Autocracy
Bahá'í Administrative Order cannot be dismissed as rigid system of unmitigated autocracy as international elected representatives have exclusive right of legislating on matters not revealed in Bahá'í writings[edit]
"Nor can the Bahá'í Administrative Order be dismissed as a hard and rigid system of unmitigated autocracy or as an idle imitation of any form of absolutistic ecclesiastical government, whether it be the Papacy, the Imamate or any other similar institution, for the obvious reason that upon the international elected representatives of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh has been conferred the exclusive right of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the Bahá'í writings. Neither the Guardian of the Faith nor any institution apart from the International House of Justice can ever usurp this vital and essential power or encroach upon that sacred right."
The non-autocratic character of the Bahá'í Administrative Order and its inclination to democratic methods shown in abolition of priesthood, lack of episcopal authority, and universal suffrage in elections[edit]
"The abolition of professional priesthood with its accompanying sacraments of baptism, of communion and of confession of sins, the laws requiring the election by universal suffrage of all local, national, and international Houses of Justice, the total absence of episcopal authority with its attendant privileges, corruptions and bureaucratic tendencies, are further evidences of the non-autocratic character of the Bahá'í Administrative Order and of its inclination to democratic methods in the administration of its affairs."
- (Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 153-154)
Under autocratic government, opinions are not free and development is stifled[edit]
"Consider what a vast difference exists between modern democracy and the old forms of despotism. Under an autocratic government the opinions of men are not free, and development is stifled, whereas in democracy, because thought and speech are not restricted, the greatest progress is witnessed."
Todos for this page[edit]
- Add more representative quotes
