Posted by Kendal (128.147.177.57) on August 22, 2002 at 12:17:52:

In Reply to: The Faith is still a marginalized religion posted by Jamey on August 21, 2002 at 20:00:32:

Dear Jamey, Thank you so much for your follow up post. I just wanted to mention that Shoghi Effendi clearly made a distinction- as evidenced by numerous reports- between himself as a person and his position as Guardian. It was a distinction he emphasized throughout his life. It is extremely difficult for me to believe that Shoghi Effendi's decision to expel his family was either rash or made for any "personal feelings" he may have had. It goes against everything we know about him and the overwhelming evidence of his personality expressed in the guidance and body of work he left for us. The issue, then, could only be that he felt that the family's actions disrespected the "institution" and if allowed to go on would have brought damage to the Faith. Yes, he acted with authority, and yes with decisiveness, but he made a decision that he felt was in the best interest of the Faith. Given our historical distance and the fact that we were not there, nor may have even appreciated fully the issues had we been there, it is extremely difficult to judge. My point before was also that the family's reactions are not surprising, given that the concept of authority in the Faith was "revolutionary" and would have challenged what they had become used to. Just as it is not surprising that Prophets are rejected by established authorities, it should not be surprising that his appointment as Guardian and the authoity it granted him was a great test to his family. Thus, we should also be hesitant to judge them. It was a test that many of us may have failed. Kendal

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