Wilmette Institute

In this online presentation we will take a lightning tour of the Writings of the Bab. We will briefly survey the state of knowledge of the manuscript sources, summarize the existing available translations, and introduce some of the secondary literature. We will look at the fascinating interplay between form and content in His Writings, address some recurring themes, and examine one possible periodization of His short ministry. The goal will be to provide serious students with an orientating framework and to point the way to resources that invite deeper independent study.

Steven Phelps received dual bachelors degrees in physics and philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University, specializing in cosmology. He served at the Bahá’í World Center in Haifa, Israel for 13 years in its Research Department, where he coordinated the indexing and collation of the Bahá’í Sacred Writings and their translation from Persian and Arabic into English. During that period he concurrently held a research position in the Physics Department at the Technion University in Haifa and published original research on the masses of nearby galaxies. He currently resides in the Portland area with his wife and three daughters.

Part 3 of "Todd Lawson Web Talk Series on the Báb, His Artistry, His Audience, and His Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph"

In the Kitáb-i-Íqán Mulla Husayn is referred to by Bahá’u’lláh thus: But for him, God would not have been established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal glory. This suggests, among other things, that had Mulla Husayn not recognized the Báb’s station and accepted His claims the new era would not have begun. We know from Bahá’í history that what enabled Mulla Husayn to acknowledge the truth of the Báb’s claims was in fact the first chapter of the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, also known as the Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph. In this web-talk we will enumerate in detail the various features of this brief composition, features that we may assume were of such striking originality and obvious divine authority (another way to translate the Arabic word mulk) that Mulla Husayn had no choice but to become the Báb’s first follower or, as he is sometimes referred to, the gate of the Gate.

Part 2 of "Todd Lawson Web Talk Series on the Báb, His Artistry, His Audience, and His Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph"

In this session: The Islamic philosophic or mystical tradition, frequently indistinguishable from the Islamic tradition in general, has long been distinguished by the intensity with which it venerates and celebrates certain specific divine teachings from the Qur’án or the Hadith on the spiritual value of beauty. “God is beautiful and loves beauty” is just one such teaching. There are countless others. The purpose of this web talk is to link the Islamic veneration of beauty with the coming of the new revelation of the Báb and, later, Bahá’u’lláh, who is widely known and referred to by Bahá’ís as the Blessed Beauty.

The study of “beauty” as such is, of course, impossibly broad. In the course of the web talk we will focus on two aspects, revelation and manifestation as “messengers” of divine beauty. First, there will be a summary and elucidation of the aesthetic dimension of the Qur’anic revelation. Secondly, we will present the Islamic belief that Joseph, the subject of the Báb’s proclamatory Commentary introduced in web talk #1, was a unique embodiment of both spiritual and physical divine or blessed beauty. Muhammad, prophet and divine manifestation (and founder of Islam) is seen by the Islamic tradition as a reappearance of such spiritual and moral beauty.

As we know, the Bahá’í Faith emphasizes the quality of beauty as elements of both the revelation and person of the divine manifestations, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. The role of beauty as religious or spiritual value, then, may be seen to be inherited, enriched and universalized by the Bahá’í revelation.

See Also:

Part 1 of "Todd Lawson Web Talk Series on the Báb, His Artistry, His Audience, and His Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph"

The new dispensation announced by the Báb challenged existing notions of religion and revelation. The Báb’s commentary on the Súrih of Joseph is a highly intricate and complex composition which betrays the authorial presence of the young messiah at every word. Yet, almost every word is Qur’anic, however rearranged and ordered to conform to the new message. Thus revelation is seen in a different light. While it is certainly divine in origin, the creativity and the boldness it represents should be seen as coming directly from the Báb Himself. Thus revelation emerges as a cooperative activity, one shared by God and the manifestation. Details and examples of such artistry and creativity will be illustrated through provisional translation.

This presentation traces the development of Louis Gregory, an African American lawyer, and outstanding early adherent of the Bahá’í Faith, from his early years through his role in the black community in Washington, D.C. prior to his becoming a Baha’i and his subsequent work promoting the Bahá’í Faith and race unity, as inspired by his interactions in Egypt and the United States with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the head of the Faith. The talk also places the role of Mr. Gregory in the context of race relations, the development and contributions of African American lawyers from 1844 to the present, including in the raising of the Bahá’í administrative order, and their contributions towards social justice in the larger society.

