bblogs

Baha'i Blogs

Is the Badi' Blog the most prolific of its kind in the world? With that question in mind, I have been checking over the other Baha'i blogs in the "blogosphere." With mixed feelings of gratification and dismay I have so far found nothing close to the Badi' Blog in quantity, if not quality. I was surprised at how much good material there is out there, though, so let us devote an entire essay series to looking over what is available from Baha'is and others blogs. If any readers have favorites I have missed, please share them here.

One blog is called the "Daily Baha'i Blog," <http://dailybahai.com/> but in spite of the name it comes out only an average of about four or five times a month. The latest entry is from December 4, 2007 and is quite interesting. It is called "Thoughts on the Baha'i Election Process." I have often deplored the fact that we Baha'i electors tend to elect the same people over and over. This writer agrees, pointing out that we are asking too much of these administrators by doing that; they perform the service at great personal sacrifice and we should not ask too much over too long a period, instead, we should consciously inculcate in ourselves what he calls an "anti-incumbency bias." You can read his whole discussion at:

<http://dailybahai.com/>

Another, the "Baha'i Blog," rivaled this Badi' Blog for a while in number of posts -- though not in length. This was in the spirit of the original blogs of the late 1990's, a collection of news and links to websites, rather than full investigative reports. Unfortunately, the last update was back in June and it seems to have gone defunct. Another blog, run by a certain bellyaching malcontent was called "Baha'i Rants," and it too thankfully bowed out. Unfortunately, another contrarian blog came into prominence, the "Baha'i - Catholic Blog." This blogger's concern is to stir up the reverse of interfaith harmony, to argue that Catholics are not the only ones who think they are superior to everybody else, Baha'is and their Writings do too. In view of the convoluted, self-contradictory and self-serving argumentation here I would not advise trying to counter these criticisms of the Faith.

 I came to the conclusion long ago in dealing with certain Christians that their futility is resistless, and conversely, like the Borg, resistance is futile. A fanatic is worse than a non-brain, he is an anti-brain. I believe that the goal of every discussion, especially of interfaith dialog, is to walk together across very thin ice. Each party supports the other most of the time. That is because reason and love are the very ground of discourse, and to disparages either love or reason is to cut the ground out from both their feet. For that reason fanatics are impossible to reach by any means but prayer, because prayer has wings.

Anxiously Concerned

One of the best quality blogs, and perhaps closest in spirit to what I am doing here in the Badi' Blog, is called Anxiously Concerned.

 <http://anxiouslyconcerned.blogspot.com/>

 They call it "Anxiously Concerned" in reference to the advice of Baha'u'llah to care about what is going on in the whole world. We featured that quotation here not too long ago, but still, taken out of context it makes the blog sound like a distraught letter to the editor. The blog seems to be written collaboratively by at least three people. A recent post asks for contributors. They suggest that those who do not want to set up an entire blog independently can send intermittent material to them. One of the most interesting posts I uncovered is a brief one on "The Faith of Woodrow Wilson,"

<http://anxiouslyconcerned.blogspot.com/search/label/Woodrow%20Wilson>

 Although it is nice to read the praise most Baha'is muster for President Wilson in view of his international achievements, we should stay ever aware that Wilson's reputation is not unalloyed. He had more-than-casual connections with the KKK, and would not have been elected without their support. By sins of both omission and commission he set back race relations several decades.

 Annoyingly, the writers do not cite chapter and verse on this site. While I do not feel it is necessary to do some duties many bloggers think are necessary, (for instance, constantly remind readers that it is not an official blog), I still hold that proper attribution wherever possible is a must, not only from the point of view of Baha'i authority but also plain old garden variety integrity.

 The most recent entry on this blog, dated 24 October, deals with Baha'u'llah's stance on vision. At the end it says,

 "Interestingly, in one passage, 'Abdu'l-Baha identifies speaking ill of one who is absent as one of the greatest sources of harm to our vision, stating that `it would make the dust to settle so thickly on the heart that the ears would hear no more, and the eyes would no longer behold the light of truth.' Thus it would seem that avoiding backbiting would be one indispensable practice that `serveth to reduce blindness and to increase vision.' Doubtless there are a number of other tools that we can use to increase our vision, and thereby increase our understanding."

 Anyway, the Master's point about backbiting dustfall is interesting because it connects the literal dust from air pollution to the metaphorical, spiritual dust of badmouthing others. That is a penny that had not dropped for me. Here is the next verse in the Master's Tablet, which holds forth a carrot after the stick:

 "If, however, a person setteth about speaking well of another, opening his lips to praise another, he will touch an answering chord in his hearers and they will be stirred up by the breathings of God. Their hearts and souls will rejoice to know that, God be thanked, here is a soul in the Faith who is a focus of human perfections, a very embodiment of the bounties of the Lord, one whose tongue is eloquent, and whose face shineth, in whatever gathering he may be, one who hath victory upon his brow, and who is a being sustained by the sweet savours of God." (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, 230)

My favorite entry is "smiling and laughter," and I will leave it to you to read it.

<http://anxiouslyconcerned.blogspot.com/search/label/smiling%20and%20laughter>

 The last blog I will look at today is Barney Lieth's Barnabus Quoditianus Blog, <http://www.leithjb.net/blog/> which he updates ever week or so, also in spite of its nominal promise of daily posts. Here is my favorite of his recent additions, from December 6, referring to a case that has been filling the headlines the past several weeks.

 What is in a Name?

 "You can be imprisoned - or worse - in Sudan for naming your teddy bear Muhammad. But what happens when you name your racehorse Baha'u'llah (Baha'u'llah is the Prophet or Manifestation of God who founded the Baha'i Faith)? Ah, that could never happen, you say. Racehorses? Baha'u'llah? Well, apparently, it did happen - and it happened as long ago as 1951. Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, wrote to the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand: The Guardian was very pleased to see the Racing Conference courteously changed the name of that horse which had been called Baha'u'llah. You do not wanna mix it with those Baha'is. They will be round with the Persian rice and fessenjoon."

 <http://www.leithjb.net/blog/2007/12/06/teddy-bears-and-racehorses-whats-in-a-name/>