Freedom from sectarian attitudes and practices

I was imagining a single division behind Baha'i Internet feuding, between followers of the House of Justice and people who have grievances against the Baha'i community and its institutions. I wanted to practice and promote fellowship across that divide. Now I see the situation as much more complex than that, and I just want to continue what I had already started, practicing and promoting freedom from sectarian attitudes and practices in general. Using disagreements over Baha'i administration as an excuse for estrangement would just be one example among others. I might post some ideas about that on my Deeds Not Words pages.

This morning I was thinking of Seventy-and-Two's example. I don't see him drawing lines between himself and people with ideologies contrary to his. I'd like to write something about that for my Deeds Not Words pages.

Initiatives not explicitly derived from community programs

Steve's comment to my previous post alerted me to a possible misunderstanding that I want to try to clear up.

In my experience, it's always been popular in some Baha'i circles to depreciate, or even stigmatize, initiatives that aren't framed as part of the programs being promoted by institutions. I used to do that myself. I don't feel that way any more. Now I'm trying to promote better appreciation, encouragement and support of every person's initiatives, regardless of how they might be related to the programs being promoted by institutions.

Strange estrangement

Random samples of some things I've been thinking about.

I keep forgetting, I have an uncommon interest and aptitude in learning from books.

Last night and this morning I was wondering about estrangement between followers of Baha'u'llah. It seems strange to me to see so much estrangement between long time followers of Baha'u'llah. Yes, we all have our imperfections. Yes, maybe some people who claim allegiance to Baha'u'llah aren't really trying to follow Him. Yes, it takes time. Possible explanations abound, and yet . . . and yet . . . I still keep wondering about it.

In my case, it isn't just between me and people who can't see any good in anything the House of Justice is promoting. It's just as much, and maybe more, between me and people who malign people and excuse it as defending the Faith.

Then there is this recurring feeling that most Baha'is are not actually trying to learn anything from Baha'u'llah. That's when I remembered that I have an uncommon interest in learning from books. Just because people don't use Baha'u'llah's writings the way I do, doesn't mean they aren't trying to learn anything from Him.

OK, I've been learning from Baha'u'llah intentionally for more than 40 years, and unintentionally for six or eight years before that, and I still have these recurring feelings of estrangement from other people. I've known for at least 30 years, maybe much longer, that fellowship is the supreme goal and the monarch of aspirations, and the only thing that will satisfy Him, and I still have these recurring feelings of estrangement. What does that mean? Yes, yes, maybe I'm a hard case. Yes, yes, it takes time. And yet . . . and yet . . . what does it all mean?

I have some good ideas about what to do, and I've been doing them, and plan to do more, and I've seen some good progress, but still . . . what does it all mean?

Reconnecting with one another and our better selves

Is that amazing or is that amazing?

In my previous post I recalled what I said earlier about deepening my relationships with people in my life, and working on improving myself. After I published that post, I went to see what's new at Baha'is Online, and found this:

But there is a side to this transition which is less science than art: understanding how we can reconnect with one another and our better selves.

- Alex Steffen, Neighborliness, Innovation and Sustainability

Back on track?

So maybe I'm finished for now with my recurring doubts about some people's allegiance to Baha'u'llah. Now where was I?

Practicing and promoting fellowship and better behavior on the Internet, after the break from Internet discussions that I'm supposed to be taking now.

From previous posts:

Practicing fellowship on the Talisman9 list with people who have grievances against the House of Justice.

Another way of practicing fellowship on the Internet, besides in Internet discussions, might be reading and commenting on people's blogs and Web pages, and linking to them from mine.

I might get ideas by observing more how people with grievances against the House of Justice practice fellowship with each other.

I now see new horizons in applying the guidance about black/white relationships to all relationships between the dominant culture in each community, and the rest of the community.

Deepen my relationships with people in my life, so we can learn more from each other, and encourage and support each other better.

Keep working on improving myself.

Practice and promote spending time in other communities, in fellowship with people whose ideas and interests seem contrary to ours, Baha'i or not?

Resources on the Deeds, Not Words pages for responding to attacks on the Faith in Internet discussions.

Now I want to add resources for responding to idle/idol worship around the House of Justice.

More about my doubts

A few posts back, I was trying to put myself in the place of some people who claim allegiance to Baha'u'llah, but whose attitude towards the House of Justice seems to me to be estranging them from its followers. Or is it the other way around? However that may be, I was trying to imagine how they might practice fellowship with its followers, if they want to.

