I've been hearing about the Bahai Faith for years, and have always found it to be very interesting and (at least in theory) admirable. I have also seen their very beautiful and impressive temple building near Chicago.

But I have never met an individual member. I'm especially curious as to whether Bahai adherents in North America tend to be mostly folks of Iranian descent born into their tradition, mostly Euro- and Afro- America "converts," or a mixture. Those of you with personal knowledge: anythng you can tell me?

I'm a little disappointed to learn that they are less tolerant of "apostacy" than I would have thought, and that they are so insistant that their prophet be regarded as not only the most recent, but the absolute final, Messenger of God.

I had considered that the Bahai teachings, as much as I was aware, seemed uniquely reasonable, open, and tolerant. Not quite so. Makes me wonder if it's absolutely necessary to insist upon at least a little bit of dogma in order to evolve into, and survive as, a functioning religion.

In other words: If Bahai believers could concede that "the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh" might not have the Last Word, that human history may indeed continue for untold millenita, and that future ages will surely require prophets of their own ~ would such "liberal" thinking make it any less possible for the Faith to exist as an institution, with buildings, an ongoing succession of clergy, etc.? I'd like to think not, to believe in the possibility of ever-more-enlightened religious institutions. But maybe complete open-mindedness demands independence, and formation of a community of belief requires at least a modicum of irratonal insistence upon some element of dogma.