tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post427095779562769180..comments2024-03-26T08:42:50.357-07:00Comments on One Baha'i's approach...: Changing TimesMeadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02046847133963919765noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-19863285587581725802014-07-11T22:51:02.702-07:002014-07-11T22:51:02.702-07:00Hi Shoshana and Mead
I don't feel comfortable ...Hi Shoshana and Mead<br />I don't feel comfortable passing on a letter written to me by the House to the interwebs right now (because I don't know if there's any policy about it), but here is a more official source than the yahoo answer I linked to: http://bahai-library.com/uhj_transsexuality<br />Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-30589767998227749232013-10-09T10:01:35.729-07:002013-10-09T10:01:35.729-07:00Hello Gayle. Thank you so much for sharing your st...Hello Gayle. Thank you so much for sharing your story here. Stories such as yours are so important for all of us. Too many times we, whether Baha'i or not, forget basic human decency. Baha'u'llah often said that the greatest tests to the Baha'is would be the Baha'is themselves. I think this is just one more example of it.<br /><br />For what it is worth, I am glad to consider you as a friend and would never think to shun you. We all have our own path in life, and whether you are considered a Baha'i or not is truly only between you and God.<br /><br />With love and prayers,<br /><br />MeadMeadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02046847133963919765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-964053931673395762013-10-09T03:49:04.229-07:002013-10-09T03:49:04.229-07:00I entered the Baha'i Faith in March 1958. I am...I entered the Baha'i Faith in March 1958. I am now 80. Long ago I was diagnosed and treated for Gender Dysphoria and transitioned from male to female and my legal status became female. A lost my marriage, however. The Baha'is treated me poorly to the point I resigned. My resignation was never acknowledged, but the Baha'is shunned me thereafter. I still follow Baha'u'llah's teachings. Probably the community conflated transgender with deviant sexuality - as most do. It is a congenital condition.<br />GayleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-77177313891946920642013-08-17T07:55:44.167-07:002013-08-17T07:55:44.167-07:00I forgot my email address shoshanahowell@yahoo.com...I forgot my email address shoshanahowell@yahoo.com<br />Shoshanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01154632061181771600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-68457641130273680892013-08-16T14:29:28.850-07:002013-08-16T14:29:28.850-07:00I would also like to read the letter from UHJ in i...I would also like to read the letter from UHJ in its entirety. I have a MTF transgendered friend who is very interested in the Faith, and I would like to have as much actual official guidance available to her when the issue comes up (and I know it will). Shoshanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01154632061181771600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-15235137535340311762012-06-12T06:59:57.885-07:002012-06-12T06:59:57.885-07:00Wow! Thank you so much, Anonymous. This letter fro...Wow! Thank you so much, Anonymous. This letter from the Universal House of Justice is absolutely golden. If there is any way that you could forward the letter to me, I would deeply appreciate it. My address, which is open to all, is mead@elsewhere.ca<br /><br />Thanks so much for this link. I'm certain that I will write more on this subject now.Meadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02046847133963919765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-81798649580267007342012-06-12T05:24:50.349-07:002012-06-12T05:24:50.349-07:00Some time after first reading this, I wrote to the...Some time after first reading this, I wrote to the Universal House of Justice, asking about the status of transexuality. I'm not going to post the whole letter, but I can say that much of the content of it is also contained here:<br />http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100708070421AANu9LE<br />They explicitly say marraige is acceptable post transition. Also "the [Bahai] institutions recognize the change when it has been “officially registered”" This, and comments in the letter I recieved, imply to me that a FTM transexual person could serve on the Universal House of Justice, once their transition was legally recognized and the physical changes complete.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-80247919712564215272011-06-18T07:36:43.403-07:002011-06-18T07:36:43.403-07:00Message for Denise:
Dear Friend.
