cire perdue

We shrink, for very shame, from treating of the subject of boys.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 58)

Let's think about this statement by the Blessed Beauty. Why is Baha'u'llah shrinking from shame? We used in this statement probably infers the Manifestation and its human temple. One needs to consider that the sight/vision/grasp of anything He viewed was supernatural and likely overwhelming. He was not simply one of us, but an entirely different station. His retreats that one now visits were to relieve Him of this burden. If one was in His presence one could be sure that his whole existence could be displayed in the Lord of Hosts' faculty(I presume to think this). I do not know if anyone knows if this occurred by choice for Baha'u'llah or not. Both the Bab and Baha'u'llah answered very specific questions that were not asked or written. Therefore for Baha'u'llah to dwell on unpure subjects at any length would have been painful in the extreme for Him/him. Baha'u'llah's station could be written as HE/he in my understanding. It makes sense that the successors would enlarge this meaning b/c they would not be so affected by exposure to the subject. This may be true for many subjects.

Presently it should be a little clearer to those who are willing to accept this view why more was not said by Baha'u'llah on this issue. No past religion has accepted homosexuality. A healthier, less decadent society with wholesome family lives will not have the number of homosexuals that result from today's lifestyles. If as I believe the cause is recognized as learned and/or developmental that will also provide options and solutions. It is an issue that is as hard or harder than alcoholism from which to recover. It is also a fact that huge number of alcoholics do not recover. It is the exception rather than the rule at this time.

Now if someone wants to dissect the Writings, ignore the blessing of the Covenant, and continue to argue this point, then there is very little one can say to him or her. It is so typical however in western materialism that people are not willing to work hard to accomplish more than average, nor are they willing not to have their way. Just to cover the bases and provide the information, below is the definition of perderasty which is another argument used to attempt to validate homosexuality.
ped·er·as·ty   /ˈpɛdəˌræsti, ˈpidə-/ Show Spelled
[ped-uh-ras-tee, pee-duh-] –noun
sexual relations between two males, especially when one of them is a minor.

cire perdue

Verily I say: The fear of God hath ever been a sure defence and a safe stronghold for all the peoples of the world. It is the chief cause of the protection of mankind, and the supreme instrument for its preservation. Indeed, there existeth in man a faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame. This, however, is confined to but a few; all have not possessed and do not possess it.

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 63)

More on this is that if you thrust meat in a vegetarian's face it is repulsive to him/her. It is a visceral unconscious reaction. They are not going to be able to discourse on the pleasures of rare steak. There is repulsion to things for which one has no attaction or avoids. This is not a justification for homophobia, but it does explain that there is a limit that is probably an appropriate one for acceptance for homosexuals. Baha'is have always accepted me. We do not reject individuals, we just expect them to live by the same standard, become firm in the Covenant, and progress spiritually.

blessings

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thank you for this, cire perdue. when i first found this forum manymany months ago i stumbled across your comments/posts re homosexuality. i was holding onto a misconception re the baha'i's and their stance towards gays. your posts opened my eyes and mind and gave me the incentive to dig deeper. i meditated deeply on the subject and prayed to God for guidance, wisdom. It became brilliantly clear to me that my problem was NOT that i was gay. But that I had identified myself as gay. Being gay had become as much a part of my identity as being female. And THAT was the crux of the struggle for me. When i understood that, i gave it up. i declared my faith in Baha'ullah and turned to Him for help in overcoming something that was as natural to me as breathing. i surrendered my identity as gay. i assumed the role of lover of God - i am empty, Thou art All; fill me. that has become my strength and i don't believe for a moment it could have been otherwise. The words to the short obligatory prayer: 'i testify, at this moment to my powerless and to Thy might,' has been my rock. these identities are like weeds and continually crop and recrop up unless a power Higher then ourselves assists us. It is thru the love, the desire, and the absolute surrender -- emphasis on the continual practice of surrender, over and over. all my opinion, yes i admit. I do not assume it is the same for others. Your words were a God send. Your conviction, honesty and forthrightness....i thank you for it all. Those with ears will hear when the time is right.

blessings

cire perdue

Dearest Blessings,
This spiritual experience of yours must be treasured all your life. Do not minimize it ever. IF your road becomes difficult it will not be because you have done anything wrong, it may be because there is more to do. Most of the literature I have read is for men. Regardless it is important for one to bond with their own gender without sexual relations and to achieve those without sexual tension. Find someone that one is NOT attracted to and start there. We need to become whole, because we were not usually afforded the gender identity that we needed from our parents and peers. It is not done by marrying, but by becoming more yourself, then one can marry. I have never run into a gay woman who did not have terrible abuse issues. It is important to become yourself and not be affected by developmental failures.

Your response comes at time for me when I am having to renew my struggle, not sexually which I do seem to have put behind me largely, but in the peronsality development that I did not have, maturity. At my age it is a jolt, but not a surprise. Anyway i cannot tell you how special your response is and as I read what I wrote I cannot believe I wrote it. It is NOW apparent at least to me that I have been getting help from above to write, and that I need to pay attention to that as I struggle right now.

Marriage is a goal, but we may be too flawed or damaged. This Faith wants us to be with someone that is good for us however, so we have an advantage, b/c we need to be friends and know how we fit if we are to consider marriage. If possible it is wonderful to be a couple, but know yourself, do not fool yourself.

I am moved to tell you that if, IF it gets harder it is not that you have not achieved what you think, it is that it may requre more of you than you realized. I am not saying it has to get harder, but it may. I have not been able to heal and accomplish as much as I would like, but I would not change or give up what I have. Baha'u'llah loves me. I will be re-reading and following your example through my hard times. How interesting that your posts and interest has come when I, me, needed it. As you already know it is a journey, not a destination, and a process not perfection. Allah'u'abha.

PS Thank you so much for understanding what I wrote. It came to me and I was compelled to write it though it seemed un useable at the time. We have to be careful how we judge these things apparently.