Bible time?

Well, I'm Bahá'í, and church (House of Worship) going isn't really required, there aren't any sermons or church services or such. And the nearest House of Worship is in Chicago.
In regards to reading, there are the writings of Baha'ú'lláh, and the Báb, and those are supposed to be read and studied often, but I don't read them as often as I should.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Gumby

Care to elaborate on what you are talking about? I have no idea what Bahá'í is...

The Bahá'í Faith is a global religion, founded in the 1800's by a Persian dude named Bahá'u'lláh. There are three basic principles, the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humanity. We believe that the history of religion is a history of progressive revelations by other founders of religions planned by God. Bahá'u'lláh is the most recent, and most important (to us, at least), but not final. He claimed that his coming was predicted by Christians and Muslims. He wanted to establish a global unity, with peace and harmony.

This means, that unlike some religious groups, we regard other religions as divinely inspired, but they are just outdated according to progressive revelation. This doesn't mean that it's a combination of religions- it's a seperate group.

Most estimates say that there are betweeen five and six million Bahá'ís in the world now. We're very global, with followers from all races, and previous religions. We also aim to eliminate all prejudice and bigotry.

As to the churches, there are the Houses of Worship, of which there are seven, an eighth being designed. But worship and education are not on a large, monastic level. We believe spirituality should be pursued in everyday life, not just the church. That's why there are no sermons, nothing of the sort. Study circles at the local level are popular. There are also local Bahá'í centers. We don't have clergy either.

One of the big books is the one that contains most of the Bahá'í laws- the Kitáb-i-Aqdas ("The Most Holy Book"). These laws are followed as a matter of personal choice. Some of the laws- recite an obligatory prayer every day, pray and meditate every day, don't backbite or gossip, do the fast in March, don't drink or take drugs (unless for medical reasons), don't gamble, and don't be gay. (That last one is changing, though, or has, I'm not sure yet. It's one of those that reflect 1800's Iranian culture...)

As happy and peaceful as we may seem, some people don't like us, namely the Iranian government. According to Wikipedia, over 200 believers have been executed between 1978 and 1998. Many Iranian Bahá'ís aren't allowed to hold government jobs, go to university, have had their homes ransacked, and sent to prison for engaging in study circles.

Woo, that was a bit long. But there you go.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

This actually sounds like a really interesting religion. Is it very popular in the United States? Are there any associations here in the US? I'd love to read more on this one. I've never really bumped into a religion which embraced these values.

Oh yes, there are plenty in the United States. The official website for the Bahá'í Faith in the United States is http://www.bahai.us/. The official website of the international Bahá'í community. in general is http://www.bahai.org/. There's one North American House of Worship, which is in Chicago. You can see a picture here: http://chicagosnapshot.com/cs/archiv...3_bahai001.jpg .

Always glad to tell more to one who is interested.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Oh no. There are seven Houses of Worship in the world.

1. The first one, in 'Ishqábád, Turkmenistan. It was demolished after an earthquake rendered it unsafe.
2. The United States one, in Wilamette (suburb of Chicago) Illinois.
3. The African one, in Kampala, Uganda.
4. This'n's in Sydney, Australia.
5. Langenhein, Germany, close to Frankfurt am Main.
6. Panama City, Panama.
7. Tiapapata, Samoa
8. My personal favorite, in New Delhi, India. It is the most visited edifice in the world, getting a lot of visitors on Hindu holy days.

There are also planned constructions, in Tehran, Iran (if the local goverment doesn't try to destroy it...), Santiago, Chile, and Haifa, Israel, close to the Bahá'í World Center.

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Well, the Bahá'í religion is still a young one, it is growing. More Houses of Worship will come with time. And a lot of cities have Bahá'í centers, which are smaller and less impressive, but serve as meeting places. And like I said, a lot of worship is done individually and in small groups. There are no clergy.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, we do have a leadership. But they're not of the same level of clergy. There is an elected leadership, and an appointed. Some members include:
The Universal House of Justice, the highest elected officials. The seat is based in Haifa, Israel. There are nine members, elected every five years. It's responsibilities include (from Wikipedia):
* Promoting the spiritual qualities that characterize Bahá'í life individually and collectively
* Preserving the Bahá'í Sacred Texts
* Defending and protecting the global Bahá'í community
* Preserving and developing the world spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith
* Encourage the growth and maturation of the Bahá'í community.
There are also national spiritual assemblies, elected for various countries. And there are also local spiritual assemblies. The closest one to me is in Lexington, Kentucky, which serves the whole Lexington area.

For appointed leadership:
The International Teaching Centre, also seated
in the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa. Its duties are to stimulate and coordinate the Continental Board of Counselors and assist the Universal House of Justice in matters relating teaching and protection of the faith.
And that leads me to the Continental Counsellors, who protect and propagate of the Bahá'í Faith in all parts of the world.

For those who are interested in reading more about the Bahá'í Faith, I suggest you look at the Bahá'í Portal on Wikipedia, it's very well done and informative. Also check out www.bahai.org.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by nanashiusako

I haven't read the Bible or gone to church since High School, 7 years ago. I'm not baptized, either. Am I going to hell?

Hell doesn't exist, so don't worry about it...

FELIPE NO