Could you please ...Message for Denise:<br />Dear Friend.<br />Could you please email to me?<br />sonialuciapv@gmail.com<br />I do need to consult you on this important issue.<br />Thank you so much!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-42889184514554433052011-02-23T13:20:00.766-08:002011-02-23T13:20:00.766-08:00Denise- I have friends who are transgender and was...Denise- I have friends who are transgender and was wondering how to teach them the Faith. I am glad that you were reelected on the LSA. I was wondering if you could email me at johnrandolphrandolph@gmail.com or at my blog in the following section- Larrthóir Na Fírinne. I think this is an interesting question and I am glad the author of the blog brought it up. Thanks- johnLarrthóir Na Fírinnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084194116207214973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-85742321716679016092010-10-27T16:23:06.055-07:002010-10-27T16:23:06.055-07:00It seems clear from what I have read above plus, m...It seems clear from what I have read above plus, more expansively, elsewhere on the internet about the Bahai faith and homosexuality that I am excluded from the option of becoming a Bahai. This is because as a post-operative transgendered woman I am in a live-in civil partnership (the equivalent of a legal marriage, which was also endorsed in a Blessing - United Reform church service and ceremony - as a lifelong lesbian marriage) with a woman as a lesbian. I find this very unfair and no better than what I would come up against in Christian or Islamic or Jewish fundamentalism. It is also a shame, I feel, because I find much to admire in the attitudes and beliefs of the Bahai faith, including its emphasis on no prejudice or discrimination. Well, as judged by my situation and that of countless other gay people the Bahai faith simply does not appear to live up to such principles. Why can't gay (and transgendered) people be left alone and in peace. Why does so much of the world make such a big deal about such things! This is not right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-58199696934742366972010-05-18T21:16:52.720-07:002010-05-18T21:16:52.720-07:00As a Bahá’í and as a 35 year post-operative male t...As a Bahá’í and as a 35 year post-operative male to female individual, I found your blog fascinating. It is my opinion that the answer your friend, or any other similarly situated individual, seeks is clearly within the Sacred Writings and within themselves. <br /><br />The issue is not what the Writings say; that is clear. The issue is whether the individual is male of female. <br /><br />The Writings tell us that sexual relations are only condoned within marriage, and marriage is only sanctioned between two persons of opposite gender: one male and one female. Therefore, the question becomes: How do you define male and female? <br /><br />My answer to that comes from my understanding of what some medical professionals have called the “transsexual phenomenon” and my personal experience. I would define male as an individual who psychologically considers they are a man, with all its connotations, and who has male genitalia, similarly a female believes they are a women and has female genitalia. <br /><br />When I was a candidate for gender reassignment surgery (not transgender operation or sex-change) “the best medical assistance” available required extensive psychological and emotional testing and living and working as a woman for at least one year. This did not mean living in an accepting GLBT community. It meant living and working in “normal” society as a woman and being accepted as a woman. The only exception (in my case) was my Bahá’í community. Because I was seeking and following medical assistance, the community (with one exception) accepted me and what I was going through — including my reelection to the Local Assembly. <br /><br />Today, however, one merely puts down X number of dollars, goes to the Far East as Dick, and comes back as Jane. I do not believe that this is the recourse to the best medical assistance the Universal House of Justice suggested. <br /><br />If one who is born male, but is psychologically is a woman and has gender reassignment surgery to align their physical body with their mind, then they are female — a woman — no longer “transgender”, but female gender. Therefore, to have intimate relations with another woman is, by definition, homosexual. I am not saying that a person cannot legitimately go through reassignment and then prefer to have intimate relations with a person of the same gender as their reassigned gender. I am saying that if they do, it is homosexuality. Homosexuality and same-sex marriage, regardless of when the marriage was solemnized, are clearly discussed in the writings. <br /><br />As for serving on the Universal House of Justice: I am a woman and Bahá’u’llah said that only men can serve on that Institution. Whether like what Bahá’u’llah said is irrelevant. I accept Bahá’u’llah as the Manifestation of God for today, therefore, I will serve the House of Justice, but I will not serve on the House of Justice.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00158864720929218142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-75655792349267171802010-01-21T07:40:56.817-08:002010-01-21T07:40:56.817-08:00I encourage you to write this letter, particularly...I encourage you to write this letter, particularly if this friend is interested in officially joining the Baha'i community.<br /><br />As you can probably imagine the UHJ has dealt with all manner of questions over the years and undoubtedly subjects such as this will need clarification as science/technology/culture develop. <br /><br />I believe I've heard of a similar situation discussed, although in all likelihood these delicate matters would be handled case by case.<br /><br />All the best to you and your friend.zafindrasoahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11529447049126924652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-21117220066892360262010-01-21T03:32:39.469-08:002010-01-21T03:32:39.469-08:00I have wondered such things myself, and I really h...I have wondered such things myself, and I really have no idea whatsoever how the situation would be dealt with. <br /><br />The only thing I can think of that is even slightly related is homosexual marriage. If a homosexual couple is legally married, they are not allowed to declare as Baha'is, since the Baha'i Faith will not encourage them to get a divorce, and the very act of becoming Baha'is would create an unsolvable situation. It isn't the same at all, and I can't give you a source for that, only what NSA members have conveyed to me as their knowledge from the House. <br /><br />I don't think it is neccesarily neccesary to write to the House. You can always write to your National Assembly and ask them if they know of any relevant sources, have any guidance, or have encountered such a situation. They may then advise you to write to the House, but they may not.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing this, and not hiding from a tough question.<br /><br />God Bless,<br />GeraldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734645058271734681.post-49919528092286554742010-01-21T01:41:11.233-08:002010-01-21T01:41:11.233-08:00The closest parallel would the application of the ...The closest parallel would the application of the laws regarding polygamy. A woman who already has two husbands isn't told to give one up when she becomes a Baha'i, but nor is she allowed to add to the collection or to replace one of them if it leaves her polyandrous.Steve Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03191238665169573161noreply@blogger.com