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Religious Institutions for the Era of Human Maturity
Bahá’u’lláh established a new faith. What would its institutions be like? In accordance with the wide ranging reforms across Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings – the religious institutions he designed are entirely new. In this article, these institutions are described. Future posts will explore complementary transitions in the nature of community life and the role of the individual. These also change in the age of maturity – as does the relationship between each of these three actors in society. Bahá’u’lláh does not adopt familiar religious models for the religious institutions he establishes. Indeed it is itself unique that he explicitly establishes, in his own writings, the institutions that are to administer the Baha’i community…
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Good News — Bahá’u’lláh’s Glad Tidings
Good news — glad tidings or “gospel”, to use an old English word. In Arabic, “bisharat”. Bahá’u’lláh’s Glad Tidings are a short collection of teachings concerned with reform of the world. They are addressed to all human beings. Bahá’u’lláh notes the abolition of the following as key consequences of his Glad Tidings. The abolition of holy war, destruction of books, the ban on association and companionship with other peoples and on reading certain books. There are 15 Glad Tidings. The following is a brief summary of some of them, sometimes accompanied by a personal reflection. Of course it is best to refer to the Glad Tidings themselves. The first glad tiding is the…