Then my mind wandered off into my recurring doubts about their allegiance to Baha'u'llah. All morning I've been wondering what my problem is, and what to do about it. Finally I remembered that my problem with them is not what I see them doing. It's what I do not see them doing. Same problem I have with some people who claim allegiance to the House of Justice. I already know what I want to do about that. That's what my "Deeds, Not Words" Web pages will be all about.

Random thoughts about my doubts

In my previous post I wrote about my doubts about some of my friends. These are some random thoughts about how I might recover from those doubts.

Anyone might fool me, especially on the Internet. I thought I had already learned not to be occupied with who someone really is, or what motives and intentions he might be hiding from me.

What I say to some people is often hopelessly misunderstood by others. In the same way, I might be misunderstanding what my friends say to some other people. I've always wanted people to pay attention to what I'm saying to them, and not worry about things I say to other people that they don't understand. I might try doing that with my friends.

This might be another application of embracing paradoxes and living with ambiguity.

Some very personal thoughts and feelings

I have two friends who look to me like followers of Baha'u'llah, who continually find fault with what the House of Justice is promoting, and I never see them finding any good in any of it. I call them friends because of my feelings and intentions towards them, not presuming that they feel the same way towards me.

Sometimes I feel a little insecure and awkward with them, in view of that behavior, and I've been trying to see more clearly why I feel that way.

Partly I'm worried that they might be putting my attitude towards the House of Justice between us.

Another part is the recurring feeling that the alleged wrongdoings of the House of Justice are not enough to explain their behavior, which seems to me contrary to Baha'u'llah's purposes and prescriptions, however wrong the House of Justice might be. It isn't the behavior itself that puzzles me, it's the persistence of it over so many years. I keep having doubts about their motives and intentions. That could go a long way towards explaining my awkward feelings.

I reacted the same way towards my national government after learning more about some of its wrongdoings. I kept finding fault with everything it was promoting, and I couldn't see any good in any of it. I might easily have persisted in that for many years. It might have been very hard for anything to move me away from that, without some very uncommon habits I have which I cultivated over many years.

That helps relieve some of my doubts about my friends, but not entirely. There might be other things in their behavior that I'm wondering about, or maybe it will just take some time for my doubts to go away.

Disagreements around the House of Justice

In an earlier post I wrote:

"If some followers of Baha'u'llah are devoted to serving the interests of the House of Justice, and others want us to turn away from serving the interests of the House of Justice, how can we encourage and support each other in spite of that disagreement?"

The interests of the House of Justice I had in mind are the goals and plans it's promoting, and any other current interests expressed in its messages to the Baha'is and to the people of the world. I see some people who look like followers of Baha'u'llah to me, who look like they're trying to discourage, distract, or divert other Baha'is from serving those interests. I was trying to imagine what I might do if I thought it would serve Baha'u'llah's purposes to try to turn Baha'is away from serving those interests.

Cordiality

In a post about Forgiveness, fellowship and justice, Alison wrote:

"Mutual forgiveness may not lead to warm relations, but it should lead to cordial relations, which is the basis of what's required of us by Baha'u'llah."

I was wondering where she might have seen Baha'u'llah saying that cordiality is the basis of what He requires of us. I see him saying that nothing less than fellowship will satisfy Him. To get some ideas about what to look for in the writings of Baha'u'llah that might correspond to "cordial relations," I looked up "cordial" in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. One of the definitions is:

3 b: warmly and genially affable

"Cordial relations" is given as an example.

I looked up "affable."

1 : being pleasant and at ease in talking to others
2 : characterized by ease and friendliness

I found this in the list of synonyms:

"Affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or proposals."

Imagining that felt so good I had tears in my eyes. It's happening again now, as I write. I even felt a little sob welling up inside of me. "Easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or proposals." How nice. How pleasant. How much I would love to spend time with someone who's being affable.

I haven't started searching for writings about that, but surely it would please God for us all to be affable with each other. It would be a wonderful place to start. Fellowship may be the supreme goal, the monarch of aspirations, and maybe nothing less than that will satisfy God, but that may take some time.

"You can't hurry love. No, you just have to wait. You got to trust, give it time, no matter how long it takes."
(The Supremes)

That could take some time, and getting to know each other better. Meanwhile, cordial relationships sounds like a wonderful place to start. Tears in my eyes again. With some patience and perseverance, you can be cordial with anyone, even someone you've never met before. Even someone who is thirsting for your blood. Even an evildoer who wishes you ill.

