Disqus - Latest Comments for senmcglinn

Re: Building a society shaped by divine teachings: A Bahai perspective

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 13:39:39 -0000

It is important to add that a society shaped by divine teachings, and by the virtues that individuals cultivate in themselves, thanks to the inspiration of religion, does not mean a society controlled by religious institutions. In "A Common Language for Postmodern Political Theologies" I started with 1st Corinthians 12:4-6 “... there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ... And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who works all in all.” The idea is that religion and faith constitute one of these "operations," while science, government, charity and the other organs of the good society are other operations of God in the world. They do not need to creep under religion's umbrella to be good. Rather, they each need to be good in their own way, according to their own nature as intended by God. Religion is not everything. The good believer should also be a good citizen, and a good scientist, an honest merchant, and so forth

Re: Solovyov’s “Free Theocracy” Vs. Integralism

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 13:33:05 -0000

I agree that integralism is very wrong. What is the basis then for a correct, or at least better, approach? In "A Common Language for Postmodern Political Theologies" I started with 1st Corinthians 12:4-6 “... there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who works all in all.” The idea is that religion and faith constitute one of these "operations," while science, government, charity and the other organs of the good society are other operations of God in the world. They do not need to creep under religion's umbrella to be good. Rather, they each need to be good in their own way, according to their own nature as intended by God. This meshes with the progressive differentiation of different spheres of social life, in postmodern societies. Religion is not everything.

Re: Bad Religion (Not the Punk Rock Band)

Sen McGlinn — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 09:20:53 -0000

Ah, but if self-realization means discovering God's will and becoming what we are created to be, that's a plus. What we are meant to be, is God's children and our brother/sister's keeper.
I have no evidence that God cares what we think, per se, given that all thought are inadequate. In that sense, theology doesn't matter. But thoughts have consequences - the justify self-righteousness, or cause internal conflict that troubles the soul's waters, or they are occasions for argument. If truth is one, we may suppose that correct thinking about truth will lead to internal and mutual harmony. Therefore, theology and philosophy and logic and accurate translations and all the toolkit of theology can help - so far as it is devoted to resolving disharmonies.

Re: Bad Religion (Not the Punk Rock Band)

Sen McGlinn — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 04:48:55 -0000

Chris Brooks - you give us an example of bad religion, one that focuses on doctrines rather than faith, on orthodoxy rather than praxis. The words in our doctrines describe what cannot be described, so they are no standard. But Christ gave us a standard: By their fruits you can know them: the tree that bears no fruit is for firewood. Theology doesn't matter -- I say this as a theologian. There is bad theology that gets in the way of the fruits, that causes dissonance between what we *know* in the spirit of faith and what we think we ought to believe. The only use for theology is that better theology can sometimes help the faithful out of the problems caused by bad theology, where those believers are humble enough to listen to new facts and new arguments.

Re: Can Democracy be Spiritual?

Sen McGlinn — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 17:43:02 -0000

It's important to say that the Bahai system you describe was never intended to be a form of governance that we all could "live under." Quite the opposite. Shoghi Effendi says "Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country’s constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration [the one you have described] to supersede the government of their respective countries.” (The World Order of Baha’u’llah 66.) This is an authoritative statement of the Bahai position accepted by all Bahais. Baha'u'llah, and Abdu'l-Baha, and Shoghi all quote with approval Christ's words, "Render unto Caesar..."
On the other hand, some parts of the non-partisan ethos of Bahai elections might be food for thought for people and leaders seeking to improve their government and their politics. But not everything that is good for a religious community is good for a government. A letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi says : "“The Administrative Order is not a governmental or civic body, it is to regulate and guide the internal affairs of the Bahá’í community; consequently it works, according to its own procedure, best suited to its needs. (Shoghi Effendi, Messages to Canada, 276).

Re: Is Great Barrington Declaration a Solution to Endless COVID Lockdowns?

Sen McGlinn — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 04:17:22 -0000

The economic cost is not so bad: the property market has not tanked, unemployment is up but not as badly as one might fear, the agricultural sector is suffering from labour shortages because of lack of short-term immigrant labour. The forecast is for a one-quarter down, one quarter up dip in GDP by 15%. https://www.interest.co.nz/...

International comparisons suggest that not eliminating Covid would have cost more, or almost us much, (UK GDP in Q2 down by 20.2%) but with no complete elimination the cost is an ongoing burden rather than down-and-up over two quarters. And not eliminating Covid would have cost lives. It was a no-brainer for us. Short term pain for long term gain.

There will be vaccines, and treatments are already knocking at the door. Suppression measures such as UV radiation and wireless (blue tooth) contact detection system are getting better. All three improvements were in principle predictable from the outset.

