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From: ellen@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Ba'hai response and questions
Message-ID: <2558@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 17:00:50 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.2558
Posted: Mon Dec  3 17:00:50 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Dec-84 03:42:28 EST
Reply-To: ellen@ucla-cs.UUCP (Ellen Perlman)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 49

[hail to thee, bugs of the watchtowers...]

when i was a kid (adolescent... about 14), and beginning my conscious search
along the paths of spirituality (as distinct from spiritualism :-), i came
across Ba'hai in a book writting by ?Leo Rosten?, something like that,
which sought to compare major religions in a non-judgemental way .  i no longer
remember the scope of the work, that is, whether or not it covered religions
outside the range of Judaeo-Christian-Islamic faiths.  

anyway, i was trying to see if there was a religion around which i could find
acceptable, one which DID NOT say, "only those who believe in MY GOD are right!"
of the MANY discussed in the book (after all, there are SO MANY different 
X-ian religions, each claiming to be the only one that's true/right)(and Judaism
was included, i just can't remember which others; Islam must have been), Ba'hai
seemed to be the best of the bunch because it didn't claim exclusivity to god
and accepted that there could be truths within the teachings of other previously
established religions.  this makes sense to me to a certain point.  there are
numerous books, for example those by catholics, often clergy, who have found
valuable teachings in Hinduism, Buddhism, for example.

Bah'hai still seems pretty good, from the above-mentioned Judaeo-Christian-
Islamic point of view, but my beliefs, [see previous comments i have made
regarding the position of the feminine within many establishment religions]
leads me to reject Ba'hai.  the prophets mentioned are all MALE. nothing against
men (i find them useful :-) but where are the spiritual WOMEN?  

the three above mentioned groups, and Buddhism and most forms of Hinduism put
the MALE at the pinnacle of spiritual life; the female is not as spiritually
advanced.  women are considered the cause of all sin by Christians; Jewish men
thank G-d that that they were not born female; Buddhists consider women unable
to reach release, because life in this wheel of suffering is born of the female
body, so women are obviously closer to suffering and causing it than men (be
good in this life and maybe in your next you'll get to be born a man); Islam so
obviously subjugates women, that i have a hard time being at all objective about
it in its most traditional/orthodox forms (Sufis seem to be better about it).  

so, what exactly is the position of Ba'hai about the place of women on its
spiritual path.  no nice, comforting remarks; give me some quotes out of the
basic texts that Ba'hais look to as guide-posts.

in the name of the Goddess in Her triple aspect, and the Horned One

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