Disagreements about following the House of Justice

First of all there is this:

"If any differences arise amongst you, behold Me standing before your face, and overlook the faults of one another for My name's sake and as a token of your love for My manifest and resplendent Cause. We love to see you at all times consorting in amity and concord within the paradise of My good-pleasure, and to inhale from your acts the fragrance of friendliness and unity, of loving-kindness and fellowship. Thus counselleth you the All-Knowing, the Faithful. We shall always be with you; if We inhale the perfume of your fellowship, Our heart will assuredly rejoice, for naught else can satisfy Us. To this beareth witness every man of true understanding."

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 315)

Apart from that, if some followers of Baha'u'llah are devoted to serving the interests of the House of Justice, and others want us to turn away from serving the interests of the House of Justice, how can we encourage and support each other in spite of that disagreement? I've already answered part of that question for myself. The question that remains for me is what I might do if I wanted the Baha'i community to turn away from serving the interests of the House of Justice.

I've already discussed in an earlier post how I might try to change the interests of the House of Justice. Apart from that, I don't see how I could honestly keep my membership in the community administered by the House of Justice, if I were trying to turn the whole community away from serving any of its interests. If I wanted to do that, I think I would need to give up my membership. Even then it wouldn't make sense to me to try to turn the whole community away from serving any of the interests of the House of Justice.

If I wanted more followers of Baha'u'llah to go in a direction contrary to the interests of the House of Justice, I might try to make friends with Baha'is individually, and develop relationships with them in which we would learn from each other. I would certainly take advantage of the opportunities offered by the inclusion of non-members in the core activities.

I haven't answered the question of how I might encourage and support Baha'is who are devoted to serving the interests of the House of Justice. I might do the same thing I've thought of doing in relation to my national government. I want to find some interests of my national government that I approve of, and try to serve them and promote them. One example is the The HealthierUS initiative.

Random thoughts about infallibility

Some random thoughts after reading Alison's "Infallibility 4": "Infallibility and the idea of never being wrong."

In an earlier post I said I want to be part of a community administered on the premise that Baha'u'llah is always right. Now I might say that I want to be part of a community that puts His interests first, in which all other interests are subordinated to His.

I've never thought much about the meaning and scope of anyone's infallibility, because that's irrelevant for my purposes. I don't see any need to try to change anyone's mind about that. For me the first thing that needs to change is not the way people think. The first thing that needs to change is the way people act. Without that it won't do any good to change the way they think. It might even make things worse. After they change the way they act, then it might help for them to find better ways to think, and they'll be much more interested in doing so.

Regardless of the meaning and scope of anyone's infallibility, I agree with not imagining that we can have any certainty about what's going to happen. Even imagining unfailing accuracy in the writings of the Faith, we could all be misunderstanding what they mean.

Last year, or maybe the year before, I let go of some of my most cherished imaginings about the future of the Faith and the future of the world. I thought of that recently after reading Steve's comment about an earlier post. He was talking about individuals losing one set of beliefs and gaining another set of beliefs. He wrote: "Exploring your own grief and re-attachment stories is also a healthy way to go, I think."

I let go of some beliefs about the future, and I did feel some grief, but I don't remember re-attaching to anything else in their place. I'm not trying to. I decided to give up having beliefs many years ago. I even wrote a little poem about it. I don't remember the words, but it was something about a mind being enslaved by beliefs. Then a new vision comes along, and the mind is freed. Then it becomes enslaved again by beliefs attached to the new vision. The poem began and ended with the words "A mind, enslaved."

I especially enjoyed this in Alison's article:

"Say: By God, you are only as a wayfarer resting in the shade of a tree."

- Baha'u'llah: City of Radiant Acquiescence, para 11, translated by Juan Cole

Today it occurred to me that the French word for "infallible" is "infaillible," from "faillir," which means "fail." A literal translation could be "can't fail." I looked up "infallible" in the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and sure enough, one of the definitions is "2 : not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint : certain." For example, "an infallible remedy."

If the Arabic word can be used that way, then saying that the House of Justice is infallible could mean that we can't fail by following the House of Justice.

What would I do?

What would I do, if I thought the House of Justice was off track?

1. I might write repeatedly to the House of Justice, to Counselors and to Auxiliary Board Members, asking questions related to my ideas about what it should be doing.

2. I might try to promote my ideas about what it should be doing, not only among Baha'is, but also and especially among people who haven't joined yet.