We are not "cut off" from the world. Our exports still fly and sail out. Our imports are affected a little, not by our Covid control measures, but by chaos in supply chains in countries that do not have systematic Covid control measures. There's a 14-day quarantine for incoming passengers, and rationing (prioritising) for who gets places in quarantine. Today it was announced that thousands of quarantine places will be allocated to overseas students.

Re: Is Great Barrington Declaration a Solution to Endless COVID Lockdowns?

Sen McGlinn — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 03:30:17 -0000

The virus can be eliminated, where there is competent government and adequate resources. China did it, Taiwan did it, New Zealand did it (twice), ... Get some gumption and get with best practice

Re: Is Great Barrington Declaration a Solution to Endless COVID Lockdowns?

Sen McGlinn — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 03:28:28 -0000

The Great Barrington Declaration is framed by an unspoken assumption. "Assuming that you have an incompetent government, then ..."
A look at China and New Zealand and Australia shows that lockdowns do work to get the problem to a manageable scale, although these examples also show that masks, distancing and a test-trace-contain system are necessary to get to elimination and keep there. Taiwan shows that if you start this early enough, a lockdown in the strict sense is not even required. But that horse has bolted long ago: save the lesson for the next pandemic threat. For now, the state of art -- assuming a competent government -- is lockdown to eliminate. It's the cheapest as well as the most humane path. Starting late is no reason not to start at all

Re: Gboard update causes crashing issue on some Android phones

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 22:58:27 -0000

specify "ADB"

Re: Gboard update causes crashing issue on some Android phones

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 22:56:54 -0000

This suggestion: Settings > Apps > Gboard > Clear Data and Cache
doesn't work for me. There is no <apps> under <settings>. However this route :
<settings> <additional settings=""> <langauges and="" input=""> does give options for <current keyboard="" virtual="" keyboard="" gboard=""> . Alas, none gives the option of clearing the cache.
Using Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Re: NO Wasps - Spray for control of wasps in and around homes.

Sen McGlinn — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:37:45 -0000

Purchased at four square in Kawakawa, two weeks ago. I do not know what kind of wasp it is, as the New Zealand wasp ID sites do not refer to underground nests. Example :
https://www.landcareresearc...
Perhaps I have a newly introduced type and DOC will come and deal with them :-)

Re: NO Wasps - Spray for control of wasps in and around homes.

Sen McGlinn — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:21:36 -0000

I have used kiwicare
“eliminator” dust with permethrin in the past for wasps that create huge nests in the ground. When that ran out I bought a bottle of Kiwicare's insecticidal
dust with carbaryl, and have used it in the past couple of days. I was able to get dust into the entrance last night, but today at noon I still see lots of wasps, and I retreated it. I see lots of wasps returning (2pm) but not so many leaving. What's the difference between the products and which is for the ground nesting wasps?

Re: Yemen’s Baha’is keep the faith amid conflict and crackdown

Sen McGlinn — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 19:37:30 -0000

Bahais do not claim to be pacifists, they say the state may and should use force where necessary to protect its people from internal and external threats. They also say that an international system of law and courts, and arms reduction agreements, would vastly reduce the need for states to use force. The House of Justice writes, in 1967:

"... Bahais recognize the right and duty of governments to use force for the maintenance of law and order and to protect their people. Thus, for a Bahai, the shedding of blood for such a purpose is not necessarily essentially wrong. The Bahai Faith draws a very definite distinction between the duty of an individual to forgive and 'to be killed rather than to kill' and the duty of society to uphold justice. This matter is explained by 'Abdu'l-Baha in 'Some Answered Questions'. In the present condition of the world Bahais try to keep themselves out of the internecine conflicts that are raging among their fellow men and to avoid shedding blood in struggles, but this does not mean that we are absolute pacifists."
(Published in Lights of Guidance, p. 407)

Re: Two signs of hope for Christians in the Muslim world

Sen McGlinn — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 16:54:13 -0000

"... Islam requires the protection and full citizenship rights of religious minorities, including Christians."

There's a catch 22 here: if asked about Muslim converts to other religions, or new religions such as the Bahai, or Protestant house churches, the answer will be "they are not religious minorities because they are not defined as such in the old fiqh books."

But it's a small step in the right direction, because the it speaks of "full" citizenship rights. Even better would be to add "and the right to practice their religion, individually and as communities, the right to build places of worship, and the right to teach it to their children and propagate it in public media." I must be dreaming

Re: British inventor Roger Shawyer develops rocket engine to reach moon in 4 hours

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 14:04:19 -0000

This is a confused report: it is not "no fuel" but rather "no reaction mass." Nothing is (apparently) being pushed out the back. But a source of energy is definitely needed, to produce the microwaves.

