Baha'i article in Encyclopedia
Rabo Karabekian
Several month back I posted on this newsgroup requesting contributions for
the Baha'i entry in a encyclopedia project: http://www.wikipedia.com
Well an article was written, and time went by.
In recent weeks, a contributor who we only know by his/her IP address of
66.219.221.xxx has commenced a campaign of championing the Orthodox Baha'i
position.
When I originally researched the Baha'i Faith, I quickly concluded that
apart from the plethora of webpages the OB division was extremely small (as
in barely hundreds of members), and therefore while it was fair to mention
it, it was also fair to place it within a proper perspective.
Hence I am writing to ask if someone can return to the website, examine the
articles and help those of us who are insufficiently informed to paint a
true picture.
The antagonist in the dispute has one extremely valid point however - the
article on the Orthodox Baha'is does cover the Baha'i principles in great
depth, and frankly the Baha'i article tends to focus solely on history and
buildings. We (the editors) feel that the principles of the Faith should be
encapsulated in the main Baha'i article and we should limit the OB article
to the point of distinction (ie. the dispute about succession of the
Guardianship). But none of us feel suitably qualified to redress this
imbalance.
The Wikipedia is a growing resource, it now has nearly 30000 articles (after
only 16 months) and a viewcount extending into the millions per month.
Certainly there are numerous issues about the actual quality of our
articles, but that's why I am writing to a newsgroup where I could
reasonably expect to find "experts".
Regards
Rabo
To find related pages - enter Bahai in the search box.
Matt Menge
Organization: http://groups.google.com/
"Rabo Karabekian" <ra...@NOSPAM.emcglobal.com> wrote in
message
news:<cVDs8.61390$r7.50...@bin8.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com>.
..
>
> The antagonist in the dispute has one extremely valid point however - the
> article on the Orthodox Baha'is does cover the Baha'i principles in great
> depth, and frankly the Baha'i article tends to focus solely on history and
> buildings. We (the editors) feel that the principles of the Faith should be
> encapsulated in the main Baha'i article and we should limit the OB article
> to the point of distinction (ie. the dispute about succession of the
> Guardianship). But none of us feel suitably qualified to redress this
> imbalance.
>
That's a coincidence to be sure. There are of course 'Abdu'l-Baha's
12 social principles:
1. The Oneness of God
2. The Oneness of religion
3. The Oneness of mankind
4. Equality of men and women
5. Elimination of all forms of prejudice
6. World peace
7. Harmony of religion and science
8. Universal compulsory education
9. Obedience to government
10. Non-involvement in politics
11. A spiritual solution to economic problems
12. Elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty
These are mentioned by 'Abdu'l-Baha in Promulgation of Universal
Peace
and perhaps someone with this book can expand upon it.
Some other Baha'i principles include
Moderation in all things (specifically liberty, civilization,
religious zeal. and scriptural literalism)
The Covenant
Progressive Revelation
The principle of the heart (the idea that the heart must be changed
for the attainment of real knowledge)
Unity
Hope that helps start you off.
Matt
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