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"Jack McLean"

1. Abdu'l-Baha in Montreal, by Jack McLean (2007). Overview of Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Canada in 1912, written in commemoration of its Centenary. Essays and short articles. [about]
2. Alcoholics Anonymous: Reviews of two books by James Duncan, by Jack McLean (2005). Reviews of World Awakening: AA and Higher Power Mutual Aid and Living the Twelve Steps: Change Ourselves and Change the World. No mention of the Bahá'í Faith. Book Reviews. [about]
3. Art of Rhetoric in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi, The, by Jack McLean, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). Outline and illustration of six defining elements of Shoghi Effendi's rhetorical art, which show both classical and particular or atypical uses. Published Articles. [about]
4. Babi Heroism and the Recovery of the Heroic, by Jack McLean (2009). In defining the three ages of Bábí-Bahá’í history, Shoghi Effendi named the first the Heroic Age, thus aligning the virtue of heroism and the Bahá’í Faith’s metaphor of historical time, with The Bab as the tragic hero. Unpublished Articles. [about]
5. Baha'i Faith: The Basics by Christopher Buck: Review, by Jack McLean (2020). Book Reviews. [about]
6. Bahá'í Life and Existentialism, by Jack McLean (2008). The role of passion in the search for truth; existence and essence in living-in-the-world; epiphany and experiences of spiritual crisis; return to a belief in the soul; existentialism in sacred Bahá’í history; Bahá’u’lláh’s theology of the self. Unpublished Articles. [about]
7. The Baha'is as a Mystic Community, by Moojan Momen: Response, by Jack McLean, in World Order, 38:1 (2006). The meanings of mysticism in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and Shoghi Effendi. Book Reviews. [about]
8. Celestial Burning, A: A Selective Study of the Writings of Shoghi Effendi, by Jack McLean (2012). Style, content, and context of the major writings of the Guardian; providential history; critique of Hegel; the military metaphor; the language of interpretation; history of the apostolic age. Books. [about]
9. Characterization in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi: With Special Attention to Yahya, by Jack McLean (2000). The Guardian employed a creative literary device of adding moralistic comment about historical figures, such as kings and clerics, casting them as "heroes" or "villains." Mirza Yahya is depicted with aspects of the demonic. Unpublished Articles. [about]
10. Confessions of a Child of the Half-Light , by Jack McLean (2022). Philosophical essays; recollections of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Laura Dreyfus Barney, Curtis Kelsey, and other Europeans; recollections of Shoghi Effendi by ten individuals; dreams and visions; eulogies of the author's parents; travel teaching across Russia. Books. [about]
11. Contemporary Biographies and In Memoriams, by Jack McLean (1999). Biographies of contemporary Bahá'ís, known personally to the author: Andy Andrews, Charles Keedwell, Damian Firth, Edna Halsted Nablo, Ian Semple, Latifa Toeg, Majorie Eleanor Merrick, Michel Morisset, Peter Paul Morgan, Suzanne Sabih. Biographies. [about]
12. Correlating Mystical Experience to the Knowledge of God, by Jack McLean (2000). Mysticism, "the experience of God," and theology, "the knowledge of God," are both expressions of one symbiosis. This paper characterizes mysticism, debunks objections to it, and explores a Bahá'í context through the Four and Seven Valleys. Unpublished Articles. [about]
13. Crucible, The: Poems, by Jack McLean (1995). 53 poems, some written after the passing of the author's father, Allan James McLean (d. 1995). Poetry. [about]
14. Deification of Jesus, The, by Jack McLean, in World Order (1980). The apotheosis of Christ is a common factor to all branches of Christianity. This paper examines the historical development of this belief, from the writings of St. Paul, gnosticism, and the debates between Arius, Cyril, and Nestorius. Also in French. Published Articles. [about]
15. Did Prophecy Fail? The Lesser Peace and the Year 2000, by Jack McLean (2003). Prior to the 2010s, there was widespread belief in the Bahá'í community that the Lesser Peace would be established by the year 2000, following some catastrophic event. Yet the Scriptures do not make this claim. Prophecy is interpreted in retrospect. Unpublished Articles. [about]
16. Dimensions in Spirituality: Presentation, by Jack McLean (1995). A summary of some concepts found in the book Dimensions in Spirituality: care of the soul, wisdom, prophetic faith, value of life tests, and creating a spiritual society. Unpublished Articles. [about]