If indeed it works, it might be by accelerating or braking near-light-speed particles that pass through the cavity. In that case, the universe is providing the reaction mass. But there are several other explanations of the phenomenon, not all compatible with practical use as a drive.

Re: Ministry of Endowments warns against ‘Baha’i threat’

Sen McGlinn — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:26:40 -0000

So what exactly is the threat?

Do Bahais attack the security forces? Do they riot and attack religious minorities? Do they seek to overthrow the government? Do they recruit young people for jihad? What do the Bahais do that makes them a security threat ??

Re: Politics, Religion and Tyranny

Sen McGlinn — Fri, 09 May 2014 04:41:18 -0000

An inter-faith body for Jerusalem, to serve as a hotline in disputes, to advise on government and local body policies, and for long-term promotion of harmony, is a good idea William, and I am sure the Bahais would support it. There is already the Elijah Interfaith Institute, based in Jerusalem but with a global mission.

However government by religious authorities would not be accepted by the secular, would be contrary to the teachings of the Bahai Faith and unacceptable to many other believers, and would be a practical disaster. The study of scripture and doctrine is not a good preparation for the task of governing. Abdu'l-Baha writes:

"If you refer to history, you would find countless [disastrous] examples of this sort, all based on the involvement of religious leaders in political matters. These souls are the fountainhead of the promulgation of God's commandments, not of implementation. That is, when the government enquires as to the requirements of the Law of God and the realities of the divine ordinances, in principle or in a specific case, they must explain what they have deduced from the commands of God and what is in accordance with the law of God. Apart from this, what awareness do they have of questions of leadership and social development, the administration and control of weighty matters, worldly well-being and happiness, the improvement of procedures and codes of temporal law, or foreign affairs and domestic policy?"
(Abdu'l-Baha, Sermon on the Art of Governance)

Re: How Would World Government Work?

Sen McGlinn — Fri, 09 May 2014 04:25:52 -0000

With reference to your last remark: it is also notable that when Baha'u'llah wrote to the kings and presidents he did not call on them to give up their authority, but rather to rule with justice, to crush the oppressor and bind [the wounds of] the broken. But when he wrote to the Pope, he told him to give up his temporal power, and become like Christ: "Abandon thy kingdom unto the kings, and emerge from thy habitation, with thy face set towards the Kingdom, and, detached from the world, then speak forth the praises of thy Lord betwixt earth and heaven."
(Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 84)

So naturally, there are no religious leaders included in Baha'u'llah's description of the gathering of world leaders to lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace.

Re: Could the Baha’i Administration Ever Become a World Government?

Sen McGlinn — Thu, 08 May 2014 03:37:13 -0000

The answer to the question in the title can be found in a fuller quotation of Shoghi Effendi's words, which are briefly referred to in this article:

"Let them beware lest, in their eagerness to further the aims of their beloved Cause, they should be led .... to compromise with their essential principles, ...
Let them proclaim that ... they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country's constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 65)

There are therfore no imaginable circumstances in which Bahais could allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the national government. If they did, they would not be Bahais, for a Bahai does not compromise essential Bahai principles. There are numerous other passages in the Bahai writings that specifically exclude the Bahai administration from ever becoming a government, however voluntary the process might be:

Abdu’l-Baha wrote:

“Should they place in the arena the crown of the government of the whole world, and invite each one of us to accept it, undoubtedly we shall not condescend, and shall refuse to accept it.” ( Tablets of the Divine Plan 51)

The signature of that meeting should be the Spiritual Gathering (House of Spirituality) and the wisdom therein is that hereafter the government should not infer from the term “House of Justice” that a court is signified, that it is connected with political
affairs, or that at any time it will interfere with governmental affairs. … (Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha Abbas vol. 1, page 5).

And in an authenticated talk Abdu’l-Baha gave in London on 3 October 1911, he says:

The ninth [teaching of Baha'u'llah]: religion is separated from politics: religion does not enter into political matters, in fact, it is linked with the hearts, not with the world of bodies. The leaders of religion should devote themselves to teaching and training the souls and propagating good morals, and they should not enter into political matters.

A letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi states:

“The Administrative Order is not a governmental or civic body, it is to regulate and guide the internal affairs of the Bahá’í community;
consequently it works, according to its own procedure, best suited to its needs." (on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in Messages to Canada, 276)

If the Bahai Administration were to become a government, it would have to change its procedures, and its very character. The Bahai institutions, and eventually the Faith itself, would be harmed.

Re: How Do Baha’is Worship?

