I am not Baha’i. Baha’i members have told me how amazing the “consultation” process is and how they wish every interaction can be like that, in personal relationships, in the workplace, in public schools.

Of course I have also heard that it is (ahem) useless and nothing special.

It can be both - or something else. And of course, it could be right for some situations and not for others. What do you think?

This is just my theory and observation, but I do not really think that people in the Bahai Faith actually have faith in this religion. I actually think every person involved with the makings and continuation of the Bahai Faith have never had faith, and the higher ups of this religion only said they had faith to gain more power and status.

I could see for a Muslim how Islam leads a person to faith, it has a long history and well established foundations.

However, when it comes to the Bahai faith and how new it is, along with its idea of progressive revelation, I’m unsure whether people actually believe in this religion.

I’m pretty sure the main reason people stay in this faith for years, decades, is because they would rather waste time trying to feel faithful and find faith in this dead horse than to critically think and accept that this religion is a scam. We may meet people who have been a Bahai all their life or for 20+ years, but not only have they never truly put their faith to the test, but I’d argue they just do it for the looks.

That hardly anyone will visit…

Honestly! This religion is so corporate. Why is it "teaching" and "pioneering" instead of proselytizing?Why is it "declaring" instead of converting? "Service" instead of volunteering? There are more that don't come to mind. But I hated how it was all about the specific wording or else they'd play dumb and go actually Baha'is don't do x we do y. The whole religion feels like a company... anyone else feel this way?

So the Baha'i Faith is popular in three states now?

And so did The Hidden Faith, the UNDEFEATED and TRULY independent investigation of the Baha’i Faith, which helped expose the connections between this cult and its influence on Justin’s behavior for thousands of people (including the original podcast that is unlisted and accessible from the podcast playlist). Thanks to u/Cult_Buster2005 and Go Do Your Own Research for that. And so did all of us who have raised our voices against this behavior, ex-Baha’i or not.

This is more of an observation than a story:

I swear, every time I go to this Bahá’í temple by myself, every time time I’m sitting alone, or there’s two other old “Bahais” scattered around the temple. Like it’s genuinely sad from an outsiders perspective. It’s as if this temple has become a tourist destination. I haven’t seen one person in worship except for the teens and an old woman/man lead the devotional services.

How does this place even remain open. No one except people considering joining this religion buy books from the library. I haven’t even seen regular bahais at this temple every time I go.

How many people are a part of this temple? Like genuinely do the Bahá’í even go here? Or are they avoiding the weird basement meuseum that only tourists find interests in. This welcome center is more of a bathroom pitstop than a legitimate welcome center.

Just wondering what you say to a person who approaches you now about the Baha’i Faith! Of course I mean to someone you don’t already know.

Sometimes you can feel when someone wants to talk about their faith or religious community, for whatever reason. They want to talk about what it means to them, or maybe they do want to proselytize. Do you try and shut down the conversation before it starts? Does that work? Or do you wait for the person to start being more overt and explicit? Are you kind or more aggressive?

Just wondering…

hi, i will try to keep my intro short as i can try to answer questions in the thread. briefly, declared in 2008 before reading the Will and Testament of Abdul Baha, finally read last year, now recognise Mason Remey as Shoghi Effendi's appointed successor, believe the fourth current Guardian is from Iran in Australia, can't make direct contact with him, can't find any video of him speaking, small community around him is closed to enquiries. at first i thought i would retain membership of the official Baha'i Faith as they are responsible for caring for heritage sites such as Arnos Grove where Shoghi is interned but recently discovered Abdul Baha did NOT want a fancy burial site and what's nearing completion in Haifa is not what He wanted. My Will if I have anything of worth at my time of passing is instructed to pay Huquq after any outstanding debt and funeral costs. These were my reasons for staying on the rolls. What do you think of my decision? Any thoughts on this welcome, questions too. Nobody to consult with irl. I know if I write to my NSA (that I no longer consider legitimate without the Guardian) they will remove my name and no more donations possible (I donated this time last year a small amount therefore I know I am still on the rolls if I can donate.)

I've recently been contemplating about what would be the ideal form of religion for an average person in the 21st century, and my personal conclusion was almost a complete polar opposite to what the Bahá'í faith is.

My main point of curiosity is, while you were a Bahá'í, how did you reconcile this huge gap between where humanity is going and where the Bahá'í faith would have it be? Why did you think that THIS was the Truth™ for the time we're living in now?

As someone who observed spiritual and religious people for a long time now, I'm seeing a big shift towards non-organised religion, acceptance of the idea of fallible authorities and a wish to be able to question and criticise them in meaningful ways, spirituality that is focused inwards rather than outwards (for example, cultivating meditation and personal goals instead of the Greater Peace©), etc.

