The Word of God/Avoiding Pitfalls

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Avoiding Pitfalls

Introduction

The Word of God is a potent force operating in the spiritual and physical worlds. We must therefore approach the Word of God with the proper humility and care. A number of pitfalls await those who approach the Word of God without the proper respect for its true nature. We must understand these pitfalls to guard against losing the great blessings God provides for us through His Word.

57 [Page 58]Overview

The Writings outline at least five pitfalls! which can come between us and the truths enshrined in the Word of God. These pitfalls are:

holding preconceptions;

overemphasizing individual interpretations;

¢ demonstrating intellectual pride;

° using study as an excuse for inaction; and

° treating the Word of God like the words of men

Most of us have found something in the Writings of Baha’u’lla4h different from what we previously believed. Such preconceptions

can be a problem if they become a barrier to accepting what the Word of God has to teach us. We may be tempted to take one or two verses that prove our point, and ignore other verses that say something else. We would be bending the Word to fit our own beliefs, rather than letting the Word lead us.

For example, the Qur’4n indicates that the earth goes around the sun. When people believed the earth was the center of the universe, they mocked the teachings of the Qur’4n. Some Moslems even went to great lengths to try to explain away the verses of God with wild interpretations. Instead of accepting the Word, they tried to make it match their false preconceptions. The Word is the standard of truth; our beliefs must be measured against this standard.2

Individual interpretations of the Word are welcomed in the Baha’f teachings. They are “the fruit of man’s rational power and conducive to better understanding.” However, these interpretations are limited. We have to be aware that we may make an incorrect interpretation. And we cannot impose our personal interpretation on anyone else.

Most importantly, individual interpretation must not be confused with the authorized interpretations of Baha’u’llah’s teachings by ‘Abdu’l-Baha or Shoghi Effendi. Their interpretations are binding on all Baha’is.

1 These categories are based on a talk given by Peter Khan in Wilmette on June 26, 1981

2 Baha’u’ lah, Gleanings 198 3 The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance 88

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Holding preconceptions

Overemphasizing individual interpretation [Page 59]Knowledge can be a veil that prevents the learned person from ever recognizing the truth of God’s Word. Intellectual pride may even cause a person to attack the new teachings, as the clergy have done with each Revelation. After accepting Bahd’u’llah, intellectual pride may lead us to believe that our opinion is the best, that others have little or nothing to contribute, or that the progress of the Faith depends on following our personal viewpoint.

“Blessed are the learned,” Baha’u’lldh says, “that pride not themselves on their attainments.”4 Great learning does not excuse someone from obeying teachings on humility, courteousness, wisdom, and tolerance for the views of others. We must remember that all knowledge comes from God.

It is possible to become so involved in our study of the Word of God that we fail to take time to put it into action. In the past, monks and other religious people withdrew from society to study, trying to draw closer to God. Baha’u’llah puts supreme emphasis on action. “He whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.”5 Shoghi Effendi indicates that to achieve success in our endeavors we must “meditate on the teachings, pray fervently for divine confirmations, . . . study the teachings, . . . and then act; and above all persevere in action.”6

There is a great danger in treating the Word of God like the words of men. We may find ourselves beginning to analyze the teachings for accuracy or validity. We may try to look for contradictions.

The Bab was asked by a group of Moslem clergymen to prove His claim to be a Manifestation of God by producing verses like those found in the Qur’4n. He began to speak. One of the clerics, however, attacked the Bab, claiming that He was using incorrect Arabic grammar. “The Qur’én itself,” was the Bab’s reply, “does in no wise accord with the rules and conventions current amongst men. The Word of God can never be subject to the limitations of His creatures. ... These men have, in the very texts of that holy Book, discovered no less than three hundred instances of grammatical error. .. . Inasmuch as it was the Word of God, they had no other alternative except to resign themselves to His will.”

4 Baha’u’llah, Gleanings 315 6 Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Deepening 52 5 Tablets of Bahd’ u' lléh 156 7 Reported words of the Bab, The Dawnbreakers 318-19

Demonstrating intellectual pride

Using study as an excuse for inaction

Treating the Word of God like the words of men

59 [Page 60]“Tt behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation. ...” —Bahf’u’lléh, Gleanings 11

“... the unbelievers have inclined their ears towards Us in order to hear that which might enable them to cavil against God.... And since they are unable to attain to mysteries of knowledge and wisdom from what hath been unravelled by the Source of divine splendour, they rise in protest and burst into clamour. But it is true to say that they object to that which they comprehend, not to the expositions given by the Expounder, nor the truths imparted by the One true God... Their objections, one and all, turn upon themselves, and I swear by thy life that they are devoid of understanding.” —Tablets of Bahd’u'lldh 141

“But, O my brother, when a true seeker determines to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart . . . from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy . . . that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.” —Bana’u'tah, The Kitdb-i-[qan 192

