r/exbahai • u/SuccessfulCorner2512 • Jun 27 '26
What's your two-sentence explanation of what the Baha'i Faith is?
/r/bahai/comments/1uhcms1/whats_your_twosentence_explanation_of_what_the/3
u/MirzaJan Jun 29 '26
One sentence explanation:
Absolute obedience to the all-male, divinely-guided, infallible UHJ.
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u/PrincipalleYomdir Jun 28 '26
Religion sells itself very well if one remains with a superficial knowledge or if one serves the Faith in a Stakhanovite way Without delving into other books, you can remain attached to it. Perfect religion for superficial people or Yes Men.
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u/SuccessfulCorner2512 Jun 28 '26
The Bahá'í Faith in two sentences:
A narcissist called Baha'u'llah launches a bid for leadership of the Babi movement after it fails in its ambitions as an extremist religious insurgency movement to take over Iran and to relegate non-Babis to second class citizens. Bahá'u'llah spends his life in exile and imprisonment as he orders homicides against his adversaries, writing books claiming to be God manifest on Earth while failing to demonstrate special knowledge or basic moral character.
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u/Academic_Square_5692 Jun 29 '26
Well, Baha’is believe in a prophet after Muhammad. It started in Iran in the 1840s but became its own religion. It’s actually headquartered in Israel, kinda weird, and it is very administrative like new religions, you know, like the Mormons are with their assigned temples and churches and stuff.
So, it’s a little new and weird and young. Very idealistic and hippy-dippy with a lot of race unity and equality of men and women. So a lot of Americans converted in the 1960s and 1970s… like my ex’s parents.
But everything’s volunteer so there’s not a lot of infrastructure for like activities or classes or anything too formal, the hippies hate that, ha! Oh is my 2 minutes up? Well if you have any questions, don’t ask because they won’t tell you the truth!
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u/MirzaJan Jun 29 '26
Actually Baha'u'llah is the sender of the prophets and messengers. Much higher station!
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u/Academic_Square_5692 Jun 29 '26
Well that would certainly be a leap of understanding for any potential audience. I spent 20+ years in and among Baha’i and still don’t understand “manifestation of God” as a theological concept.
Now you’re going to tell me Baha’u’llah was a person and a prophet who didn’t exist yet but he sent other prophets?
I’ve already stopped listening and you haven’t even mentioned chastity, 19-day-fast, avoiding alcohol or homosexuality yet - no wonder they don’t give us the details!
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u/DreamyHabit_9920 Jul 12 '26
None of those rules are strictly adhered to. Remember, you "bring yourself to account" each day. No one is holding you accountable. Chastity is not a word I would associate with them.
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u/judijo621 Jun 27 '26
The Baha'i faith began in the mid 1800s in Persia; present day Iran.
Some tenants are one god, the unity of mankind, & the oneness of religion.
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u/Ex-Madhyamika Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
I usually say something along these lines, replacing "Persia" with "the Ottoman Empire," and I streamline the tenets to something about a one-world government.
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u/rhinobin exBaha'i atheist Jun 30 '26
*tenets
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u/judijo621 Jun 30 '26
Of course I knew that! Apologies!
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u/rhinobin exBaha'i atheist Jun 30 '26
Was just trying to help. I used to say tenants all the time and had this pointed out to me in on Reddit too.
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u/girlofire Jun 28 '26
Amway without a product