On When This Baha'i Would Bear Arms: When there is bear danger

First hike -- evidence of bears, a set on Flickr.

We were alone of the Sinlehekin Trail, we thought, until a teenage girl with a backpack and a gun in a holster came up the trail while Bonita and I were resting under the shade of a rock. She had been dropped off by her parents so she could hike to their campsite at Blue Lake instead of be driven there, as we learned in our brief visit with her. We were envious of her gun, as we were in prime bear and moose country, and all we had was the bear spray that Bonita wears on such occasions. Would I consider investing in a gun for protection against wild animals in nature? Yes, I would. Would I consider investing in a gun for protection against people in the city? No, I wouldn't. A gun in the city would make me feel unsafe. Guns are dangerous to people. Only in nature is the danger offset by the benefit of having a gun.

Brent, an attorney by profession, has written cogently on about the authoritative position of the Baha'i Faith towards bearing arms. His entire comment is worth reading.

The guidance of the House is an official pronouncement, and it is intentionally in the form of a recommendation. If it's a recommendation, that's what it is, not a prohibition. The House of Justice knows the difference. The guidance of the House of Justice is based first of all on what Baha'u'llah says in the Most Holy Book, and this guidance is found in Note 173 to the Most Holy Book. The House first quotes the verse in the Aqdas from Baha'u'llah in Paragraph 159 of the Aqdas, "It hath been forbidden you to carry arms unless essential." The guidance prepared under the guidance of the House then states, "Bahá'u'lláh confirms an injunction contained in the Bayan which makes it unlawful to carry arms, unless it is necessary to do so. With regard to circumstances under which the bearing of arms might be "essential" for an individual, Abdu'l-Bahá gives permission to a believer for self-protection in a dangerous environment. Shoghi Effendi in a letter written on his behalf has also indicated that, in an emergency, when there is no legal force at hand to appeal to, a Bahá'í is justified in defending his life."

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.religion.bahai/rf-qfWq1RW4



As we were talking about bear danger, we happened upon this chewing tobacco lid stuck in a dead log along the path. Thanks for the chuckle, whoever put it there. -gw