Saturday, January 31, 2009
Jim's List (bad joke)
I've moved the original contents of this post to a comment. It was a bad joke, and I don't want it here. I'm only keeping it because I don't like people trying to cover up their mistakes and wrongdoings by deleting records.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Ruhi courses in Baha'i growth plans
Describing the Ruhi courses as I see them might include:
- Their contents
- The ways they're conducted
- The ways they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- The context in which they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- The reasons they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- Their effects on individuals and communities
In this post I'll list the titles and summaries of the current series, from the Ruhi Resources site:
1. Reflections on the Life of the Spirit is the first in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. It provides insight into spiritual matters, imparts knowledge of the Faith, and helps develop skills and human resources for Service.
This course has three main purposes for the participants:
* understanding the Baha'i Writings in order to fulfill the obligation of studying the Writings every day
* developing the required attitudes toward prayer, and acquiring the habit of memorizing them
* understanding that the true significance of life is to be found in the development of the soul
2. Arising to Serve is the second in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The units of the Ruhi Institute aim, in their entirety, at achieving three overall objectives: providing insights into spiritual matters, imparting knowledge about the Faith, and helping to develop specific acts of service. The units of Book 1 basically seek to help the students gain insights into certain spiritual matters. Book 2 is largely concerned with skills and abilities for specific acts of service.
3. Teaching Children's Classes, Grade 1 is designed to develop the capabilities needed to conduct children's classes. It is the third in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love.
3A. Teaching Children's Classes, Grade 2 is the second in a series in the area of the spiritual education of children and youth. It follows Book 3 and, in many ways, is a continuation of it. It offers thirty lessons for youngsters entering the second year of a Baha'i educational program, which the teacher is expected to apply to the particular circumstances of his or her class. The material in the book is also intended to help those who, though not interested in teaching formal classes, wish to develop some of the skills related to child education and gain a more profound understanding of its dynamics.
4. The Twin Manifestations is the fourth in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The three units that comprise Book 4 are devoted to helping students acquire a thorough and systematic knowledge of the lives of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
5. Raising up Animators of Junior Youth Groups is in development.
6. Teaching the Cause is the sixth in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The units of the Ruhi Institute aim, in their entirety, at achieving three overall objectives: providing insights into spiritual matters, imparting knowledge about the Faith, and helping to develop specific acts of service. After Book 2's initial introduction to teaching and having now gained some practical experience, the participants in the program are no doubt eager to embark on a more in-depth exploration of the subject of teaching in Book 6.
7. Walking Together on a Path of Service. The main sequence of courses (Books 1-6) offered by the Ruhi Institute is designed to impart to the participants the knowledge, qualities and skills that would enable them to serve as tutors. The aim of Book 7 is to prepare tutors who can effectively introduce these books to others.
- Their contents
- The ways they're conducted
- The ways they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- The context in which they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- The reasons they're used in Baha'i growth plans
- Their effects on individuals and communities
In this post I'll list the titles and summaries of the current series, from the Ruhi Resources site:
1. Reflections on the Life of the Spirit is the first in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. It provides insight into spiritual matters, imparts knowledge of the Faith, and helps develop skills and human resources for Service.
This course has three main purposes for the participants:
* understanding the Baha'i Writings in order to fulfill the obligation of studying the Writings every day
* developing the required attitudes toward prayer, and acquiring the habit of memorizing them
* understanding that the true significance of life is to be found in the development of the soul
2. Arising to Serve is the second in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The units of the Ruhi Institute aim, in their entirety, at achieving three overall objectives: providing insights into spiritual matters, imparting knowledge about the Faith, and helping to develop specific acts of service. The units of Book 1 basically seek to help the students gain insights into certain spiritual matters. Book 2 is largely concerned with skills and abilities for specific acts of service.
3. Teaching Children's Classes, Grade 1 is designed to develop the capabilities needed to conduct children's classes. It is the third in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love.
3A. Teaching Children's Classes, Grade 2 is the second in a series in the area of the spiritual education of children and youth. It follows Book 3 and, in many ways, is a continuation of it. It offers thirty lessons for youngsters entering the second year of a Baha'i educational program, which the teacher is expected to apply to the particular circumstances of his or her class. The material in the book is also intended to help those who, though not interested in teaching formal classes, wish to develop some of the skills related to child education and gain a more profound understanding of its dynamics.