3. I might try to practice my ideas about community life and administration with some other people.

Baha'u'llah and non-Euclidean geometry

This morning I've been thinking about something in the behavior of some of my Baha'i friends that has always puzzled me, and sometimes confused and frustrated me. I've never been able to bring it into focus, let alone find words for it. This morning I was thinking that it looks to me like they're convinced that Baha'u'llah is not everything He says He is, and that they're hiding that conviction, either from me or from themselves.

I thought about asking them directly, "Are you sure that Baha'u'llah is not everything He says He is?" but I kept getting stuck on the question "Why do I need to know?"

Then I thought, they might be imagining the same thing about me, and they might need to know that I'm supposing that Baha'u'llah is everything He says He is, and everything I do presupposes that He is always right.

Then the thought came to me, what if we suppose that Baha'u'llah is not always right?

Somehow that reminded me of non-Euclidean geometry. "What if we suppose that there are no parallels to a given line, through a given point? What if we suppose there can be more than one?

Even supposing that Baha'u'llah is always right, it might be useful for some of His purposes to suppose otherwise.

I want to be part of a community administered on the premise that He's always right, but what if some other Baha'is want to be part of a community administered on the premise that He is not always right? How can we explore both possibilities without schism?

Later, I was wondering if it's possible to suppose that Baha'u'llah is everything He says He is, without supposing that He's always right. Maybe that's what those friends of mine are doing. I never thought of separating those ideas before.

More random thoughts about estrangement

I kept wishing for more visible fellowship across the divide over administration, as a way to help reduce sectarian hatreds. Now I see a need for more people to come out of their estrangement from Talisman liberals or from followers of the House of Justice. I've decided now to just continue practicing and promoting all kinds of intercultural fellowships, without insisting on fellowship across the administration divide.

I wrote:

"People allow themselves to be cruel, or estranged, because they put other interests ahead of Baha'u'llah's."

That's a sweeping generalization that I hereby retract. Instead I will say that a person who allows himself to be cruel, or estranged, might be putting other interests ahead of Baha'u'llah's. That helpful to me, because it gives me an idea about what to do: continue practicing and promoting more devotion to Baha'u'llah's interests.

Today I was thinking that no amount of wrongdoing by the House of Justice could explain why a person would automatically despise everything it's promoting. Then I remembered, that was exactly my reaction to some wrongdoings of my national government. I don't have an explanation for that either, but I don't need one, to know what I want to do about it. I want to find some interests of my national government that I approve of, and try to serve them. I've already searched the government Web site for president's initiatives that I might like, and I found some.

When we've been wronged

These are some of my thoughts after reading Alison's "Forgiveness, fellowship and justice."

I searched in Ocean for "forgiveness," and everything I found in the words of Baha'u'llah about forgiveness was about seeking forgiveness from God. I didn't find anything about forgiveness in our relationships with each other.

I tried to remember what Baha'u'llah says about responding to people who have wronged us, and I thought of these words from Abdu'l Baha:

"Beware, beware, lest any of you seek vengeance, even against one who is thirsting for your blood. Beware, beware, lest ye offend the feelings of another, even though he be an evil-doer, and he wish you ill."

"Should other peoples and nations be unfaithful to you show your fidelity unto them, should they be unjust toward you show justice towards them, should they keep aloof from you attract them to yourself, should they show their enmity be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound upon you be a salve to their sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere! Such are the attributes of the truthful."

In response to Steve's comment in my previous post, I imagine that feeling estranged is a healthy reaction to being abused, and that institutions can be used as tools of abuse.

The estrangement I've been discussing, which I see as a contributor to abuse, is estrangement which is generalized to a category or group of people, and then applied to everyone who looks like one of them.

For example, I see some people who feel estranged from Talisman liberals in general, and who treat anyone who airs grievances against the Baha'i community as one of them. I see some other people who feel estranged from followers of the House of Justice in general, and who treat anyone who does not air grievances against the House of Justice as one of them.

Estrangement between groups?

I was imagining two groups of people estranged from each other. Now I see several groups, and some people working alone or in pairs. Now I see the support groups as accessories. The cruelty and estrangement are not caused by the groups. People continue to be cruel because they allow themselves to be cruel. People continue to be estranged because they allow themselves to be estranged. People allow themselves to be cruel, or estranged, because they put other interests ahead of Baha'u'llah's.

Cruelty, estrangement and groups

I'm still looking for a better explanation of why I've worried so much about what George has been doing. I don't worry any more about what Susan does. Is it because I'm imagining that what George does is more visible?

I kept thinking that even if I found ways to counteract the harmful effects of George's campaign, that wouldn't resolve the underlying problems. What problems? The feuding? No, deeper than that. Estrangement between Baha'is?