Anthony Vance is Director of the U.S. Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs (OPA) based in Washington, D.C. He joined the office in 2010 after spending four years at the Bahá’í World Center in Haifa, Israel, representing it to the diplomatic community, civil society, and parts of the host government. A lawyer by training, he spent twenty-one years in the U.S. Agency for International Development in legal and managerial positions in Washington, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Botswana, and Egypt. Anthony holds a B.A. in Economics, an MBA, and a J.D., all from Harvard University.

Jena Khodadad, “Biotechnology, Benefits and Perils: The Need for Spiritual Perspective in Achieving Harmony of Science and Religion”

Momentous advancement in the past century and a half in molecular biology of the gene has spurred a scientific and medical revolution, accompanied at once with undreamt of possibilities as well as considerable moral and ethical implications. Such developments include: breakthrough in the structure of the DNA molecule, the carrier of the genetic information in all living things; the mapping and decoding of the entire human genome; and the technology for editing and modifying the gene. The rapidly advancing technology of gene editing, bearing the acronym CRISPER, is acquiring increasing refinements, enhanced possibilities and wider applications.

Other biotechnologies, such as recombinant DNA, gene cloning, and stem cell research, are among numerous other advances which hold prospects for the welfare of humankind, but can also portend harmful outcomes. Among the significant benefits are: identification of the genetic base of disease, eradication of deadly diseases, development of drugs and therapies, prolongation of human life and much more. Among the adverse implications are: c, human cloning, generation of biohazards and their release into the environment.

Such technological advances bring to the forefront the benefits but also the perils of biotechnology, recalling the dystopian predictions in the “Brave New World” of Aldous Huxley.

Followers of traditional religions may adopt a stance against such technologies, which they believe tamper with the gene and trespass into the realm of God’s creation. The sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith, however, inculcate the importance of scientific investigation and knowledge. Hence Bahá’í scientists will likely choose to promote progress in scientific learning toward “the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, … to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.” (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 204) while at the same time remaining vigilant of their harmful implications.

Jena Khadem Khodadad, holds a Ph.D from Northwestern University in biological sciences (cell and molecular biology). Her academic career as professor on the medical and graduate college faculties has entailed teaching of cell and molecular biology and neuroscience and research on the molecular organization of biological membranes. The results of her work were presented before national and international scientific forums and published in scientific journals and books. Jena has served on institutions and agencies of the Bahá’í Faith. As an advocate of human rights, Jena has presented before human rights organizations including Amnesty International and the American Jewish Committee on the denial of higher education to Bahá’ís in Iran. As an active member of an interfaith organization, she is dedicated to interfaith understanding and dialogue.

Jena is the daughter of Hand of the Cause of God, Zikrullah Khadem and Javidukht Khadem and was raised in a household infused with love and passion of the Bahá’í Faith. She has attained the presence of Shoghi Effendi and presented at numerous conferences, seminars and classes on “Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith”– a theme which is integral to the focus of this web talk. Jena’s most recent writing, The Dynamics of Growth: Scientific Principles at Work in the Worldwide Advancement of the Bahá’í Faith, is published by George Ronald. This book applies insights from science to the question of growth of the Bahá’í Faith in particular and to growth of religions in general. Jena and her husband, Manuchehr, live in the United States in the Chicago area.

Technology, tourism, politics, and law have connected human beings around the world more closely than ever before, but this closeness has, paradoxically, given rise to fear, distrust, and misunderstanding between nation-states and religions. In light of the tensions and conflicts that arise from these complex relationships, many search for ways to find peace and understanding through a “global public sphere.”

Contributors to the book “Religion and Public Discourse in an Age of Transition: Reflections on Bahá’í Practice and Thought” address various aspects of this challenge within the context of Bahá’í thought and practice, whose goal is to lay the foundations for a new world civilization that harmonizes the spiritual and material aspects of human existence. Bahá’í teachings view religion as a source of enduring insight that can enable humanity to repair and transcend patterns of disunity, to foster justice within the structures of society, and to advance the cause of peace. Accordingly, religion can and ought to play a role in the broader project of creating a pattern of public discourse capable of supporting humanity’s transition to the next stage in its collective development.

