Posted by Jon Paul Duvall (65.246.7.2) on December 15, 2003 at 20:01:20:

What is the proper way to look at culture from within the context of the Bahaâi Faith?

Other than the particular laws and ordinances laid out clearly by Bahaâuâllah, ÎAbduâl-Baha, the Guardian, and the Universal House of Justice, is there any indication of what cultural elements of the diverse cultures and subcultures around the world should or should not be allowed to be incorporated into the personal lives and community life of members of the Bahaâi Faith?

Since there are positive and negative aspects of EVERY culture (defined as such from the stand point of the current standards given to humanity by Bahaâuâllah), and since culture is such a driving force between individual personality and community mores and norms, to what extent should a Bahaâi attempt to cut himself out of his culture, and to what extent should a Bahaâi bring his culture to the greater Bahaâi community in an effort to establish and enrich the community through TRUE unity in diversity, and to what extent should a Bahaâi use the modes of his own particular culture to present and explain the relevance of the Bahaâi Faith and the transformative power of the Revelation of Bahaâuâllah to his fellows and comrades?

Is it appropriate for Bahaâis to encourage their fellow Bahaâis of whatever culture or subculture to adopt whatever happens to be ãmainstreamä for the majority of the particular local Bahaâi community, or to discourage them from expressing themselves through the particular and non-mainstream modes of their culture ö for example suggesting that since the Hip Hop culture has artists which promote things which Bahaâuâllah does not condone that Bahaâis should not use Hip Hop music and poetry to teach the Faith, or suggesting that a particular hair color or mode of dress is inappropriate because it associates someone with a particular subculture which some might find offensive?

To what extent should ãunity in diversity,ä which our Beloved Guardian termed the ãwatchwordä of the Bahaâis, be sacrificed and stifled in order to protect the Faith from those closed minded people who might desire to associate the Faith with whatever particular culture or subculture those people happen to see as repugnant?

To what extent is it appropriate for Bahaâis to withold information or even actual Sacred Texts from individuals or groups of people in order to protect those people and the Bahaâis of that community?

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