Two days ago, a seeker (a Baha’i term for a person investigating the Baha’i Faith) came to the Baha’i subreddit to ask questions about it.
And among those who tried to offer answers and advice was:
One of the things I would encourage is really taking the time to understand who Baha’u’llah is and what He taught. We all come with different backgrounds and experiences, but the concept in the Baha’i Faith of the Messenger of God as the representative of God and reflection of the Holy Spirit is at the core of our theology.
-It is difficult to understand and conceive of God. On one level, God and the spirit emanating from God is in all things; but, at another level, God is independent, unknowable, and one in the Baha’i Faith.
Meanwhile, I was in a state of rage, after learning this same DavidBinOwen had stalked and attacked me in another subreddit where I had made a statement against the Baha’i Faith. And I was damn tired of being one of his favorite prey items! So I proceeded to rant about it in the exBaha’i subreddit.
And the seeker SAW that! So he contacted me.
Hey, Sorry to bother you but I would like to be very open with you. I’m a person in search of my religious beliefs. One that best reflects my spiritual beliefs and welcomes my choice of practice. I’ve found Unitarian Universalist, Baha’i Faith, and Advaita Vedanta Hinduism as my primary choices. I also have Islam and returning back to hinduism in the back of my head as far off options for me.
I come to you because I recently joined the Baha’i subreddit and asked them a couple of questions regarding mysticism, divination, and my Pantheist views.
Before converting I did more research that led me to this subreddit and your most recent post about a member of the baha’i subreddit DavidBinOwen. Your post shocked me because it comes off the complete opposite to what I have come to know learning about the Baha’i believers.
I wish to know what do you know about the Baha’i faith from your experience. Why did you decide Baha’i wasn’t for you and what do you not like about it. I want to use what you may know as a warning or caution for what I might be getting myself into.
I decided that to be diplomatic was the best option, so…..
To be fair, I should note that DavidBinOwen is not really a typical Baha’i. Most Baha’is I used to know were genuinely loving and honorable people…..at least they seemed to be. Here is one of my most powerful statements against the Baha’i Faith. If you want anything more, contact me later.
The next day:
I do have a question for you
I read what you’ve sent me and I’ve also read the blogs you’ve referenced in this particular post you’ve made as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/idqjpp/a_conversation_about_religion/
________________
What is your question?
____________________
I’m honestly quite disheartened. It felt like I’ve finally found a faith that was pretty much as close to what I’ve wanted out of a religious institution with it’s progressive and liberal values, inclusion of other religious faiths and so on.
As a pantheist first, a fan of rational minded educators, Baruch Spinoza, Einstein, and simply logic I can’t bring myself to subscribing to the Baha’i Faith like I once wanted to after reading your posts that pointed out so many fallacies and inconsistencies in the faith.
My question to you is, I did come across one blog while scouring your website. It was the blog about you and your friend presenting the idea of a Unitarian Baha’i Faith. Do you think that’s possible to achieve? Or would you suggest simply looking into UU instead?
I am guessing he saw this:
https://dalehusband.com/2010/04/05/why-we-need-a-unitarian-bahai-faith/
To make a long story short, Eric Stetson eventually dropped out of the Unitarian Baha’i movement, and all that’s left of it is a few websites and a Facebook group. Based on your various comments, you might be best joining a UU church, where you may always be free to explore different theologies and beliefs while still being part of a community that won’t judge you for questioning things most other religions take for granted.
To help you sort things out, please read all these essays: https://dalehusband.com/spiritual-orientation-series/
I won’t tell you what to believe, but I want to give you the tools to find out what is truly best for you. That sets me, and most UUs, apart from most Baha’is, Christians, and other dogmatic religions that seek converts.
____________
Thank you, I appreciate it Dale.
For DavidBinOwen, this is a clear case of:
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hoisted+by+their+own+petard
hoist by/with (one’s) own petard
To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one’s own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one’s own trap or schemes.
Dale Husband's Intellectual Rants 
I found a way to make even most of DBO’s deleted comments in reddit visible again. His words will be in italics.
https://www.removeddit.com/r/thegreatproject/comments/hyijqy/why_i_abandoned_the_bahai_faith/
DavidbinOwen
Well, I just found out he falsely accused me personally of lying in a post on reddit a while back
He means this: https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/hzu8ej/yes_davidbinowen_lied_about_the_issue_of/
Was I lying…..when all I did was quote directly from the very Messenger of God DBO is supposed to believe in?
so I was looking through his recent feed to see what else he has posted recently this evening.
This is a legitimate problem in reddit. When you block someone in Facebook, you and the other person can’t see each other at all.
