Posted by BK (63.197.53.200) on August 15, 2002 at 17:06:09:

In Reply to: Question on UHJ ? posted by Susan Bird on July 14, 2002 at 02:51:30:

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments made on the fact that being a Baha'i means recognizing Baha'u'llah as the Manifestation of God for this age and simultaneously following every ordinance laid down by Him, which is embodied in His Covenant. How could I believe otherwise when it is explicitly revealed in the Most Holy Book?

Anyways, I think we often look at the mystery of why women aren't allowed on the UHJ all wrong most of the time. We have to remember the council of Baha'u'llah not to weigh the Writings with the standards currant amongst men. The writings are the standard. I think when this question comes up it is often reduced to a question of leadership. The standard becomes the faulty premis that political freedom between the sexes is ultimate freedom. Political freedom is just one kind and the Revelation of Baha'u'llah has finally given women full equality to participate in society with men, but the UHJ is not a political institution. The UHJ is the Supreme and Infallible body of the faith of the day and not the science. Although the UHJ gives council to the science of the day to direct it in a moral way and the science of the day gives the UHJ a practical channel to legislate in matters of faith the two are not synonymous.

The UHJ is not made up of people who plot and compete and campaign for office. It is not even made up of individuals for that matter. When the individuals whom have been elected to serve on the UHJ gather together they are no longer individuals. The UHJ is not a "they", but rather an "it" made up of individuals who are chosen by men and women in a spirit of the utmost unity to serve as the infallible governing body of faith for all Baha'is. The premise then changes. The equality of the sexes is no longer the issue because this is not a question of individual freedom and liberty. No one attains to the rank of UHJ member.

Finally, we can still theorize as to why this will be obvious and I simply think that humanity is not ready and will not be ready until the coming of the next Manifestation for a supreme body made up of men and women. Just like there have always been Covenants revealed in past dispensations, which were broken on account of humanity's immaturity, it would be premature to make such a quantum leap in the first explicit Covenant when women are barely being given full equality to participate on an equal footing in all aspects of life. To put it more bluntly, it's men who got the world into all of this mess and now it's men who have to get us all out of it first. In order for this Revelation to appeal to a world still dominated by masculine energy I think the all male supreme body works best for now.

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