17. Dimensions of Spirituality: Reflections on the Meaning of Spiritual Life and Transformation in Light of the Bahá'í Faith, by Jack McLean (1994). The search for truth; models and profiles of spiritual transformation; the mystical sense — prayer and meditation; a paradigm of spirituality and life tests; spiritual anthropology — the self and the soul; imagination; faith, love, and knowledge. Books. [about]
18. Dissidents and the Bahá'í Faith, by Jack McLean (2005). Author's personal experiences with "disgruntled" ex-Bahá'ís and critics online in the 1990s. Essays and short articles. [about]
19. Divine Simplicity: Remembering the last Hand of the Cause of God, 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, by Jack McLean (2008). Biography of Dr. Varqa, partly based on interviews with people who knew him in Iran. Biographies. [about]
20. Erich Fromm and the Bahá'í Faith, by Jack McLean (2007). Brief examination of psychologist Fromm's exposure to and influence by Bahá'í teachings. Essays and short articles. [about]
21. Faith State, The: Vital To Theist, Agnostic and Atheist, by Jack McLean, in Gulf Islands Driftwood (1998). Paul Tillich's approach to faith, as adapted to a Bahá'í and/or agnostic context. Essays and short articles. [about]
22. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, by Nader Saiedi: Review, by Jack McLean (2009). Review of the book, expanded into an essay on the Bab's ethics, laws, and use of symbolism. Book Reviews. [about]
23. Gathering Traces: Selected Poems 1975-2002, by Jack McLean (2002). 95 poems written during phases of life including marriage and child-rearing in Quebec, a teaching career, separation and divorce, a stay on an island in British Columbia, and early retirement. Poetry. [about]
24. Heart is a Little Bird that Longs to Soar, The: Impressions of Pilgrimage in Haifa, Bahji and Akká in the Days of the Universal House of Justice, by Jack McLean (2007). Short notes from a contemporary pilgrimage, and comparison with pilgrims' visits in the past. Pilgrims' notes. [about]
25. Heroic in the Historical Writings of Shoghi Effendi and Nabil, The, by Jack McLean (2006). Unlike academic historians, Shoghi Effendi and Nabil interpret the events and characters they portray in moralistic terms. This paper explores the heroic motif through a literary framework in the model of Thomas Carlyle's concept of the prophet as hero. Unpublished Articles. [about]
26. Hidden Words, also known as Book of Fatimih (Kalimát-i-Maknúnih): Wilmette Institute faculty notes, by E. G. Browne and Jack McLean (1999). Study Guides. [about]
27. Impressions from the Rock of Gibraltar: The Journal of a Travelling Teacher, by Jack McLean (2010). Book-length compilation of essays and poetry, written while travel-teaching in Spain and Morocco, August - December 2009. Poetry. [about]
28. John the Baptist and Baha'i Prophetic Categories: An Atypical Paradigm, by Jack McLean (2013). Comparative Jewish-Christian-Islamic-Baha’i study of the prophetic station of the prophet John the Baptist, who occupies a theological status between "minor" and "major" prophet. Includes history of the present-day Sabean-Mandean Baptists in Iraq. Unpublished Articles. [about]
29. Knowledge of God, The: An Essay on Bahá'í Epistemology, by Jack McLean, in World Order (1978). Knowledge of the divine is the beginning of all things. This can come through the investigative faculty, the path of reason, or through intuition and mysticism, the path of the heart. Published Articles. [about]
30. Life after Death: A Study of the Afterlife in Religions, by Farnaz Ma'sumian: Review, by Jack McLean, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8:2 (1998). Book Reviews. [about]
31. Literary Criticism, Theology and Deconstructionism, by Jack McLean (2001). A dynamic tension exists between literary criticism and theology as distinct but mutually beneficial forms of discourse, which can enrich Bahá'í Studies by deepening exegesis and by correlating Bahá'í teachings with progressive movements. Unpublished Articles. [about]
32. Love That Could Not Wait, A: The Remarkable Story of Knights of Baha'u'llah Catherine Heward Huxtable and Clifford Huxtable, by Jack McLean (2016). The story of the Canadian Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, Catherine Heward Huxtable and husband Cliff Huxtable, who opened the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia to the Bahá'í Faith in October, 1959. Books. [about]
33. Making the Crooked Straight: Foreword, and letter to World Order, by Jack McLean (2000). Foreword to the published book, followed by a letter to the editor for World Order regarding their issue devoted to Francesco Ficicchia and Bahá'í apologetics. Essays and short articles. [about]
