Re: Gay and Lesbian Bahai's and unmarrieds living together

Gandhimohan Viswanathan [or just Gandhi] (viswan@buphy.bu.edu)
Wed, Apr 19 1995 09:55:43 GMT

Hello. This is considered by many to be a controversial subject.

Toni Riss (0004219750@mcimail.com) wrote:
: What is the position of the Bahai faith towards Gays and Lesbians?

Gay, lebsian, and bisexually oriented Baha'is are bound by the same
laws as other Baha'is. The Baha'i' Religion treats people irrespective
of their sexual orientation.

: I have just joined this board, but am aware of a separate Gay and Lesbian
: following that has a newsletter. Are gays and lesbians not part of mankind
: being "one"?

This is incorrect. All humans are ipso facto considered humans.

: Also I was in a roommate situation a number of years ago in the expensive
: city of San Francisco and at the time I was active in the faith.
: Unfortunately my roommates and I were harassed by a number of followers
: because one of my roommates was male. There was no sexual relationship. The
: bottom line is that we were so harassed we ended up breaking up the household
: and I moved to Texas. I have been inactive until now and until I saw this
: mailing list.

What a shame that people who profess to follow this wonderful religion
debase themselves to such depths by actively chosing to disobey
Baha'u'llah. "How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself
with the faults of others?", Baha'u'llah asks. He continues and says
that whoso doeth this is "accursed" of Him.

I am very sorry to hear you were harassed. This is very unfortunate for
everyone, isn't it?

: Until I have some clarification on the above I shall remain inactive.

Baha'u'llah forbids extramarital sexual intercourse, and the Faith bars
homosexual marriages. The Faith also prohibits companionate marriage.
IN cases of "flagrant" immorality along the lines mentioned, local and
Baha'i _INSTITUTIONS_ have the right and duty to appproach the people
involved. But individual Baha'is have no business interfering with
other people's personal lives. We have enough faults of our own to work
on. (For further reading on such matters, see "Lights of Guidance" or
other Baha'i books.)

Perhaps, some misinformed Baha'i who were ignorant of the essentials of
their own religion thought that by "harassing" you they were serving the
Faith. We Baha'is make mistakes and errors of judgement just like any
other people. I hope you have or one day will forgive them for what
happened to you, and that you will not judge this great, this most
excellent religious system by the actions of a few people in one city in
one country.

All IMHO. Of course, I am also assuming your account is completely
honest and accurate.


humble and lowly
praise and salutations
Gandhi


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"One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship."
-quoted by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan
_________________________________________________________________________

Gandhimohan M. Viswanathan
Department of Physics
Boston University Tel: 1-(617)-353-9460
590 Commonwealth Ave. FAX: 1-(617)-353-9393
Boston, MA 02215, USA Internet: Viswan@physics.bu.edu