steel_ag
8th November 2012, 07:24 PM
Source: http://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/articles.pl?article=183 {0}
by Dale E. Lehman
Appeared: 11/19/2004
Some years ago, the husband of a friend of my wife said in the course of a political comment on the religious right movement, "Of course, if you can believe that all your sins are forgiven, you can believe anything." At the time I didn't want to risk an argument and couldn't think of a reasonable reply anyway. In retrospect, I maybe I should have simply asked, "Why?"
Forgiveness, after all, isn't a complicated concept. We all do things in the course of our lives that we wish we hadn't, and we all seek or at least wish for forgiveness at such times. We all have things done to us by others and are usually willing to forgive them if they appear to be sincerely sorry. The best of us can forgive most any affront, even if repeated time and again.
So why should the idea of a merciful God be a challenge? Perhaps the challenge is in the degree to which God's mercy is supposed to extend. In most religions anyone, no matter what kind of life they've lived, can obtain forgiveness from God if they honestly seek it. Sometimes it is believed that restitution must be made in conjunction upon sincere repentance, and sometimes God's forgiveness is seen as a "free gift" there for the taking (so long as one has sincere faith). But in all cases forgiveness can be had for essentially any act by following the right "formula".
In the Bahá'í Faith the "formula" is one that would be familiar to most people regardless of their religion. Bahá'u'lláh offers God's forgiveness to anyone who sincerely turns to Him, repents of their sins, and asks forgiveness. This offer is open to all people, regardless of their past:
Thus have We recounted unto you the tales of the one true God, and sent down unto you the things He had preordained, that haply ye may ask forgiveness of Him, may return unto Him, may truly repent, may realize your misdeeds, may shake off your slumber, may be roused from your heedlessness, may atone for the things that have escaped you, and be of them that do good. Let him who will, acknowledge the truth of My words; and as to him that willeth not, let him turn aside. My sole duty is to remind you of your failure in duty towards the Cause of God, if perchance ye may be of them that heed My warning. Wherefore, hearken ye unto My speech, and return ye to God and repent, that He, through His grace, may have mercy upon you, may wash away your sins, and forgive your trespasses. The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His wrath, and His grace encompasseth all who have been called into being and been clothed with the robe of life, be they of the past or of the future.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LXVI, p. 130)
Clearly this teaching is fundamentally the same as that in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is also similar to that found in other religions. For example:
When wisdom is thine, Arjuna, never more shalt thou be in confusion; for thou shalt see all things in thy heart, and thou shalt see thy heart in me.
And even if thou wert the greatest of sinners, with the help of the bark of wisdom thou shalt cross the sea of evil.
Even as a burning fire burns all fuel into ashes, the fire of eternal wisdom burns into ashes all works.
Because there is nothing like wisdom which can make us pure on this earth. The man who lives in self-harmony finds this truth in his soul.
(Bhagavad Gita, 4:35-38, translated by Juan Mascaró)
Of course, repentance must be sincere and sincerity has implications. Sometimes the objection is raised that such teachings mean that we do not have to take responsibility for our actions, or that there are no consequences. But this overlooks the fact that sincerity is a part of repentence, and that a person who has repented of some sin would (if they were sincere) make an effort to correct their behavior and make appropriate restitution for any wrongs they have inflicted upon others. Shoghi Effendi addressed this in passages such as this:
God judges each soul on its own merits. The Guardian cannot tell you what the attitude of God would be towards a person who lives a good life in most ways, but not in this way. All he can tell you is that it is forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh, and that one so afflicted should struggle and struggle again to overcome it. We must be hopeful of God's Mercy but not impose upon it.
(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, March 26, 1950, Lights of Guidance, p. 365)
The Guardian suggests that you contact Mr. ..., and press him to discharge his debt to the believer in Fiji whom he has so grievously wronged, pointing out to him that surely, if he expects any forgiveness from God, the first pre-requisite is to conduct himself honestly.
(Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand, p. 103)
So we do not get a "free ticket" to do anything we want just because we are Bahá'ís (or Christians, or Hindus, or human beings). God may certainly forgive anyone He desires to forgive. "Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, XXXVII, p. 86) But as a general rule, Bahá'u'lláh teaches that the offer of forgiveness is linked to the act of sincerely turning to God, repenting, and making the effort to overcome our flaws.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Chosen Ones, and by the Bearers of Thy Trust, and by Him Whom Thou hast ordained to be the Seal of Thy Prophets and of Thy Messengers, to let Thy remembrance be my companion, and Thy love my aim, and Thy face my goal, and Thy name my lamp, and Thy wish my desire, and Thy pleasure my delight.
I am a sinner, O my Lord, and Thou art the Ever-Forgiving. As soon as I recognized Thee, I hastened to attain the exalted court of Thy loving-kindness. Forgive me, O my Lord, my sins which have hindered me from walking in the ways of Thy good-pleasure, and from attaining the shores of the ocean of Thy oneness.
There is no one, O my Lord, who can deal bountifully with me to whom I can turn my face, and none who can have compassion on me that I may crave his mercy. Cast me not out, I implore Thee, of the presence of Thy grace, neither do Thou withhold from me the outpourings of Thy generosity and bounty. Ordain for me, O my Lord, what Thou hast ordained for them that love Thee, and write down for me what Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones. My gaze hath, at all times, been fixed on the horizon of Thy gracious providence, and mine eyes bent upon the court of Thy tender mercies. Do with me as beseemeth Thee. No God is there but Thee, the God of power, the God of glory, Whose help is implored by all men."