“Blessed is the man that hath acknowledged his belief in God and in His signs, and recognized that ‘He shall not be asked of His doings.’ “. .. Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental verity, and hath failed to attain this most exalted station, the winds of doubt will agitate him, and the sayings of the infidels will distract his soul. He that hath acknowledged this principle will be endowed with the most perfect constancy... .” —Bahé’u’ llh, Gleanings 86-87

“Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth must needs be pondered, and should their significance be not grasped, enlightenment should be sought from the Trustees of the depositories of Knowledge, that these may expound their meaning, and unravel their mystery. For it behooveth no man to interpret the holy words according to his own imperfect understanding, nor, having found them to be contrary to his inclination and desires, to reject and repudiate their truth. For such, today, is the manner of the divines and doctors of the age, who occupy the seats of knowledge and learning, and who have named ignorance knowledge, and called oppression justice.” —Bahé’u’llh, The Kitdb-i-[qan 181-82

Holding preconceptions

cavil: to find fault without good reason

remnant: that which is left over

Overemphasizing individual interpretations

depositories: places where something is put for safekeeping

behoove: to be necessary or proper for; to be advantageous to [Page 61]“A clear distinction is made in our Faith between authoritative interpretation and the interpretation or understanding that each individual arrives at for himself. ... While the former is confined to the Guardian, the latter .. . should by no means be suppressed. In fact such individual interpretation is considered the fruit of man’s rational power and conducive to a better understanding of the teachings, provided that no disputes or arguments arise among the friends and the individual himself understands and makes it clear that his views are merely his own. Individual interpretations continually change as one grows in comprehension of the teachings. As Shoghi Effendi wrote:

,.. The more we read the Writings, the more truths we can find in

them, the more we will see that our previous notions were erroneous.’ The friends must therefore learn to listen to the views of others without being overawed or allowing their faith to be shaken, and to express their own views without pressing them on their fellow Baha'is.” —The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance 88-89

“... Knowledge is of two kinds: Divine and Satanic. The one welleth out from the fountain of divine inspiration; the other is but a reflection of vain and obscure thoughts. The source of the former is God... the latter the whisperings of selfish desire.” —Bahé’v’llth, The Kiséb-i-fqdn 69

“Were these [the divines] to ask the Light of Truth concerning those images which their idle fancy hath carved, and were they to find His answer inconsistent with their own conceptions and their own understanding of the Book, they would assuredly denounce Him... .” —Bahf’u’llth, The Kitdb-i-[qan 182

“No good but only evil can come from taking the responsibility for the future of God’s Cause into our own hands and trying to force it into ways that we wish it to go regardless of the clear texts. .. .

“. .. the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and humility. In the past dispensations many errors arose because the believers in God’s Revelation were overanxious to encompass the Divine Message within the framework of their limited understanding, to define doctrines where definition was beyond their power, to explain mysteries which only the wisdom and experience of a later age would make comprehensible, to argue that something was true because it appeared desirable and necessary. Such compromises with essential truth, such intellectual pride, we must scrupulously avoid.” —The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance 87-88

Demonstrating intellectual pride

idle: lacking worth or basis; not tumed to proper use

fancy: imagining; whim;

a liking formed by a sudden arbitrary change of mind rather than reason

encompass: to surround, encircle; to contain

comprehensible: understandable

scrupulously: in a manner attentive to detail, exact

61 [Page 62]“... Oconcourse of monks! Seclude not yourselves in your churches and cloisters. Come ye out of them by My leave, and busy, then, yourselves with what will profit you and others. Thus commandeth you He Who is the Lord of the Day of Reckoning. Seclude yourselves in the stronghold of My love. This, truly, is the seclusion that befitteth you, could ye but know it. He that secludeth himself in his house is indeed as one dead. It behooveth man to show forth that which will benefit mankind. He that bringeth forth no fruit is fit for the fire.” —Bahé’u’lldh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 49

“Knowledge is as wings to man’s life, and a ladder for his ascent.

Its acquisition is incumbent upon everyone. The knowledge of such sciences, however, should be acquired as can profit the peoples of the earth, and not those which begin with words and end with words.” —Tablets of Bahd'u'lléh 51-52

“Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the unerring balance established amongst men. In this most perfect balance whatsoever the peoples and kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed, while the measure of its weight should be tested according to its own standard, did ye but know it.” —Bahé’v’lldh, Gleanings 198

“Warn thou the servants of God not to reject that which they do not comprehend. Say, implore God to open to your hearts the portals of true understanding that ye may be apprised of that which no one is apprised. ...

“Know thou of a truth that whatsoever hath been prescribed in the Book is indeed the truth, no doubt is there about it, and it is incumbent upon everyone to observe that which hath been sent down by Him Who is the Revealer, the All-Knowing. ...”

