in which they were invited to change their behavior," not to do so without confirmation from authoritative Baha'i sources that every person who calls herself an "unenrolled Baha'i" was indeed expelled from the Faith for those reasons. Consider the possible implications of repeating that statement without such confirmation.

First, that is a very damaging statement. Apart from the issue of backbiting, certainly a person needs to be sure such a statement is true, before repeating it to others.

As of 15 April 2008, the Unenrolled Baha'i Yahoo Group has 238 members. I personally know one person who calls herself and some other people "unenrolled Baha'is." What that means to her is people who call themselves Baha'is, who aren't members. She says that she withdrew voluntarily, without any institutions finding fault with her behavior before she withdrew. I don't know how many other people call themselves "unenrolled Baha'is." It may be dozens, or even hundreds. I only know of three people who might be called "unenrolled Baha'is," who say they were expelled.

I've never seen any statements about any of that from any authoritative Baha'i source, but I know at least one person who calls herself an "unenrolled Baha'i," and says she was not expelled, and there may be many more. To say that "unenrolled" means "expelled," and suggest that it was for reasons of behavior following a long process in which they were invited to change their behavior, is not only a potentially false damaging statement, but also an allegation that all the people who call themselves "unenrolled Baha'is," and who say they were not expelled, are lying!

Apart from that, "Baha'i Views" looks very attractive to me, in presentation and content. I wish I had such a beautiful blog! I especially like stories about cluster development. Some of my other favorites are the ones about Green Faith Heros, the new look at the Baha'i Library Online Forum, Martha's Barn, and Resources for Baha'i Education and Children's Classes.

I've been thinking a lot about a series of posts in the "Baha'i Views" blog, promoting and extrapolating Moojan Momen's "marginal" and "apostate" stereotypes. I saw one statement about unenrolled Baha'is as blatantly false. An entire post was devoted to the idea that "unenrolled" means "expelled," "for reasons of behavior following a long process in which they were invited to change their behavior." I posted a polite comment explaining that only three unenrolled Baha'is had been expelled, and he deleted it without comment.

That gave me a lot of food for thought. After a few hours of intense churning in my mind, I came up with the idea of my "Deeds, Not Words" Web site, in which the first topic would be the "apostate" posts in the "Baha'i Views" blog.

After a while I decided I would need some kind of archives for articles that might not stay permanently on the Web site. I had already started this blog some time ago to discuss my experiments with reducing abuse in Internet discussions, so I renamed it to use for my "Deeds, Not Words" articles.