questions
ha...@augustana.ab.ca
I have some questions I thought some of you people out there might
know the answers to. First, let me give you some background information.
I've been a Baha'i for about two years, but I have been interested in
the Faith for more than 10 years and, in fact, I was a Baha'i nominally
for a previous period in 1984 and 1985. My wife is a Christian with no
firm committment to any Christian denomination.
We decided to start our oldest child in a Roman Catholic school this
year, mainly because my wife felt the teachers at the school were
more competent and more concerned for their students than teachers
at the local public schools. (In the Canadian province in which we
live, families are free to send their taxes and their children to either
the public school system or the "separate" Catholic school system.)
There is only one other Baha'i in our community, so I had no assembly
with which to consult regarding this decision about which school system
to send our child to. However, another Baha'i has recently mentioned
to me that Abdu'l Baha wrote somewhere that Baha'is are not to send
their children to schools operated by another religion. I am not too
concerned about this since I am married to a non-Baha'i and, obviously,
compromises have to be made with one's spouse. However, I would like
to know if any of you friends out there have come across this writing
of Abdu'l Baha. Can you give me a direct reference for it?
This whole issue has raised another concern for me. I am an instuctor
at a liberal arts university owned by a Lutheran denomination in Canada.
The majority of instructors and administrators at this university are
Lutheran, but they are quite liberal for the most part and are not
terribly concerned about the fact that I am Baha'i. The administration
does not want me to mention the Faith in a public way on campus (e.g., in
the classroom), but this does not restrict me too much since I teach
Math and Computer Science. Nevertheless, I am concerned that some of the
authoritative writings of the Faith may suggest, either implicitly or
explicitly, that a Baha'i should not be working at a school owned and
operated by another religion. Do any of you out there know of any writings
that address this issue? Can you offer me any advice based on your
experience in the Faith? (This is my first attempt to seek counsel on
this problem. Eventually, I may seek advice from either the N.S.A. of
Canada or the U.H. of J.)
Thanks in advance for any advice you may offer me. You can send your
responses directly to me at the e-address below.
Bill Hackborn
Dept of Mathematics and Computing Science
Augustana University College
Camrose, AB Canada T4V 2R3
E-mail: HA...@AUGUSTANA.AB.CA
Brian Schellenberger
| Dear Friends:
|
| I have some questions I thought some of you people out there might
| know the answers to. First, let me give you some background information.
| I've been a Baha'i for about two years, but I have been interested in
| the Faith for more than 10 years and, in fact, I was a Baha'i nominally
| for a previous period in 1984 and 1985. My wife is a Christian with no
| firm committment to any Christian denomination.
|
| We decided to start our oldest child in a Roman Catholic school this
| year, mainly because my wife felt the teachers at the school were
| more competent and more concerned for their students than teachers
| at the local public schools. (In the Canadian province in which we
| live, families are free to send their taxes and their children to either
| the public school system or the "separate" Catholic school system.)
| There is only one other Baha'i in our community, so I had no assembly
| with which to consult regarding this decision about which school system
| to send our child to. However, another Baha'i has recently mentioned
| to me that Abdu'l Baha wrote somewhere that Baha'is are not to send
| their children to schools operated by another religion. I am not too
| concerned about this since I am married to a non-Baha'i and, obviously,
| compromises have to be made with one's spouse. However, I would like
| to know if any of you friends out there have come across this writing
| of Abdu'l Baha. Can you give me a direct reference for it?
I have similarly "heard" that Shoghi Effendi wrote that it was best
that Baha'is not send their children to the school of another religious
group, but could not actually find the reference when we looked for it.
I have known other Bahai's who sent their children to Catholic school,
however.
In fact, I'm sending mine there, but my wife is Roman Catholic, and I
*can* tell you that it says in Lights of Guidance that decisions about
how to raise your children are entirely your own affair if a non-Baha'i
spouse is involved, and that family unity is the most important
consideration.
So you are certainly not in violation of Baha'i law or anything like
that, but I, too, would be interested in the specifc reference if some-
body can find it. I should warn people that page numbers differ in
different editions of the Lights of Guidance; I have seen a citation
for the above-referenced guidance, but there was no such thing on the
same page of our copy.
| (This is my first attempt to seek counsel on
| this problem. Eventually, I may seek advice from either the N.S.A. of
| Canada or the U.H. of J.)
If there are any local assemblies moderately local, even if they don't
actually cover you, you can consult with them. (Or with the local
assembly anyplace else, for that matter.)
--
----------------------------
Brian, the Man from Babble-on. \ Brian T. Schellenberger /
\ babb...@vnet.net /
"To be sure, there are many people who ------------------------
cannot spell and who therefore equate
censureship with censorship." -- Miss Manners