34. May Maxwell and the Maxwells of Montreal, by Jack McLean (2019). Presentation of Violette Nakhjavani's book The Maxwells of Montreal. Presentations. [about]
35. Message of the Universal House of Justice to the World's Religious Leaders: Panel Discussion Comments, by Jack McLean (2002). Overview of some prominent global theologians and historians of religion, and issues facing interfaith dialogue. Essays and short articles. [about]
36. Method in Religious Studies: Theistic and Agnostic, by Jack McLean (2000). Response to an assertion by Christopher Buck that the term religious studies is misleading, in that, while the object of the study is religious, the method is not; thoughts on how a scientific methodology would work. Essays and short articles. [about]
37. Military Metaphor in Bahá'í Sacred Literature, The, by Jack McLean (2005). Martial symbology is common in the Bahá'í Writings, especially those of Shoghi Effendi, yet the Writings are expressly pacifistic. This article examines the apparent contradiction. Unpublished Articles. [about]
38. My Interview with Laura Dreyfus-Barney, by Jack McLean (2007). Brief interview with the compiler of Some Answered Questions, conducted in Paris in 1967. Pilgrims' notes. [about]
39. Mystic's Flight, The: The Parable of Majnún and Laylí, by Jack McLean (2001). This classic love tale of the Middle East, quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in the Seven Valleys, is prized by Sufi mystics as a spiritual allegory of the soul's search for union with God. A literary-critical analysis of the text yields theological clues. Unpublished Articles. [about]
40. Poems from a Misty Island, by Jack McLean (1997). Poetry written while on a two-year stay on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Poetry. [about]
41. Poems in Latter Days, Some, by Jack McLean (2022). Poems written 2009-2022 on themes from incidents in everyday life, eulogies to friends who have passed and others still living, metaphysical poems inspired by the spiritual quest, and the many faces of love. Books. [about]
42. Possibilities of Existential Theism for Bahá'í Theology, The, by Jack McLean, in Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions vol. 8 (1997). The perspective of existential theology can benefit Bahá'í studies of religion, as applied to issues such as scholarship, spiritual transformation, and sacred history. Published Articles. [about]
43. Prolegomena to a Bahá'í Theology, by Jack McLean, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:1 (1992). Groundbreaking and thorough essay on the basic concerns of scholarly Bahá'í theology. Published Articles. [about]
44. Promises to Keep: Thoughts on an Emerging Bahá'í Theology, by Jack McLean (1995). A nascent Bahá'í systemic theology must have certain parameters, including spirituality, the prophetic tradition, and the "truth claims" neglected by the academic study of religion. Unpublished Articles. [about]
45. Propositions on a More Comprehensive Theology, by Jack McLean (1995). Implications of theology for science and creativity, religious language, proclamation, apologetics, the existential dimension, the relativity of religious truth, and scholarship. Theology must be a careful science. Unpublished Articles. [about]
46. Putative Distinctions Between Apologetics and Scholarship: A Commentary, by Jack McLean (1993). Response to Christopher Buck's review of Michael Sour's The Prophecies of Jesus, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, on the definitions of apologia and the thought of Paul Tillich. Essays and short articles. [about]
47. Reconvergence of Theology and Spirituality, The, by Jack McLean (1995). New forms of spirituality lie in the spaces between theological truth, cognition, and psycho-spiritual growth. This paper examines the current interest in spirituality and calls for a common ground of the two domains. Unpublished Articles. [about]
48. Refutation of Francesco Ficicchia and the Dangers of Silence, The, by Jack McLean (2001). Examination of the prejudice caused to the reputation of the Faith in academic and ecclesiastical circles in German-speaking Europe following the publication of an anti-Bahá'í book. Unpublished Articles. [about]
49. Relativity of Religious Truth, The: Relating to the Absolute, by Jack McLean (2007). History of the relativistic approach to truth, a response to Momen's "Relativism: A Basis for Bahá'í Metaphysics," and inter-faith dialogue. Unpublished Articles. [about]
50. Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, in Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, 8 (1997). Essays on religious unity, interreligious dialogue, apophatic and liberation theologies, the spiritual foundations of science, the hermetic tradition, and existential theism. Books. [about]