(Prayer revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 29-30)
I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy love and of Thy good-pleasure, and for all things pertaining unto me which bear no relationship unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of lords, He Who provideth the means and unlocketh the doors." (Prayer revealed by the Báb, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 79)
by Dale E. Lehman
Appeared: 11/19/2004
Some years ago, the husband of a friend of my wife said in the course of a political comment on the religious right movement, "Of course, if you can believe that all your sins are forgiven, you can believe anything." At the time I didn't want to risk an argument and couldn't think of a reasonable reply anyway. In retrospect, I maybe I should have simply asked, "Why?"
Forgiveness, after all, isn't a complicated concept. We all do things in the course of our lives that we wish we hadn't, and we all seek or at least wish for forgiveness at such times. We all have things done to us by others and are usually willing to forgive them if they appear to be sincerely sorry. The best of us can forgive most any affront, even if repeated time and again.
So why should the idea of a merciful God be a challenge? Perhaps the challenge is in the degree to which God's mercy is supposed to extend. In most religions anyone, no matter what kind of life they've lived, can obtain forgiveness from God if they honestly seek it. Sometimes it is believed that restitution must be made in conjunction upon sincere repentance, and sometimes God's forgiveness is seen as a "free gift" there for the taking (so long as one has sincere faith). But in all cases forgiveness can be had for essentially any act by following the right "formula".
In the Bahá'í Faith the "formula" is one that would be familiar to most people regardless of their religion. Bahá'u'lláh offers God's forgiveness to anyone who sincerely turns to Him, repents of their sins, and asks forgiveness. This offer is open to all people, regardless of their past:
Thus have We recounted unto you the tales of the one true God, and sent down unto you the things He had preordained, that haply ye may ask forgiveness of Him, may return unto Him, may truly repent, may realize your misdeeds, may shake off your slumber, may be roused from your heedlessness, may atone for the things that have escaped you, and be of them that do good. Let him who will, acknowledge the truth of My words; and as to him that willeth not, let him turn aside. My sole duty is to remind you of your failure in duty towards the Cause of God, if perchance ye may be of them that heed My warning. Wherefore, hearken ye unto My speech, and return ye to God and repent, that He, through His grace, may have mercy upon you, may wash away your sins, and forgive your trespasses. The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His wrath, and His grace encompasseth all who have been called into being and been clothed with the robe of life, be they of the past or of the future.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LXVI, p. 130)
Clearly this teaching is fundamentally the same as that in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is also similar to that found in other religions. For example:
When wisdom is thine, Arjuna, never more shalt thou be in confusion; for thou shalt see all things in thy heart, and thou shalt see thy heart in me.
And even if thou wert the greatest of sinners, with the help of the bark of wisdom thou shalt cross the sea of evil.
Even as a burning fire burns all fuel into ashes, the fire of eternal wisdom burns into ashes all works.
Because there is nothing like wisdom which can make us pure on this earth. The man who lives in self-harmony finds this truth in his soul.
(Bhagavad Gita, 4:35-38, translated by Juan Mascaró)
Of course, repentance must be sincere and sincerity has implications. Sometimes the objection is raised that such teachings mean that we do not have to take responsibility for our actions, or that there are no consequences. But this overlooks the fact that sincerity is a part of repentence, and that a person who has repented of some sin would (if they were sincere) make an effort to correct their behavior and make appropriate restitution for any wrongs they have inflicted upon others. Shoghi Effendi addressed this in passages such as this:
God judges each soul on its own merits. The Guardian cannot tell you what the attitude of God would be towards a person who lives a good life in most ways, but not in this way. All he can tell you is that it is forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh, and that one so afflicted should struggle and struggle again to overcome it. We must be hopeful of God's Mercy but not impose upon it.
(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, March 26, 1950, Lights of Guidance, p. 365)
The Guardian suggests that you contact Mr. ..., and press him to discharge his debt to the believer in Fiji whom he has so grievously wronged, pointing out to him that surely, if he expects any forgiveness from God, the first pre-requisite is to conduct himself honestly.
(Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand, p. 103)
So we do not get a "free ticket" to do anything we want just because we are Bahá'ís (or Christians, or Hindus, or human beings). God may certainly forgive anyone He desires to forgive. "Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, XXXVII, p. 86) But as a general rule, Bahá'u'lláh teaches that the offer of forgiveness is linked to the act of sincerely turning to God, repenting, and making the effort to overcome our flaws.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Chosen Ones, and by the Bearers of Thy Trust, and by Him Whom Thou hast ordained to be the Seal of Thy Prophets and of Thy Messengers, to let Thy remembrance be my companion, and Thy love my aim, and Thy face my goal, and Thy name my lamp, and Thy wish my desire, and Thy pleasure my delight.
I am a sinner, O my Lord, and Thou art the Ever-Forgiving. As soon as I recognized Thee, I hastened to attain the exalted court of Thy loving-kindness. Forgive me, O my Lord, my sins which have hindered me from walking in the ways of Thy good-pleasure, and from attaining the shores of the ocean of Thy oneness.
There is no one, O my Lord, who can deal bountifully with me to whom I can turn my face, and none who can have compassion on me that I may crave his mercy. Cast me not out, I implore Thee, of the presence of Thy grace, neither do Thou withhold from me the outpourings of Thy generosity and bounty. Ordain for me, O my Lord, what Thou hast ordained for them that love Thee, and write down for me what Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones. My gaze hath, at all times, been fixed on the horizon of Thy gracious providence, and mine eyes bent upon the court of Thy tender mercies. Do with me as beseemeth Thee. No God is there but Thee, the God of power, the God of glory, Whose help is implored by all men."
(Prayer revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 29-30)
I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy love and of Thy good-pleasure, and for all things pertaining unto me which bear no relationship unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of lords, He Who provideth the means and unlocketh the doors." (Prayer revealed by the Báb, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 79)