Baha’i Double-Think

Baha’is frequently tend to double-think anything said to be a negative aspect of their religion. By “double-think” I mean that rather than accepting the obvious, they’ll come up with another thought that’s pre-programmed into them, which enables them to ignore what most other people would see as being reality.

I’m not pointing this out as a personal criticism of specific Baha’is, but stating, in general, this is what happens. Remember, I too did this for thirty years of my life while I was still a member of the Baha’i Faith… so I know what it is like, how it feels to be doing it, and why it happens.

Today I’ll share a few examples.

Example #1 – Baha’i Double-Think on Equality

Here’s the most obvious one, since it has been commented on thousands of times.

People say it is hypocritical for Baha’is to claim they promote the equality of men and women, yet refuse to allow women to be elected to the Universal House of Justice.

Baha’is, knowing full well that this is obviously hypocritical (and how could they not?) will instead fall back on the old platitude, “Someday we’ll know the reason and we must accept God’s will as expressed by Baha’u’llah.”

Baha’is believe this is a great test of loyalty: to patiently wait for the unknown answer to this mystery. Of course, they want to pass the test, so they ignore the obvious hypocrisy and most won’t give it another thought. Why should they? They’re so pleased with themselves for being able to pass the test with the correct pre-programmed thought.

Example #2 – Baha’i Double-Think on Parental Consent Issues

Another popular “test” Baha’is must double-think to pass is about Baha’i marriage.

If a couple is in love, wanting to marry, but there’s one parent who won’t give permission, they are supposed to change their plans, control their grief, and thank Baha’u’llah for his law that prevents their intended marriage.

To most people outside the religion this seems like cruelty and insanity. If the couple doesn’t pass the test, and marries anyway, they are sanctioned and excluded from the Baha’i Feasts and administrative meetings.

Rather than admit that this law is unfair and abusive, Baha’is double-think reality, concluding that such a situation is a great test that the best believers will pass by calling off their engagements.

Example #3 – Baha’i Double-Think on Institutionalized Prayer

Does God really care what time of day we pray?

God loves and appreciates a sincere prayer whenever it is offered straight from the heart. Baha’u’llah wrote obligatory prayers that are to be said in peculiar ways, with body movement, or at a particular time of day.

Do you seriously think that God really cares how you move while you pray, or what hour it is?

God wants to communicate with us… and most people will pray to him as a natural part of everyday life, and would consider the Baha’i obligatory prayer format to be an inflexible form of micromanagement.

Baha’is will simply smile and think, “Yes, it may be odd and impossible to understand the reason for these laws, but (here comes the cult-mind double-think) it is what Baha’u’llah wants and he’s God’s messenger and can ordain anything he pleases and I must obey.”

If they can think that, they can also assume they’ve passed some kind of divinely ordained test.

Example #4 – Baha’i Double-Think on Administrative Review of Writing to be Published

Most writers would consider administrative review and censorship by a religious organization to be restrictive micromanagement.

Baha’is double-think this, agreeing that the administration should do this to protect the reputation of the religion. This is another loyalty test Baha’i writers must pass, to prove the measure of their obedience to “divine institutions.”

The rest of the world would consider censorship an abuse of power. It seems that if a religion is so cautious about what’s published, it is probably because they’ve got a lot to hide.

I’m sure there are many more examples… perhaps you can come up with some ideas on this and write a comment at the end of this article.

I’d like to offer an alternative way of thinking.

The passing of tests is a form of “works.” It means you may think you have to DO something right to be approved of and dearly loved by God.

God loves us and we don’t have to prove ourselves worthy; we don’t have to pass “spiritual tests,” and we don’t have to be unquestioningly loyal to laws that don’t make sense to us. There are a lot of people who instead believe that God loves us dearly and doesn’t require us to do anything special in order to receive His love.

According to this way of thinking, we are not required to pass tests, follow incomprehensible laws, or behave perfectly in order to be loved by God, because He loves us all the time whether we are perfect or not. Of course, when we recognize His love and humble ourselves, thanking Him, we naturally want to behave in appropriate ways.

I found this God of grace described in the Bible: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

When you’re loved and saved by grace, there’s no need to DO something like accept hypocrisy about inequality being equality in your religion.

When you’re loved and saved by grace, there’s no need to DO something like giving up a person you want to marry because your mom said no.

When you’re loved and saved by grace, there’s no need to DO something like pray at a certain hour or with specific arm and body movements.

God will love you anyway.

In Hidden Words, Baha’u’llah wrote: “Love me that I may love thee.”

Really, now . . . think about that. We must DO something (love him) just to get him to love us?

No, no, no . . . that’s not how it works.

God loves us all the time. He has been caring for us and trying to help us all our lives, whether we knew He was there or not. We don’t have to DO anything to be loved by God.

In an ideal situation we’ll learn to recognize His love, and be grateful for it. But His love is pure grace – it isn’t something we have to earn.

The Cult Mind

Many people object to my belief that the Baha’i Faith started as a cult and still contains many characteristics of cults. People coming out of this religion still think of it as “A Major Worldwide Religion” as we have stated many times to seekers we tried to “teach.”

I am not a professional psychologist, and don’t have all the words to express this as clearly as I’d like, but I am trying.

You too can think independently of the cult-mind that asks you to accept inequality and call it equality. I have studied cult mind control techniques. At first, I did not recognize Baha’i as a cult, because I was still in it. I could not allow myself to think it was a cult. My double-think said it was a major world religion, and not at all cult-like. Everything that didn’t fit my idea of what Baha’i was – needed to be rationalized and justified so I could continue my way of thinking about what the religion was.

I left the Baha’i Faith in 2001 because I was tired of the built-in guilt-trips and because of the cruel and unloving treatment I’d received from quite a few Baha’is over the course of my thirty year experience. I decided I wasn’t going to take it anymore and wanted to distance myself from the religion.

After that, I spent twelve to thirteen years refusing to be involved with any religion.

That gave me plenty of time to mull over the thinking processes that made me the Baha’i that I was.

I no longer think like a Baha’i, because I’ve found my freedom from the cult-mind of the organization. In other words, I’m now detached from the type of thinking that is common among the Baha’is, and I’m trying to explain to you what the difference is.

I hope this has been helpful to those seeking healing from years of living as Baha’is.

http://exbahai.com/