Maybe it's about people allowing themselves to be estranged from other people?

In a comment to my previous post, Steve wrote:

"What matters is the individual."

Yes. It's about individuals, not groups. The harmful behavior, and the relationships between groups, are separate issues. People need to learn not to behave that way, regardless of circumstances.

That will take some time. Meanwhile, reducing estrangement might help reduce cruelty.

Random thoughts about estrangement and fellowship

I'm strictly talking to myself in this post, for future reference, so I'm not trying to make it understandable to anyone else. Questions are always welcome.

I keep wondering what else I can do about defamation campaigns excused as defending the Faith. One idea was to post a copy of the letter from the House of Justice about responding to attacks, with examples, and invite Baha'i bloggers to read it.

Then I had a feeling that I wasn't getting to the heart of the issue. The heart of it for me is estrangement between Baha'is. I already know what I want to do about that, but I keep wanting to do more about online feuding.

One idea was to practice and promote fellowship between people associated with different camps. I thought of posting ideas and examples about how to do that. Then I got confused about what to call the camps. Liberals, non-protesting members? Is there some way to avoid labeling the camps altogether?

Around and around.

Back to square one. What first attracted my attention was the feuding I saw. Now I see that as only the tip of an iceberg. Abuse and violence thrive in a climate of estrangement. The people I've seen feuding are associated with online communities estranged from each other. The people I've seen campaigning against the House of Justice have associated with each other on the Talisman list. The people I've seen campaigning against them have not all associated with each other. I've seen some of them at Beliefnet and others on trb. Now I see one blogging that I've never seen before. Some of them might be as estranged from each other as they are from Talisman liberals.

I've seen this before. The appearance of two camps is misleading. People campaigning against the House of Justice are not part of a single fellowship or community. People campaigning against them and excusing that as defense of the Faith are not part of a single fellowship or community.

I want to see more fellowship across boundaries, but what boundaries? All of them, of course, but where do I want to start?

One kind of division I see behind all this in the larger community is associated with Baha'i bandwagons. I want to see more fellowship between people who are on the bandwagons and people who aren't.

I see at least seven Baha'i communities on line estranged from each other. I see a few people spending time in more than one community.

I wonder . . . could it serve my purposes just as well, (or better) to practice and promote spending time in other communities, in fellowship with people whose ideas and interests seem contrary to ours, Baha'i or not?

That's what I was doing when I first joined the Talisman list, and now I'm planning to do it some more. I've also spent some time in a Gay Baha'i forum, an atheist forum, and a Pagan forum.

Ways of being, thinking and doing

Many times I've thought of posting my ideas about what Karen, Baquia, Priscilla, Steve, Alison and some others have been saying, about infallibility, the review policy, House of Justice elections, Ruhi courses, the role and functions of the House of Justice, wrongdoings of the House of Justice and wrong priorities of the Baha'i community for example.

I started trying to organize my thoughts about some of that, and once again lost interest. Those are all red herrings to me. They're all about how people think. That's an accessory issue for me. Some central issues for me are how people act, what they're aiming for, and the spirit in which they pursue their interests. As people's aims, character and conduct evolve, they will develop an interest in other ways of thinking, and then maybe my ideas will help. Maybe.

So what can I do about how people act, what they're aiming for, and the spirit in which they pursue their interests?

Keep on truckin'

- Deepen my relationships with people in my life, so we can learn more from each other, and encourage and support each other better.
- Keep working on improving myself

I looked through my blogs to see if I had posted anything about improving ourselves to improve the world, and I didn't find anything. About two weeks ago I started working on a new Web site about improving ourselves to improve the world. I want to practice and promote networking among people who are trying to do that. I searched the Web for people who are trying to do that, so I can link to their pages. After my break from Internet discussions, I might try writing to them.

Baha'is on the Internet

I disagreed with something someone was saying the House of Justice has said about study circles, and I asked for a reference. She told me it was in Turning Point, and said that book is being used a lot as a reference in cluster development. I decided to study it, to be better prepared to respond to misinformation.

On page 41, I found this:

How can the lovers of the Blessed Beauty allow tribal prejudice and rivalry to be practiced in their midst when He has made unity the pivotal principle and goal of His Faith?

(The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 153, 1996 - Africa)

That helps remove some doubts about spending so much of my time responding to feuding among Baha'is on the Internet.

