Sunday, August 18, 2 p.m. Eastern time
Listen on SoundCloud (podcast)
Because of the authenticity of the Bahá’í Writings, one might assume that when a Central Figure of the Faith mentions a character or event from an ancient religious tradition, that mention confirms the factual validity of the story. However, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá indicates that a more nuanced understanding is called for. He states, “When certain matters are actually myths, the Divine Manifestations bring them out as though they were real and elucidate them.” (Amr va Khalq 2:211)
This presentation examines discourses of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdul-Bahá as well as guidance from the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice that shed light on what we can and cannot assume when Central Figures of the Faith cite traditional stories.
JoAnn Borovicka, M. Ed., is a freelance author, educator, and artist. Her book Light of the Kingdom—Biblical Topics in the Baha’i Writings (Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2016) is the fruit of over fifteen years of action research carried out while designing and facilitating Bahá’í Bible Study workshops for Bahá’ís and friends of the Faith in the southern United States. She has regularly participated in the Irfan Colloquium, and her contributions to Lights of Irfan publications can be found at Bahai-library.com. JoAnn has recently retired from a career in performance art where she worked primarily through the South Carolina Arts Commission as an Artist in Residence in Visual Art and Storytelling. She resides in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband, Mike, and miniature Schnauzer, Juniper, where she enjoys creating unexpected artwork from her home studio. www.joannborovicka.com
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