Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl01063)

At 02:37 PM 5/17/96 -0400, you wrote:

>They would reject the name, but I'm afraid they exemplify the
>phenomenon.  However, as these scholars have been pointing out,
>the theocratic way Baha'i has developed is not necessarily
>implicit in the original writings, which in many cases extol
>liberal democratic reforms.  Like Theosophy, something that had
>multiple possible paths of development seems to have taken the
>steepest available downhill path.  Illustrates some principle,
>I reckon-- but that's rather cold comfort.
>
>Cheers
>Paul
>
>Well considering that the founder of that movvement was murdered by the
Mullahs, he personally may have been a liberal reformer. If History is any
guide he in all liklihood was.

That downhill path seems endemic in religious movements when the founder
dies, as to the steepest possible downhill path I'm working on some research
that will turn steep into perpendicular. But it is not for this venue.

alexis