Course: Philosophy and the Bahá’í Faith (2020)
Faculty Mentor: Ian Kluge
Editor’s Note: This was Meg’n Deaner’s first Wilmette Institute course. She is a new Bahá’í. The Wilmette Institute looks forward to welcoming her to many more courses in 2021 and beyond.
During the course, I was able to learn more about the Bahá’í Faith and the Bahá’ís and seekers in the class. I have been sharing about the Bahá’í Faith, and I discovered that many people are not familiar with the term “Progressive Revelation” and have never heard of the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh. I also discovered that many people reject religion because their religion is not perfect, or people are looking to pick apart most religions.
One thing I discovered was that I have never taken a philosophy class! I really enjoyed learning about philosophy from the professors and philosophers taking this class. Some of the philosophical concepts I learned about are:
Metaphysics—the nature of the world and being.
Epistemology—knowing about knowing.
Emanation—the relationship between God and His creations.
I now understand that we will reach more people with the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh if we use logic to explain them. This class reminded me of the book The Thief in the Night by William Sears and how it helped me understand progressive revelation. Since taking this class, I wonder what prophets we may have missed.
As Ian Kluge shared, “Philosophy is everyone’s business!” [This is a quote from the American philosopher, educator, and popular author, Mortimer J. Adler.] In taking this course, I reconfirmed that I am a Bahá’í and that I will always be a student. For instance, I want to read Sarte and Psychoanalysis by Betty Cannon. She was one of my favorite professors at Naropa University. I will continue to share the Bahá’í Faith with others and continue to do good works.
This is such a difficult time, and I felt the course provided a respite from the world as we came together. We spoke hopefully about the nature of the world and made plans to do what we can for our community and the world. I will think of this class, the professors, and the students fondly.