4. The Twin Manifestations is the fourth in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The three units that comprise Book 4 are devoted to helping students acquire a thorough and systematic knowledge of the lives of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
5. Raising up Animators of Junior Youth Groups is in development.
6. Teaching the Cause is the sixth in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Baha'i Community with efficiency and love. The units of the Ruhi Institute aim, in their entirety, at achieving three overall objectives: providing insights into spiritual matters, imparting knowledge about the Faith, and helping to develop specific acts of service. After Book 2's initial introduction to teaching and having now gained some practical experience, the participants in the program are no doubt eager to embark on a more in-depth exploration of the subject of teaching in Book 6.
7. Walking Together on a Path of Service. The main sequence of courses (Books 1-6) offered by the Ruhi Institute is designed to impart to the participants the knowledge, qualities and skills that would enable them to serve as tutors. The aim of Book 7 is to prepare tutors who can effectively introduce these books to others.
Looking deeper into Baha'i Watch views
I'd like my BW journalists to look deeper into what Baha'u'llah says about Himself. To improve my practice of what I'm promoting, I've been trying to look deeper into their views. Now I'm considering looking deeper into Sen's views, even though I wasn't thinking of Him as a Baha'i Watch journalist. Now that I think of it, I have seen some posts from Him about what's wrong with the Baha'i Community. I see more room for me to explore in his writings, than where I've been looking.
Scenario x.03 and the stated interests of the House of Justice
In my list of possible responses to scenario x.03, I wrote:
5. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to investigate for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, by reading the relevant messages.
6. Help Baha'is, on line and off line, learn to distinguish and separate the interests stated in messages of the House of Justice from possible interests of its members and representatives, of Baha'i celebrities, and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions,
Some people might wonder why anyone who sees nothing but harm in what the House of Justice is promoting, and who thinks it's wrong for any Baha'is to promote or support anything that it's promoting, would want to encourage Baha'is to read its messages, and consider its interests.
I would argue that:
- If Baha'is who choose to serve the interests of the House of Justice learn to investigate for themselves what it's promoting, and learn to distinguish and separate its stated interests from possible interests of its members and representatives, of Baha'i celebrities and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions, it will be an improvement, even from that point of view.
- Many Baha'is would be much more open to investigating for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, and separating its interests from the interests of its members and everyone else, than they would to ignoring its interests.
- It would be hard even for Baha'i vigilantes to argue against it.
5. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to investigate for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, by reading the relevant messages.
6. Help Baha'is, on line and off line, learn to distinguish and separate the interests stated in messages of the House of Justice from possible interests of its members and representatives, of Baha'i celebrities, and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions,
Some people might wonder why anyone who sees nothing but harm in what the House of Justice is promoting, and who thinks it's wrong for any Baha'is to promote or support anything that it's promoting, would want to encourage Baha'is to read its messages, and consider its interests.
I would argue that:
- If Baha'is who choose to serve the interests of the House of Justice learn to investigate for themselves what it's promoting, and learn to distinguish and separate its stated interests from possible interests of its members and representatives, of Baha'i celebrities and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions, it will be an improvement, even from that point of view.
- Many Baha'is would be much more open to investigating for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, and separating its interests from the interests of its members and everyone else, than they would to ignoring its interests.
- It would be hard even for Baha'i vigilantes to argue against it.
Possible responses to scenario x.03
1. Abandon the Baha'i community to its fate.
2. Post articles in Internet forums and blogs about what's wrong with the Baha'i community.
3. Try to change the way Baha'is think about the administration by writing articles and books about it, and finding ways to get them past the censorship to as many Baha'is as possible.
4. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to ignore signs of disapproval of their ideas and what they're doing with their lives, from anyone, including Baha'i celebrities, and Baha'i institutions and their members and representatives.
5. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to investigate for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, by reading the relevant messages.
6. Help Baha'is, on line and off line, learn to distinguish and separate the interests stated in messages of the House of Justice from possible interests of its members and representatives, and of Baha'i celebrities, and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions,
8. Investigate what other faith communities have done to address this problem (see RVCBard's comment).
7. Some combination of the above.
I would welcome any other ideas about how to respond to the scenario of fictional view x.03.