In this webinar, co-editor Benjamin Schewel talks about the content of the book, as well as the process of collective inquiry that led to its creation.

Ben SchewelBenjamin Schewel is a Fellow in the Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain at the University of Groningen and an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. He is also a Research and Policy Officer at the Bahá’í International Community’s European Office. He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from KU Leuven and has also held visiting positions at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Utrecht, and Addis Ababa. His research concentrates on questions concerning religion and history. His book, entitled, Seven Ways of Looking At Religion, was published by Yale University Press in 2017. He is currently working on another book for Yale University Press, entitled Encountering the Axial Age.

This talk will describe the progressive evolution of the Bahá’í community into an emerging instrument of spiritual and social change on a global scale as we approach 100 years from the birth of its Administrative Order.

It will review the new vocabulary that has emerged, the new approaches to coordinated community learning in action, and share illustrative real life stories. It will outline how the various elements (core activities, clusters, cycles, milestones, institutions, communities of interest, social action, etc) coalesce into a coherent approach applicable at all stages of our individual and community capacity.

It will finally estimate where we are at collectively, what the quantitative and spiritual impact has been, where the frontiers of learning are, how all our myriad efforts aggregate into remarkable global impact. In this context it will also address how we fit across the entire spectrum of experience, from those of us discovering how to affect entire societies, to those of us discovering how to simply have a meaningful conversation with a neighbor.

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Ismael Velasco has been a Bahá’í for 30 years, involved in community building processes inside and outside the Bahá’í community in over 20 countries, gaining the opportunity to see many of these processes across a wide diversity of contexts. Academically, he has published in the fields of Bahá’í scholarship and social action, and professionally focused in community development around the world.

Why is gender inequality so pervasive? Where does it come from and what causes it to arise from time to time? Does it have cultural and religious roots? What values are needed to confront its resurgence worldwide and what policies will enable us to create societies in which being born a boy or a girl is no longer a reason for whether or not or for how long or to what a degree we can develop our human potential?

We will take a look at some of these difficult questions and measures their cost on the security of individuals and society as a whole. We focus on how various restrictions against women have a direct impact on the economy of countries and the world. We evaluate the ways in which they undermine the talent pool available to the private sector, distort family relationships, and lead to inefficiencies in the use of resources. We analyze how gender bias contributes to an environment in which women, de facto, are second-class citizens, with fewer options than men, lower quality jobs, and lower pay. And we look at the devastating consequences of such inequality in terms of health, life expectancy and violence against girls and women, from the cradle to the grave.

Women are not yet fully politically empowered to change laws and implement new legal instruments to ensure gender equality worldwide. We have still scant presence in the corridors of power, whether as finance ministers, central bank governors, prime ministers or on the boards of leading corporations. Most importantly, in many parts of the world, including countries which consider themselves “advanced” many girls still receive less educational opportunities and less encouragement to pursue the development of their highest potential. This alone creates a vicious cycle of inequality that persists generation after generation. But perhaps if we include an economic perspective in our arsenal to promote gender equality, the penny might finally drop. The bottom line is, we simply cannot afford gender discrimination any longer.

Recorded on 10/5/2017. Chris Buck talks about some of the resources available to assist those interested in studying Baha'u'llah's proclamatory tablets published in The Summons of The Lord of Hosts. In this brief interview he defines teleology; introduces us to the teleology of the Baha'i Faith; describes Progressive Revelation and the 'paradigm shift' of the current age; touches on the 'Rapture', little-known letters Baha'u'llah wrote to statesmen (politicians)and the immense scope of Baha'u'llah's vision being rapidly unveiled in this bicentenary year; and talks about the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah's 'Most Holy Book' of Laws, reminding us that the Aqdas is like 'choice wine' and also contains many principles of the Faith, and is not just a book of rules.

Chris Buck is Lead Faculty of the Wilmette Institute course "The Summons of The Lord of Hosts" - http://www.cvent.com/d/mfqthk

Links to the articles mentioned in the interview:

2. “Baha’u’llah’s Bishārāt (Glad-Tidings): A Proclamation to Scholars and Statesmen” (2010) by Christopher Buck and Youli Ioannesyan

Article about the First Christian Baha'is on BahaiTeachings.org: