Top Ten Changes I'd Like to See in the Bahá'í Faith
- Do away with the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
What a backward tribute to Islamic legalism this Most Holy Book turned
out to be. Oh, I know it's the cornerstone of Bahá'í scripture,
but come on, Bahá'u'lláh wrote it to appease legalistic Muslims.
Who really needs it? Does anybody really live by it? Backward sexist
allotments for inheritance, commands to shun bad people, silly rules about
cutting hair, etc., archaic references to Islamic law, annoying commands to
the evil to repent, etc., and it's all based on the fundamentalist Twin
Duties of belief and obedience. Take the few worthwhile passages in the
Aqdas and make a pamphlet out of them.
- While we're at it, let's dump the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf;
not that anyone would miss it. What a downer. What a bore! I wasted too many
hours of my precious youth slogging through all the self-pity and whining
of that volume. I think there's one passage in the entire book worth its ink—about
nature, but then I don't think it was that original so let's just make a clean
break of it.
- Face it. The Guardianship is defunct. Now move on. The
Bahá'í international community doesn't need to elect prominant
Bahá'ís into infallibility to succeed. What the Bahá'í
international community needs is to unite under their commonality, not to
excommunicate every Bahá'í that doesn't agree 100% with the
leadership. You can keep the Universal House of Justice, but please! It's
ok for an elected administrative body to be less than perfect! As a follow-up,
cease the shunning of Bahá'ís who don't recognize the UHJ. Yes,
I know Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi
all told you to shun heretics, but for heaven's sake, what a rediculous doctrine!
- Defer to Science. When you find `Abdu'l-Bahá disagreeing
with modern science and calling it unsavory names such as materialistic,
modestly defer to science. It is more important that the Bahá'í
Faith respect science than it is for `Abdu'l-Bahá to be right about
everything, especially when we're not even sure what he was talking about!
- Cease references to prophecies, miracles, and other paranormal Bahá'í
phenomena. It's beside the point, and it's counter-productive. Cut
to the chase: what does the world need?
- Step into the modern age: full administrative equality for women.
If there are any gender differences in this regard, it is that women are superior
administrators. They are natural multitaskers and managers. Pardon me if that
sounds like sexual stereotyping. As for other inequalities between men and
women, they can easily be resolved by dropping the Aqdas, as suggested above.
- No more proselytizing, rather allow the Bahá'í
Faith to promote itself naturally. I suggest this for three reasons: (1) proselytism
degrades the Bahá'í experience and image, (2) you're
never going to see entry by troops, so stop wasting your time and
energy, and (3) the objective of converting the world to the Bahá'í
Faith presents the Faith as a threat to cultural diversity. The typical Bahá'í
sermon about diversity is contradicted by all the laws, ordinances, behaviors,
and scriptures they hope to impose upon the peoples of the world. It is quite
a cultural burden to bear.
- No more goals. No more redistributing Bahá'ís
to create assemblies. This encourages Bahá'ís to forsake important
communities, to say nothing of what it does to families.
- Participate in politics. Confront the Establishment! Bahá'u'lláh
renounced asceticism, so activate!
- Encourage Bahá'ís to pray with their personal voice
if and when they are so inclined. Pre-written prayers have a place in worship,
but I find prayer in the Bahá'í community to sound impersonal
and mechanical, and I get the feeling that I'm not alone in this impression.