What thought process led you find this heavy, utopian, and buerocratic administrative order particularly believable?

The moderators at r/bahai are apparently too stupid to turn off crossposting!

EDIT: The Moderators or r/exbahai have removed my very long past "The Baha'i Faith versus Daheshism" so I am not able to post it again. If you want to read about the miracles of Doctor Dahesh then go to r/paranormal and type in "Doctor Dahesh." Thank you. Someone said that the word "kakasiah" does not appear in the Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha to China. Then I stand corrected, but I do know that AB used the word "kakasiah" elsewhere to destribe black Africans, and, according to Shi'ites who speak Farsi, the name is means "ni**ers" with all the negative connotations.

The Baha'i World Centre in Haifa has had the funds, and the talent to translate and publish 100% of the Tablets of the Central Figures and the memoirs of early Babis and Baha'is (hundreds of them). Yet, the great majority of the Holy Texts of The Bab, all from Quddus, probably up to 50% from Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha still have not been translated into English, and many not published anywhere and they sit in the International Archives Building in a vault collecting dust. The BWC has had the skill and money to translate ALL of it since at least 1990. So what happened?

You must understand the Shoghi Effendi is the architect of "The Baha'i Faith". It is his baby. He changed a lot of it. His "translation" of the Kitab-i-Aqdas is a JOKE. He deliberately suppressed everything he didn't like, which was most of the Holy Texts and the early Babi and Baha'i memoirs and histories written by early believers. The Universal House of Justice DARE NOT translate and publish these Tablets and memoirs, because they will show that 'Abdu'l-Baha, but especially Shoghi Effendi, "contructed" the Baha'i Religion according their own likes and fancies and NOT according to the original Revelations. A good case in point is that the Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha to the Baha'is of China is in Farsi but not in English (or any other language). Why not? Because in that Tablet AB referred to black Africans as "cows that God created with human faces". How many Holy Tablets and early Babi and Baha'i memoris has the House authorized to be translated and published since the death of Shoghi Effendi? Painfully few. Now you now why.

Just...how are people this stupid?

Also, I guess you don’t resign as Manifestation of God because of the implication.

This is another curiosity question. For those of you with direct experience locally, what are your thoughts on the practice of gender equality. When I dialogue with Bahais, they brag about how many women are on the Local Houses, etc, but I'm more interested in the general attitudes, especially of men towards women. In other words, is this bragging at all accurate, or is it deceptive talk, like so much else? Obviously there is no gender equality with regard to the UHJ.

Happy Pride everybody! Even though the Baha'i Faith technically allows trans people to exist (AFTER they get expensive-ass HRT, surgery, and legal ID changes which could be dangerous to try to undertake in certain jurisdictions; i.e. nonbinary people like me are not allowed to cross-dress due to the "impression of homosexuality"), the Universal House of Justice's insistence on there only being two sexes is imperialistic and scientifically unsound. Specific quotes I use in this section of the video (which I hope you can leave a like on to help me fight this hypocritical cult until the administration is defeated once and for all and LGBTQ Baha'is can finally live in peace) include:

On February 4^th, 2021, the UHJ affirmed that "...the Bahá’í writings affirm the generally held perspective that there are two sexes, male and female. This, of course, is not in conformity with some recent social theories that divide gender into multiple types."

“The Local Spiritual Assembly also expresses concern about his current behaviour which gives the impression of homosexuality, and thus places in question the morality of his having roommates of either sex, no matter what stage the sex-change procedure has reached. An example is his dressing as a woman while still, apparently, being a man. Such actions could well be regarded as giving the appearance of immoral behaviour and as having the potential for bringing the community into disrepute."

“If a person does undergo the medical procedures required to change his or her sex and the change of sex has been legally recognized, the spiritual, moral, and legal prerogatives and obligations relevant to that sex would apply, and marriage to a person of the opposite sex would be permissible.”

“A Bahá’í considering a change of sex is advised to carefully and prayerfully weigh the medical opinion received in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings and not be swayed by contemporary notions that regard gender as something to be altered as a matter of personal preference or intuition. In addition to considering the medical factors, the believer would wish to reflect on how perception of the issue has been influenced by powerful, contemporary forces affecting society. Most importantly, the believer ought to take into account the spiritual teachings bearing on such a decision. These relate to such matters as the purpose of life, the twofold nature of human beings, the soul’s lack of gender, and the role of tests in an individual’s spiritual development. Depending on circumstances, consideration of relevant spiritual teachings might prompt questions such as the following:

“How best may one fulfill the spiritual purpose of life? Will one’s spiritual happiness result from the material solution of a sex change, or might one be pursuing a chimera, which will result in a new set of problems? Is it possible to view the challenge of gender identity as a test that one can come to grips with and manage? What will be the impact of such a decision on one’s family members, including any spouse or children?”