51. Salvation, by Jack McLean (1993). Encyclopedia articles. [about]
52. Semple, Ian (1963-2005): A Personal Appreciation, by Jack McLean (2011). Brief personal recollections of a scholar and member of the Universal House of Justice. Biographies. [about]
53. Shoghi Effendi and Social Justice, by Jack McLean, in Berkshire Encyclopedia of Religion and Social Justice (2007). The term "social justice” has been used by many engaged groups as a rhetorical tool to obtain more equitable transformations of the social order. To the Guardian and the later Bahá'í Administration, it is a Divine justice at heart. Encyclopedia articles. [about]
54. Shoghi Effendi's The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh: A Theology of the Word, by Jack McLean, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 9 (2008). An interpretation of Shoghi Effendi's 'theological' themes, including fundamental tenets of Bahá'í theology; the 'stations' of the Central Figures; exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralist statements; and the apologetic method of comparison. Published Articles. [about]
55. Shoghi Effendi's View of Providential History in Light of the Judaeo-Christian Tradition, by Jack McLean, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 13 (2005). The Guardian's letters reveal six feature of his historicity: palingenesis and transitional history; providential synchronization; teleological history; organically whole history; periodisation of ages and epochs; history as community identity-creation. Published Articles. [about]
56. Spiritual Self in Bahá'í Studies, The, by Jack McLean (2003). Being philosophically informed is particularly important for Bahá'ís who are in dialogue with persons concerned with ethical, epistemological, theological and metaphysical issues. This paper introduces the topic for discussion among Bahá'í academics. Unpublished Articles. [about]
57. Study of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the Christians, by Michael Sours, A: Review, by Jack McLean, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2:3 (1990). Book Reviews. [about]
58. Teaching the Faith, Magic Moments, Meeting Great Souls, by Jack McLean (2012). Autobiography of a prominent Bahá'í scholar, written on occasion of the 50th anniversary of his conversion. Biographies. [about]
59. The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions: From Messianic Shi'ism to World Religion, by Peter Smith: Review, by Jack McLean (1988). Book Reviews. [about]
60. "The Purpose of Poetry," by Shirin Sabri: Commentary, by Jack McLean, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2:1 (1989). Book Reviews. [about]
61. Theological Ethics in a Bahá'í Perspective , by Jack McLean (1996). The Bahá'í writings are a rich source of moral precepts, with a large corpus of ethical statements in the form of laws, directives, exhortations, injunctions, and axioms of moral theology. What would Bahá'í divine ethics look like? Unpublished Articles. [about]
62. To Russia with Love: Journal of a Member of the Quddus Team, by Jack McLean (1990). Journal of a visit through Moscow, Kiev, and Levov in August 1990 by the four travel teachers Shamsi Sedagat, Ann Clavin, Leo Misagi, and Jack McLean. Essays and short articles. [about]
63. Under the Divine Lote Tree: Essays and Reflections, by Jack McLean (1999). 85 literary and theological existential essays on topics such as poetry, scripture, philosophy, spirituality, love, detachment, mysticism, joy, death, and theology. Books. [about]
64. What A Young Man Learned from Laura Rumney Davis about Shoghi Effendi, by Jack McLean (2007). Interview with Laura Davis, "The Mother of the Toronto Bahá’í Community," and some recollections of the Guardian. Biographies. [about]
65. What Stanwood Cobb Told Me about 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by Jack McLean (2007). Reflections on Cobb's life and his recollections of Abdu'l-Bahá, partly based on two personal interviews. Biographies. [about]
66. Whispers of Angels: Poems, by Jack McLean (1990). A collection of 89 poems dedicated to the author's father. Poetry. [about]
67. "Who is Writing the Future? Reflections on the Twentieth Century": Thoughts on the Statement Prepared by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information, by Jack McLean (2001). Reflections on the structure and themes of this document. Book Reviews. [about]
68. Why We Need Bahá'í Theology, by Jack McLean (1995). A short definition of theology, its relationship with scholarship in general, and the role of apologetics. Essays and short articles. [about]

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