That was from a letter to the Baha'is of Africa at the beginning of a Four Year Plan. The preceding paragraph gives me some ideas for possible priorities in my Internet initiatives:

You will of necessity give concentrated attention to various plans and programmes of activity if you are to advance to new stages of entry by troops, but simultaneously certain underlying requisites will claim your special vigilance and exertion. These are the elimination of tribal prejudice, the transformation of prevailing social practices, and the fostering of education.

1. Elimination of tribal prejudice
I'm thinking of Baha'i Internet feuds over administration, but there might be others. I see a division over gays that erupts sometimes in Baha'i forums.

2. Transformation of prevailing social practices
Some harmful prevailing online social practices that have alarmed me the most revolve around thinking of the Internet as only a place to talk and write, and thinking of what we do there as something apart from "real life." I'd like to see more people practicing spiritual principles and community service, and working on community development, in online communities. I'd like to see more people spending more of their online time in fellowship across religious boundaries.

3. Fostering of education
That's a new thought for me. Some of what I've been doing and wanting to do on the Internet might serve that purpose, but I haven't been thinking of it that way. How might forums, blogs, Web pages and other Internet activities be better used for educational purposes, and how can I help?

Malicious, defamatory posts in a possibly influential Baha'i blog

I've been wondering why I'm so much more alarmed by defamation campaigns excused as defense of the Faith, than I am by campaigns against the House of Justice by people who claim allegiance to Baha'u'llah.

Explanations I've considered:
- My personal friendships with some targets of campaigns excused as defense of the Faith
- Higher expectations from non-protesting members
- More experience with campaigns against the House of Justice
- No systematic effort until now to feel closer to people who excuse their campaigns as defense of the Faith
- Imagining that people who excuse their campaigns as defense of the Faith might have more credibility with more members.

I thought it might help to consider what I keep wanting to do in response to campaigns excused as defense of the Faith. I keep wanting to try to counteract their effects, and to report them to Baha'i institutions. I posted a response to the "apostate" posts in "Baha'i Views" everywhere I could that might come up in searches for "Baha'i apostates." I saw that "Baha'i Views" was featured in the American Baha'i and by the U.S. Baha'i News Service, so I wrote to them about the "apostate" posts, and I asked my local Spiritual Assembly to write to our National Spiritual Assembly.

After years of hesitation, I finally wrote to the Universal House of Justice about campaigns of defamation masquerading as defense of the Faith. Not in those words. Like this:

Dear friends,

In a letter to an individual dated 20 July 1997, the House of Justice wrote:

"You should be confident that the House of Justice will not permit a climate of intolerance to prosper in the Baha'i community, no matter from what cause it arises."

I'm writing to call your attention to what looks to me like a climate of intolerance beginning to prosper among Baha'is on the Internet.

I've been concerned for years about discussions in Baha'i forums being poisoned by a few people who continually malign and scold anyone they suspect of being associated with campaigns of members and former members against the House of Justice. I've thought of writing to you about that many times, and every time I've decided against it because of doubts about the seriousness and scope of its effects. I'm also conscious of the possibility of responses to me from the Baha'i World Center being added to the repertoire of feuding Baha'is. Susan Maneck and others are still using the response to my question about Karen Bacquet, Fred Glaysher, Nima Hazini and Dermod Ryder, in their campaigns. For that reason I want you to know that there is no need, for my purposes, for a written response to this letter. Of course any response you feel is needed will be welcome.

Now I see that the "Baha'i Views" blog, which continually and insistently disparages and maligns people it associates with what it calls "The Internet Anti-Baha'i Society," has been featured in the March/April issue of "The American Baha'i," and on the Official Web Site of the Baha'is of the United States. It seems to me that the promotion by a National Spiritual Assembly of a blog displaying such behavior could lead to a proliferation of that behavior in other Baha'i blogs and Web pages.

See below for a list of titles and links to the defamatory posts.

Sincerely,
Jim Habegger

Another idea is to put myself in the line of fire. What can I do for my name to become associated more often in people's minds with unenrolled Baha'is and with people who have grievances against the Baha'i community and its institutions? Maybe post friendly comments in their blogs?


What would I want to happen? Maybe:

- Moral and spiritual training
- More devotion to the interests of the House of Justice
- More fellowship between people who are devoted to the interests of the House of Justice and people who have grievances against the Baha'i community and its institutions

That brings me back to deepening my relationships with people around me, so we can learn more from each other, and encourage and support each other better.

I'm on a break now from Internet discussions for a few months. Maybe after that I will spend some time on the Talisman9 list practicing fellowship with unenrolled Baha'is and people who have grievances against the Baha'i community and its institutions.