- May 24, 2015
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I would very much like more information regarding how covenant breakers are treated in the Baha'i Faith, as I have found a number of criticisms of this practice on the Net that seemed a bit evocative of what one hears about Scientology disconnection.
Edit: No need,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant-breaker
How do Baha'is therefore seek to justify this practice? It seems to me rather morally dubious. We do not treat the excommunicate this way in Orthodox Christianity.
Even more morally dubious seems to me the directive to burn arsonists alive:
"Should anyone intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another's life, him also shall ye put to death. Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. Should ye condemn the arsonist and the murderer to life imprisonment, it would be permissible according to the provisions of the Book. He, verily, hath power to ordain whatsoever He pleaseth."
I would argue that even life imprisonment is grossly inappropriate in many cases, given that many arsonists are minors, or mentally ill; what is more, intentionally destroying a house by fire might be justified in some cases relating to the management of wildfires.
However, the mere suggestion of an auto da fe for arsonists is quite beyond the pale.
Edit: No need,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant-breaker
How do Baha'is therefore seek to justify this practice? It seems to me rather morally dubious. We do not treat the excommunicate this way in Orthodox Christianity.
Even more morally dubious seems to me the directive to burn arsonists alive:
"Should anyone intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another's life, him also shall ye put to death. Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. Should ye condemn the arsonist and the murderer to life imprisonment, it would be permissible according to the provisions of the Book. He, verily, hath power to ordain whatsoever He pleaseth."
I would argue that even life imprisonment is grossly inappropriate in many cases, given that many arsonists are minors, or mentally ill; what is more, intentionally destroying a house by fire might be justified in some cases relating to the management of wildfires.
However, the mere suggestion of an auto da fe for arsonists is quite beyond the pale.
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