The Bahá'í Faith

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Thanks phil. It's Baha'i belief that this very revelation has brought all forms of humanitarianism to this planet, which manifests in different forms. At the same time, extreme interpretations will also occur, it is our duty to teach moderation.

The end of this religious dispensation assures world peace, as I have already said. What I haven't said is that humanity will evolve to an exalted state of spiritual evolution. Baha'u'llah has said that the world will be so evolved, that even if the most beautiful woman walks from one end of this world to another, wearing the most expensive jewels, not a single person will glance at her or the jewels in a disgusting manner.

I did some light/random reading on this faith about a week or two ago, I agree with nearly everything to do with this religion (except for only the fact I have no desire to refrain from marijuana), though regardless of that it's just downright respectable.

This might not be my officially chosen religion, but because the part about the unity of all religion is something I wholeheartedly believe in and even though my beliefs are more so based in a different religion, I don't hesitate to jumble stuff up together.

Came across the Bahai Faith couple years ago. Totally fascinated by its teachings, which I believe if realised, makes it the most progressive and benevolent religion humanity has seen yet. Women education, co-existence with science, and world unity through diversity are extremely noble goals other major religions fail to address.

As a secularist, I do believe the world will be a more peaceful place if more people were to convert to your faith.

Keep up the good work!

Since there are ways to reproduce without actual sex, like in vitro fertilisation, would the Baha'i faith be against all kinds of sex should science make methods like this safer than "traditional" reproduction both for the baby and the partners?

The Baha'i faith being so very clear that sex is only for reproduction, what arguments does it have to back this up?

With reference to your fax of 26 March 1996 inquiring about the question of in-vitro fertilization, we have been asked by the Universal House of Justice to reply as follows.

The beloved Guardian, in a letter written on his behalf to an individual believer, states, "... there is no objection to having a baby by means of artificial insemination as long as your husband is the father of it." While artificial insemination is a very different process from in-vitro fertilization, the principle enunciated by the Guardian is the same, namely, that to be acceptable to Bahá'ís, the egg cell of the wife should be fertilized by the sperm of the husband in the procedure. (5 April 1996, to an individual)

The Universal House of Justice has considered the question of whether Bahá'ís are required to take extraordinary measures to facilitate the natural process of conception. For the present, it is left to the Bahá'í couple to decide whether or not they wish to use in vitro fertilization as a means of having children. The use of such procedures is clearly a matter of choice, and not a requirement. In this regard, there is value in obtaining the best medical advice available. (6 May 1996, to the Research Department)

Medical cannabis is allowed in the faith, provided your reason for using it is genuine and you have a doctor's prescription. ^.^;;

I used to be a stoner in the past. Glad to be sober now, but if I ever need to use it medically, I won't hesitate to ask a doctor and buy some bhang.



Thanks bloodshot. Warm Baha'i greetings from my side.

But why? Would they also be against a child being adopted by people who isn't its biological parents?

And you still haven't told me why sex is only for reproduction.

No.



The Baha'i faith's spiritual teachings state that we must strive to detach ourselves from this world, love God, and seek to overcome 'the world of the flesh'. At the same time, Baha'u'llah has forbidden us from abandoning the world - asceticism is forbidden. We must get married, work, and have kids, as long as it is possible to do so. Those who can't are excused. These acts are also considered a form of worship, and thus, we must strive to keep ourselves within the realm of decency. Family planning operations and contraception, for example, are strongly discouraged.

Most importantly, the family is to be united by love, not physical attraction.

In spiral dynamics, the lower realms of consciousness work almost purely on the physical level. Food, shelter, sex - doesn't go beyond that. The higher levels work on a spiritual level. We seek to refine our souls to the utmost level humanity can achieve.

Now I don't mean to say we must be like the Vulcans. Sex with out spouses should be enjoyable, but we must keep in mind that the purpose behind it is reproduction.

I have to say that the Baha'i stance on homosexuality surprised me—everywhere else they gave the impression of being unflinchingly liberal. Although, given the Islamic background of the Baha'i movement, it certainly has made significant improvements over the "stone them to death" policy.


In that case, I'm not joining.

So the answer to question of why that "to be acceptable to Bahá'ís, the egg cell of the wife should be fertilized by the sperm of the husband in the procedure" is "no"? That doesn't make sense. Given the above, wouldn't it follow that adoption is also wrong?


Erm, I'm asexual and I see quite clearly that to most people, sex is important for their relationships with other people. Given that the Baha'i faith strives towards an apparent "decency", wouldn't it make sense that if there was a way that is safer than sex to reproduce, the Baha'i faith should also turn against sex for reproduction?

XD



Not really. Adoption is humanitarian.

There's a show which aired on the Discovery channel called "the science of sex appeal". It explains a lot on how if the mother is going through a health problem, it affects the facial features of the baby. It also shows how we choose our spouses and how it benefits the immune system of the child. Also, recent studies show that if a baby is born through natural delivery and not Caesarian (I'm Caesarian born, btw), the baby gets more protective bacteria from the mother. Likewise, I'm sure further evidence will turn up showing that natural conception is the better form.

I don't know much about science. What little I know is based on what I saw on discovery, and what I read in the newspaper.



We're not Vulcans, as I said. We believe marriage should be loving and joyful. The Baha'i writings make it very clear that semen and sex are not indecent - provided that sex is for the purpose of reproduction.

However, if the couple wish to choose other methods for reproduction, they're free to do so, provided the eggs come from the wife, and the sperm from the husband.

There are many Baha'is from a Zoroastrian background (some estimates state that nearly half the Zoroastrians in Iran and a good percentage from Bombay became Baha'is in the past 100 years), and Zoroastrians are well known for having one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. I assume it's highly possible that some of them may have gone for artificial insemination.

The Zoroastrian fertility rates are so low that there's a fertility clinic in Bombay catering only to the Zoroastrian community free of cost.

Then why exactly is it that Baha'is require the egg cell of the wife to be fertilized by the sperm of the husband in the procedure? It does not appear to have a rationale.


Why exactly does the Baha'i hold that sex is indecent except when the purpose is reproduction, in the scenario of more reliable reproduction methods? If one argues that sex is required for a marriage to be loving and joyful, it follows that sex in this context has the purpose of making marriage loving and joyful, regardless of whether it leads to reproduction or not.

Usually, a scientific explanation turns up sometime in the future for such issues. For example, Abdul Baha and Shoghi Effendi strongly discouraged tobacco as harmful to human health, back when doctors claimed that tobacco prevents diseases and prescribed it as a good habit beneficial to health.



The Kitab-i-Aqdas, the holiest book for Baha'is, makes it clear that semen is pure (there were some Islamic traditions which claimed semen is unclean). Thus, sex is pure. However, we share the same beliefs as other religions that promiscuity is not. Now as to why sex outside marriage is indecent is quite clear - STDs, teenage pregnancies, abandonment of newly-born babies, abortions, etc. Contraception has done little if anything, in my opinion, to curb these trends.

Most importantly, science has already begun to explain the importance of natural sex, and more will be revealed soon.

"I don't know". All right.


But I'm not talking about sex outside marriage. Try again.

I made a huge blunder earlier - while the Baha'i writings make it clear that the purpose of sex is conceiving, married couples are not discouraged from having sex for sexual gratification. I had a different interpretation that was clearly wrong after looking into it. I apologise.

While the Baha'i view on homosexuality appears to be clear, it stands on very loose grounds. Perhaps one should consider a quote from the Bible, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Hmm... maybe we should also consider other things whose evolutionary purpose is sex but is widely used by humans for other means, like fruit, vegetables and spices. What is the stance on them?