—Tablets of Baha'u'llah 188

“He feels that many of the perplexities that arise in your mind could be dissipated if you always conceived of the teachings as one great whole with many facets. Truth may, in covering different subjects, appear to be contradictory, and yet it is all one if you carry the thought through to the end. ... He hopes you will... rest assured inwardly that for these things which sometimes seem difficult to understand there is usually a quite simple and reasonable explanation.” —-written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Deepening 47

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Using study as an excuse for inaction

seclude: to withdraw from others; keep away

cloister: monastery

Treating the Word of God like the words of men

apprised: given notice of

prescribed: laid down as a guide, direction, or rule of action

perplexities: confusions; contradictions

dissipated: scattered; disappeared [Page 63]Illustration

“The following story in the life of Mirz4 Abu’1l-Fadl, the outstanding scholar of the Cause and its famous apologist, is one which demonstrates that reading the Word of God with the eye of intellect can lead aman astray. He himself has recounted the story that soon after he came in contact with the believers, they gave him the Kitdab-i-Igan to read. He read it with an air of intellectual superiority and was not impressed by it. He even commented that if the Kitab-i-[qan was a proof of Bahd’u’lléh’s claims, he himself could certainly write a better book.

“At that time he was the head of a theological college in Tihran. The following day a prominent woman arrived at the college and approached some students asking them to write an important letter for her. The students referred her to Mirz4 Abu’!-Fadl saying that he was an outstanding writer, a master of eloquence and a man unsurpassed in the art of composition. Mirz4 Abu’l-Fadl took up his pen to write, but found himself unable to compose the first sentence. He tried very hard but was unsuccessful. For several minutes he scribbled in the corner of the page and even drew lines on his own fingernail, until the woman realized that the learned scribe was unable to write. Losing her patience she arose to go and mockingly said to Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, ‘If you have forgotten how to write a simple letter why don’t you say so instead of keeping me here while you scrawl?’

“Mirza Abu’1-Fadl says that he was overcome with feelings of shame as a result of this incident, and then suddenly remembered his own comments the night before about his being able to write a better book than the Kitdb-i-[qdn. He had a pure heart and knew that this incident was nothing but a clear answer to his arrogant attitude towards that holy Book.

“However, it took Mirz4 Abu’l-Fadl several years to be convinced of the truth of the Cause of Baha’u’llah. . . . The same person who once had said he could write a better book than the Kitéb-i-[gdn, read this book many times with the eye of faith and found it to be an ocean of knowledge, limitless in scope. Every time he read it he found new pearls of wisdom within it and discovered new mysteries which he had not come across before.”

—Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahd' u'lléh,Vol. I 219-20

63 [Page 64]Select one of the passages from the “Readings” section. Take time to think deeply about it. What does the passage mean? After some time, consider how the passage might relate directly to your own life. Is there some behavior you can change or some action you can take? Use the following space to record your thoughts and plans:

[Page 65]1. List five potential pitfalls which can come between us and understanding the Word of God:

a.

b.

2. (Circle all that apply.) Individual interpretations of the Word of God:

a. promote better understanding of the teachings b. can be correct

c. should not be applied to other people

d. should be suppressed

3. (Circle all that apply.) In comparing the teachings of the Word of God to the knowledge of men:

a. the teachings of God are a standard to examine the knowledge of men

b. reason is given to mankind as a tool to measure the truth of each of the divine teachings

c. the teachings of God may appear to be contradictory

d. the Word of God follows the rules of grammar

65 [Page 66]Answers

The following are suggested answers. Depending on your understanding of the quotations, you may have different answers. Consider the suggested answers as a starting point for thought and discussion.

1. Holding preconceptions, overemphasizing individual interpretations, demonstrating intellectual pride, using study as an excuse for inaction, and treating the Word of God like the words of men.

2. a,b,andc. See the first quotation on page 61. Individual interpretation “should by no means be suppressed.” They may be incorrect or correct, but personal interpretation should be stated as such by the individual, should not lead to arguments, and cannot be forced on other Baha’is.

3. aandc. See the fourth, fifth and sixth quotations on page 62. For answer “b,” while our reason does help us to recognize the truth of God’s new Manifestation, we are not to pick through the teachings one by one, rejecting some and accepting others. Note that for answer “c,” the teachings may “appear to be contradictory” but in fact are “one great whole with many facets” (last quotation page 62). Regarding answer “d,” refer to the last paragraph on page 59 and to the third paragraph on page 31.

Discussion

What does Baha’u’ll4h mean by “He shall not be asked of His doings?” Why is this principle so important? (Refer to the fourth quotation on page 60.)

How can knowledge be “Satanic” when, as Baha’is believe, there is no devil? (Refer to the second quotation on page 61.)

What is the meaning of intellectual pride as discussed in the lesson? What is the proper role of intelligence and intellectuals in the Faith? How can the Baha’{ Faith avoid intellectual pride while at the same time avoiding the anti-intellectual feelings that have occurred in religion in the past?

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