Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cmu-cs-k.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!cmu-cs-k!tim From: tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: God and His Manifestations - Progressive Revelation Message-ID: <20980063@cmu-cs-k.ARPA> Date: Sat, 12-Jan-85 20:07:37 EST Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-k.20980063 Posted: Sat Jan 12 20:07:37 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 14-Jan-85 04:19:30 EST References: <697@hou2h.UUCP>, <727@hou2h.UUCP> Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 41 It appears that one of the effects of being a Baha'i is being unable to say things in your own words, preferring long quotes from overwritten lectures. This is not an appropriate way to answer specific, concise questions. This once, I will try to cope with the quote as if it were an answer, but in the future I expect to see clear answers in the Baha'i supporter's own words. It appears that what is being claimed is that Buddha and Krishna WERE monotheists, but that their followers twisted things around after their deaths to remove monotheistic elements from the religion. What a bunch of self-serving crap. If you wish to make that sort of ridiculous claim, then provide substantial proof for your assertions. (If that is not what you were saying, I make no apologies, since you should have stated your position explicitly rather than regurgitating quotes at us.) That is not respecting the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. That is discarding them and making up new religions using some of the same names. Why should you think that those religions are wrong, instead of saying that Jesus taught atheism in his life, but followers changed things around after his death? The reason is simple: Baha'i was invented by monotheists and its believers are disenchanted monotheists from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are perfectly willing to impose their own religious desires on other religions, without true respect for them. The desire to use various religions in one's work is an admirable one. In mine, I use symbolism from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, psychology, shamanism, Taoism, and of course from Thelema, the eclectic religion which provides a framework for using these divergent symbolisms. I do not claim, though, that Jews were talking about Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit all along, and I would expect a Jew to be insulted if I did so. Mystical experience and perceptions of deity share common features in all traditions, and so all traditions may be learned from and used. But they do not by any means all say the same thing, particularly about God or gods. To claim otherwise is to argue from bias or ignorance. -=- Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University Computation Center ARPA: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!" "Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains." Liber AL, II:9.