tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post3126502233548252597..comments2023-08-11T05:21:29.737-04:00Comments on Independent Investigation of Truth: Moojan Momen: Free Speech Psych-Op Hero?James J Keene PhDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926197110377297689noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-19301165324475247642010-04-19T13:46:45.854-04:002010-04-19T13:46:45.854-04:00OK, I shall take up the evidence I have seen in a ...OK, I shall take up the evidence I have seen in a forthcoming post. To readers here, please send your evidence to keenej_at_cwdom.dm, with preference for public or anonymous credit, if your findings are used.James J Keene PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17926197110377297689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-25612397077434166042010-04-19T13:17:33.859-04:002010-04-19T13:17:33.859-04:00Dr. Keene, I hope you're right that things wil...Dr. Keene, I hope you're right that things will move in a more liberal direction within the mainstream Baha'i Faith organization, but I just haven't seen any evidence to suggest this. The only way it will happen is if at least 5 out of 9 of the members of the UHJ want to change course and agree that a liberal course is the way to go. I would be interested to read an analysis of all 9 of the members individually, in terms of what we know about their backgrounds, their past actions in Bahai leadership positions, things they have written about Bahai issues, and other relevant factors that could show whether they each lean in a more liberal or more conservative direction.Eric Stetsonhttp://www.bahai-faith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-12317045646341246132010-04-19T10:26:45.725-04:002010-04-19T10:26:45.725-04:00Hello. Re "the recent election of Stephen Bir...Hello. Re "the recent election of Stephen Birkland to the Universal House of Justice" (UHJ), with all due respect, forecasters might generally consider this as old news, since he became a Counseler in 1993 and ITC member in 2008, making it probable, according to some analysts, that he would be elected. As such, "old news" is already "baked in the cake" re forecasting future changes in policy trends. Also, I have not seen any attempt to evaluate whether or not there has been any net impact in the recent turnover of 4 UHJ members. For example, even if it is assumed that Mr. Birkland has not changed at all compared to your citation of what happened some two decades ago, his replacement of another perceived conservative might be a non-event in the bigger picture, not a sign of policy change in any direction.<br /><br /> Per core Baha'i writings, the UHJ is mandated, in part, to respond to changing conditions, matters not in the book and so forth, so the UHJ is just part of the big picture for forecasters. In other words, for the "smart money", who is elected in a UHJ election may not be given much weight when it comes to putting "real money on the line", re future trends. The jaded, "show me" posture of a forecaster is not at all inconsistent with core Baha'i writings.James J Keene PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17926197110377297689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-50401972770432455022010-04-19T05:33:14.100-04:002010-04-19T05:33:14.100-04:00Personally, I'd like to think the reviewers fo...Personally, I'd like to think the reviewers for Momen's paper were from another religion and thought it was great controversy - after all, don't we all like airing other religions dirty laundry for all to see?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-15186284345671486102010-04-18T16:35:11.055-04:002010-04-18T16:35:11.055-04:00I'm one of the 12 "apostates" mentio...I'm one of the 12 "apostates" mentioned in Momen's article. I was never contacted by Momen before he published his article. I think it is highly unlikely that Momen is a closet liberal who wrote his article to promote the cause of liberal Bahai reform.<br /><br />More than anything else, the effect of Momen's article has simply been to make it even more clear than it already was before that the Haifa-based Baha'i Faith organization is dominated by a pervasive culture of fundamentalism. It is not changing. If anything, there are signs that it may be getting worse, such as the recent election of Stephen Birkland to the Universal House of Justice. Birkland was the Bahai leader who was directly responsible for pushing liberal scholars such as Juan Cole out of the Baha'i Faith organization.<br /><br />Large numbers of people are still leaving this organization, due to its anti-scholarly, anti-gay, anti-individual-freedom, pro-conformity, doctrinaire attitudes. The emerging trend of recent years is for people to consider themselves Bahai outside the confines of the Haifan "administrative order." Expect this trend to grow.Eric Stetsonhttp://www.bahai-faith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621640681266100373.post-48610850223571922112010-04-14T01:10:50.387-04:002010-04-14T01:10:50.387-04:00This post had me on the edge of my seat! I had nev...This post had me on the edge of my seat! I had never looked at this situation in that light before, but there may be something to it!LiberalBahaihttp://liberalbahai.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com