Most Baha’is avoid “conflict and contention” but I have dealt with a lot of lawyers and have thick enough skin to occasionally give these trolls a taste of their own medicine.
https://www.bahai.org/abdul-baha/quotations
O ye beloved of the Lord! In this sacred Dispensation, conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God’s grace.
So DBO thinks he has the option to ignore a commandment from Abdu’l-Baha. Go figure.
Wait, it gets even worse!
https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/tablets-bahaullah/6#103221144
Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden in His Book. This is a decree of God in this Most Great Revelation. It is divinely preserved from annulment and is invested by Him with the splendor of His confirmation. Verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
That’s a direct quote from Baha’u’llah’s Book of the Covenant!
It has sort of been a running one-sided feud with them attacking me by name (actual or user name) at various times for three years with him and some others posting false and disparaging information about me and others on their blogs and on controlled sites in order to defame people and the Baha’i Faith.
Wrong! He is the one who repeatedly invaded the exBaha’i subreddit to assault us. He is the one who followed me around to various subreddits to attack me. Even when I was invited by u/investigator919 to make comments in r/shia (and I made clear to him that I didn’t feel good about doing that because I am not even Muslim) I simply told the TRUTH about what DBO and other Baha’is in reddit have done to us.
One of the persons he associates with is a known anti-Baha’i troll who is a Shi’ih Muslim from Tehran, Iran. They falsely arrrest, torture, and oppress Baha’is in Iran. This troll has written stuff published in Iran that is used to justify the persecution of Baha’is.
Who, exactly? And can DBO show anyone where this other person has called for Baha’is to be persecuted in Iran, or anywhere?
That troll from Iran has admitted to me inadvertantly directly and indirectly to lying and to being paid full-time to troll the Baha’i Faith and posts under multiple identities on a variety of social media sites, sometimes falsely claiming to have been a Baha’i when an honest and objective former Baha’i would never say the things he claims.
Again, no evidence presented to justify these assertions. You’d think having to deal with lawyers would teach DBO that “assuming facts not in evidence” is unacceptable in court.
The Baha’i Faith is led by elected bodies with no nominations or campaigning. There are no individuals with authority. All persons are elected with elections being from the local community on up. Thus, they cannot act or be “authoritarian>”
We know better! A collective with absolute power is still authoritarian. The Borg of Star Trek comes to mind here.
I knew Stephen Birkland. Due to the confidential nature of the discussions, he could not respond to the false statements about what occurred. He was a professional psychologist, very highly regarded in the professional community. He is a really humble and nice man. People who know him and have worked with him hold him in the highest regard.
A pack of dogs can be very loving to their own evil master but can still kill others the master wants dead.
Your claims about the violation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha and a supposed failed prophesy are false. Baha’u’llah appointed ‘Abdu’l-Baha as a the sole successor and Interpreter. Baha’u’llah warned the others that any act of disobedience to Him would result in their removal. Mirza Muhammad Ali and his son and brother tried to have ‘Abdu’l-Baha arrested and even plotted to have ‘Abdu’l-Baha killed. They failed. They lied. One person in 1903 confessed and wrote a written confession as to what occurred.
Wasn’t Abdu’l-Baha also expected to obey Baha’i teachings? He did NOT, because he claimed to be infallible after Baha’u’llah denied in the Kitab-i-Aqdas that anyone but God and His Messengers were infallible. And I am well aware of the cartoonish historical narratives you blindly parrot. They look like nonsense from a non-Baha’i perspective.
You personally have posted false and disparaging statements about me personally.
Where, when and WHAT?!
The Baha’i Faith has a fairly low withdrawal and loss rate relative to other newer and faster growing religions. The vast majority of persons leaving the Baha’i Faith have no such issues with the Faith. Indeed, having met many persons over 40+ years, I can say that most still wish Baha’is well and say that, if they decided to become religious or felt comfortable with Baha’i laws (no sex outside of marriage; no drinking of alcohol), they would become Baha’is. As proof of that, we actually have a a decent re-enrollment rate. Shame on you.
So r/exbahai doesn’t matter? This blog entry doesn’t matter?!
https://dalehusband.com/2020/07/05/is-the-bahai-community-disintegrating/
The shame is all on you, pathological liar!
If he posted things that were actually true but critical of the Baha’i Faiith, I would have no issue with him. I even offered to meet with the guy in person to discuss this with him and try to figure out why he insists on making claims that are flatly not true.
WHAT LIES DID I EVER TELL ANYWHERE ABOUT THE BAHA’I FAITH???!!!
So I took the next step against my foe.
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