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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.