Re: Why I Wrote *The Emperor's New Clothes*


Polychrysos wrote:

"..the implication that the House of Justice is fooled by (two members
of the House of Justice)"

I really don't know where you got that one.

Right here:

"The emperor liked the sound of this -- and why wouldn't he? How
often did he get the chance to wear beautiful new clothes and teach his
people a lesson in religion? He couldn't wait to put them on in
public. And in a matter of days, the two tailors promised, he would get
his wish. Both swore that they would outdo themselves. They said that
the latest clothes from their spiritual loom would excel anything it
had woven before. And when the emperor saw his new clothes for himself,
he believed it. . . if the emperor *said* he saw his clothes, if he
*believed* he saw his clothes, if he *repeated* to himself over and
over again that he saw his clothes, who's to say he didn't?"

That's how I read it. You are telling me that is not what you intended.
Perhaps consider that is not an unreasonable impression one could walk
away with. In any event, I was just, as you invited us to do, reading
and considering for myself, what you wrote. That's what I saw in it,
FYI.

As to the spareness of the buildings. Yes they are made of fine stone;
they are intended to last 500 years. When you tour them, you see that
the internal woods are not expensive; there is pine in places where
many builders would never consider using pine -- it is a throwaway
wood. But it meets the purpose.

When important diplomatic guests dine with the House, who serves them?
More than once they comment on the fine service they were provided. And
when they ask who these professional servers are, they are told: This
one is an engineer; this one a computer programmer; this one a graphic
designer, and they are serving in their evening hours.

`Abdu'l-Baha served humanity from His home. At first, they lived in
the House of Abbud. Later, as His family grew, and as the stream of
pilgrims grew, He obtained a home that previously had belonged to a
pasha -- Abdu'llah Pasha. It is perhaps comparable to a small motel.
Sometimes the Master received His visitors in a tent in the yard.

He did not seek to impress people. Yet, when His imprisonment was
reaching its end, He needed a place from which He could more
befittingly serve the Cause. He then set about designing and building
His home in Haifa. It is made of good, Palestinian stone, the same
stone that was used for all of the walls of the terraces and walkways
throughout the newer construction. This was not merely to be His home;
it served as the Administrative Center of the Faith for the last decade
of His ministry; and for all of Shoghi Effendi's ministry. It's a nice
house. It has receiving rooms for men and for women; and a large
central hallway. The bedrooms off to the sides are serviceable, but
not overly large.

Later, the Randalls asked permission to construct the Western Pilgrim
House across the street. Again, has elegant design features, and it
was constructed to last. It served as the headquarters of the Faith
during the time of the Hands, and for more than a decade of the
beginnings of the Universal House of Justice.

The offices of the individual members of the House of Justice are all
modest in size. They are, in my view, barely serviceable. (They have
a great view, however!)

I don't know how to establish world peace.

I don't know how to eliminate world hunger.

Do you?

Honestly. Do you?

In my view, the House of Justice *does*. And its priorities are, I
have to admit, different than my own would be. Its methodology is
different.

But I figure, that's part of how I know they're divinely guided.
Because I begin with the premise that I *don't* know how to accomplish
these important things. And, they, like Shoghi Effendi before them,
emphasize the importance of beauty.

The Bab dressed in elegant clothing. It was an element in His reaching
the people. And something along the lines of 80% of Israelis said,
after the terraces were dedicated, that they planned at some point to
visit the Terraces. Bees go to flowers because they're colorful.

Brent

.

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