Sen McGlinn — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:49:29 -0000

Bahais do have rituals. Among the most important are specified daily prayers and the accompanying ablutions, the recitation of the greatest name 95 times (ideally seated in a lotus position), daily scripture reading, donations to the Bahai Fund and to the Huququllah fund, pilgrimmage once in one's life if one is able (optional for women), fasting from dawn to sunset during the 19-day month of the fast (exemptions for various groups), the "19th-day feast" meetings, observances for particular Bahai holy days (including abstaining from normal work on some of these), and an annual festival of good works and hospitality known as "Ayyam-e Ha." There are also life-event rituals: marriage and funerals, and optional forms for naming a child and many other life events. Alll of the above a scripturally prescribed rituals. Other behaviours which a sociologist would recognize as rituals are reading prayers in turn around a circle, prayer vigils in which a particular prayer may be repeated many times, and lining up for large group photos which emphasise happy diversity (often using diverse national clothing).

When the Bahai Faith was transported to the West, it was also transformed, particularly in America. Anti-clerical, anti-dogmatic and anti-catholic attitudes and a loft of millenial expectations and apocalypticism were supposed, by the early American Bahais, to be also Bahai teachings. So many of the early Bahai books say that the Bahai faith is a religion without rituals or church, that is has no organisation, and so forth, because the people of the time were looking for a religion that would be pure spirituality without any organisation or ritual. But that is not what Baha'u'llah brought. He brought a religion with new forms of organisation and ritual.

Religious rituals are the heart of the life of a religious community, and the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar or "Bahai house of worship" is both the central and the crowning institution of every Bahai community -- its purpose is as a place where we can perform the rites of prayer, recite the adhkar, hear the Word being read (a rite in itself) and raise our voices in praise. So we not only have rituals, we have institutions that serve them.

Re: Bahá’í Faith’s Stance on Homosexuality

Sen McGlinn — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:20:39 -0000

You may feel that the verse implies that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation and child-rearing, but to say this is "clear" is quite a jump. Marriage serves many purposes, mentioned at various places in the Bahai writings. Abdu'l-Baha states for example : " This eternal bond should be made secure by a
firm covenant, and the intention should be to foster harmony,
fellowship and unity and to attain everlasting
life.” It would also not be legitimate to claim that Abdu'l-Baha says the primary purpose of marriage is to attain everlasting life, or to establish unity.

(The verses Guest and I are referring to can be found at the Bahai Library, a searchable online collection of Bahai scripture and other writings that Bahais commonly use:
http://reference.bahai.org/... )

Re: Bahá’í Faith’s Stance on Homosexuality

Sen McGlinn — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 23:47:17 -0000

The article states, "Another [Bahai] teaching states that marriage is between a man and woman." The Bahai teachings are defined by scriptures, not made up on the fly by the members. So when somebody asserts that X or Y is a Bahai teaching, the first thing to ask is, where is this stated in Bahai scriptures?

As far as I know, there is no statement in the Bahai scriptures saying that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Nor have I found any instance of a Bahai asserting this, before the public debates in the USA about the Defence of Marriage Act and its state-level predecessors. It's not uncommon to mix their own ideas up with the Bahai teachings, which is why it's so important to challenge Bahais to present their sources, in scripture, for any claims they make.

It is true that there are marriage and divorce procedures stipulated in scripture that assume that the marriage will involve a man and a woman. There are also inheritance procedures that assume that the person who has died and left and estate is a man. Nobody concludes that Bahai woman cannot own property, or cannot die. Rather we apply the rule "mutatis mutandi", adapting the archtypical case assumed in the scripture, as required, to other situations.

Same-sex marriage is a new question, and the Bahais have one authority which can decide policy for new issues: the Universal House of Justice. It has not made a ruling on same-sex marriages, only on other issues relating to homosexuality. It is precisely because of the lack of any ruling so far, that opponents of marriage equality in the Bahai community must create their own policies, by alleging that marriage is scripturally limited to one man and one woman.

Re: The Beginnings of the Baha’i Faith

Sen McGlinn — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:36:17 -0000

"In Persia in the mid-1800s, there was no such thing as religious freedom." This is not true, there was considerable religious diversity, with Jewish and Christian communities well established, and Sunni and Sufi Islam were practiced. Even within non-sufi Shiah Islam, there were people whose religious practice centred on the Husyan-khaneh and other whose practice centred on the mosque.
It would be true to say that the boundaries of religious freedom where vague, and there were no guarantees of freedom of religion.

Re: Q&A: What happens if US breaks borrowing limit?

Sen McGlinn — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 05:33:47 -0000

Would it not be possible to keep things afloat through a movement of citizens and businesses to pre-pay their taxes? It's the logical extension of the cloud funding of Obama's presidential campaign.

Re: Islamists criticise constituent assembly

Sen McGlinn — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 08:00:07 -0000

These people give people with beards a bad name!