2. Post articles in Internet forums and blogs about what's wrong with the Baha'i community.
3. Try to change the way Baha'is think about the administration by writing articles and books about it, and finding ways to get them past the censorship to as many Baha'is as possible.
4. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to ignore signs of disapproval of their ideas and what they're doing with their lives, from anyone, including Baha'i celebrities, and Baha'i institutions and their members and representatives.
5. Encourage Baha'is, on line and off line, to investigate for themselves what the House of Justice is promoting, by reading the relevant messages.
6. Help Baha'is, on line and off line, learn to distinguish and separate the interests stated in messages of the House of Justice from possible interests of its members and representatives, and of Baha'i celebrities, and of members and representatives of other Baha'i institutions,
8. Investigate what other faith communities have done to address this problem (see RVCBard's comment).
7. Some combination of the above.
I would welcome any other ideas about how to respond to the scenario of fictional view x.03.
Fictional view x.03
Fictional view x.03:
Any comments from any direction will be welcome.
Baha'is could be doing a lot more good if they followed their own interests and ideas, instead of what the House of Justice is promoting. Everything the House of Justice is promoting is harmful and contemptible. No one has any better reason for promoting or supporting it than a false understanding of "infallibility" and the Covenant. The only things preventing anyone from promoting their own interests and ideas are censorship and repression by the House of Justice, and other people's false understandings of the Covenant.
Any comments from any direction will be welcome.
Baquia's Ruhi
In this post I'll summarize what I see in Baquia's description of the Ruhi courses, here and here, and where I agree and disagree. In a later post I'll describe the courses as I see them, from my own experience with them. The parts in parentheses are not explicit in Baquia's description. I've added them because they're part of what I might imagine from reading what she says, if I didn't know otherwise.
Now I'll list the statements, and indicate where I agree and disagree.
- (Impoverished imitations of the Christian Alpha course that took off in the early 1990's).
Maybe. I don't know anything about the Alpha course.
- Their whole essence is is blind and unquestioning imitation in action or belief.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- They're a jumble of authenticated Baha’i texts, pilgrims notes and the commentary and interpretation of the authors of the courses, with no distinction between them.
I agree.
- They consist of (nothing but) reading, writing answers to questions, repeating, and memorizing.
I disagree. There is much more to them than that, as anyone can see by browsing through all the books.
- They're based on an unquestioned assumption that a systematic and standardized curriculum is better.
I'm not sure what that means. Unquestioned by whom? Better than what, for whom, and for what purposes? If it means that the only reason anyone has for promoting or supporting them is because they're systematic and standardized, I disagree.
- They became sacrosanct in a very short time because they're the only such courses mentioned repeatedly by name by the House of Justice and the ITC in their official communiques, and they have strongly recommended them and aggressively promoted them.
I disagree.
- (No one has any better reason for promoting or supporting them).
I disagree.
- They have crowded out other activities like the Mashriq’ul-Adhkar, charitable and SED projects, deepenings and teaching projects.
I see people being pressured to participate in the Ruhi courses and and a few other activities, and to give up doing anything else.
- Any criticism of the weaknesses of Ruhi is interpreted as a direct criticism or attack on the House of Justice and the ITC. Any member of the Faith who doesn't participate is branded as covenantally weak. That is having poisonous effects on the Baha’i world which will increase.
Maybe, on line. I haven't seen that off line. What I have seen is disapproval of anyone not participating in the courses and a few other activities, and disapproval of anyone doing anything else. I agree that the effects are poisonous
- In the Ruhi courses there is no interest in reaching out to the world and connecting with other people and groups with similar values; no interest in seeing how we can help those in need, or those less fortunate; and no interest in truly deepening in the Writings through independent investigation of truth.
I disagree.
- There is no interest in Baha'u'llah or Abdu'l-Baha.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- There is no room for imagination, intelligence or creativity.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- Communities become desperately and passionately preoccupied with how many of their members have done how many courses.
Maybe. I've seen a preoccupation with steadily increasing the numbers, at the expense of quality, but I haven't seen anything desperate or passionate about it.
- Mind-numbing drivel passes for wisdom.
I've always seen that in the Baha'i community, everywhere. I don't see what it has to do with the Ruhi courses.
- You can see what they are like by attending a Jehovah's Witness Bible study class.
- I disagree, and I'm speaking from experience.
In a later post I'll describe the courses as I see them, from my own experience with them starting in the late 1980's or early 1990's.
(They're impoverished imitations of the Christian Alpha course that took off in the early 1990's). Their whole essence is is blind and unquestioning imitation in action or belief. They're a jumble of authenticated Baha’i texts, pilgrims notes and the commentary and interpretation of the authors of the courses, with no distinction between them. They consist of (nothing but) reading, writing answers to questions, repeating, and memorizing. They're based on an unquestioned assumption that a systematic and standardized curriculum is better. They became sacrosanct in a very short time because they're the only such courses mentioned repeatedly by name by the House of Justice and the ITC in their official communiques, and they have strongly recommended them and aggressively promoted them. (No one has any better reason for promoting or supporting them). They have crowded out other activities like the Mashriq’ul-Adhkar, charitable and SED projects, deepenings and teaching projects. Any criticism of the weaknesses of Ruhi is interpreted as a direct criticism or attack on the House of Justice and the ITC. Any member of the Faith who doesn't participate is branded as covenantally weak. That is having poisonous effects on the Baha’i world which will increase.
In the Ruhi courses there is no interest in reaching out to the world and connecting with other people and groups with similar values; no interest in seeing how we can help those in need, or those less fortunate; and no interest in truly deepening in the Writings through independent investigation of truth. There is no interest in Baha'u'llah or Abdu'l-Baha. There is no room for imagination, intelligence or creativity. Communities become desperately and passionately preoccupied with how many of their members have done how many courses. Mind-numbing drivel passes for wisdom. You can see what they are like by attending a Jehovah's witness Bible study class.
Now I'll list the statements, and indicate where I agree and disagree.
- (Impoverished imitations of the Christian Alpha course that took off in the early 1990's).
Maybe. I don't know anything about the Alpha course.
- Their whole essence is is blind and unquestioning imitation in action or belief.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- They're a jumble of authenticated Baha’i texts, pilgrims notes and the commentary and interpretation of the authors of the courses, with no distinction between them.
I agree.
- They consist of (nothing but) reading, writing answers to questions, repeating, and memorizing.
I disagree. There is much more to them than that, as anyone can see by browsing through all the books.
- They're based on an unquestioned assumption that a systematic and standardized curriculum is better.
I'm not sure what that means. Unquestioned by whom? Better than what, for whom, and for what purposes? If it means that the only reason anyone has for promoting or supporting them is because they're systematic and standardized, I disagree.
- They became sacrosanct in a very short time because they're the only such courses mentioned repeatedly by name by the House of Justice and the ITC in their official communiques, and they have strongly recommended them and aggressively promoted them.
I disagree.
- (No one has any better reason for promoting or supporting them).
I disagree.
- They have crowded out other activities like the Mashriq’ul-Adhkar, charitable and SED projects, deepenings and teaching projects.
I see people being pressured to participate in the Ruhi courses and and a few other activities, and to give up doing anything else.
- Any criticism of the weaknesses of Ruhi is interpreted as a direct criticism or attack on the House of Justice and the ITC. Any member of the Faith who doesn't participate is branded as covenantally weak. That is having poisonous effects on the Baha’i world which will increase.
Maybe, on line. I haven't seen that off line. What I have seen is disapproval of anyone not participating in the courses and a few other activities, and disapproval of anyone doing anything else. I agree that the effects are poisonous
- In the Ruhi courses there is no interest in reaching out to the world and connecting with other people and groups with similar values; no interest in seeing how we can help those in need, or those less fortunate; and no interest in truly deepening in the Writings through independent investigation of truth.
I disagree.
- There is no interest in Baha'u'llah or Abdu'l-Baha.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- There is no room for imagination, intelligence or creativity.
I disagree. The falsity of that can be seen by examining all the books.
- Communities become desperately and passionately preoccupied with how many of their members have done how many courses.
Maybe. I've seen a preoccupation with steadily increasing the numbers, at the expense of quality, but I haven't seen anything desperate or passionate about it.
- Mind-numbing drivel passes for wisdom.
I've always seen that in the Baha'i community, everywhere. I don't see what it has to do with the Ruhi courses.
- You can see what they are like by attending a Jehovah's Witness Bible study class.
- I disagree, and I'm speaking from experience.
In a later post I'll describe the courses as I see them, from my own experience with them starting in the late 1980's or early 1990's.
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