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November 12
Baha'u'llah, Juan Inés de la Cruz, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
David Barnhart
November 12, 2025
Bricks and Moss. Photo by Angela Barnhart.
Today marks the birthday, in 1817, of Bahá'u'lláh in Persia, the founder of the Baha’i Faith. The three principles of Baha’i are the unity of God, the unity of religions, and the unity of humanity.
Today is the birthday, in 1648, of Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican nun and author, whose faith and feminism reflect the long history of Latin American liberation theology.
It is also the birthday, in 1815, of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a women’s rights activist who, along with a committee of women scholars, wrote The Woman’s Bible, a critical commentary on certain passages in the Bible which had been interpreted in misogynist ways. The Woman’s Bible made waves in both church and the academy, and directly attacked the use of scripture to subjugate women. It is important to note that Stanton, along with Susan B. Anthony, were important figures in early feminism and abolition, but they often prioritized the liberation of white women over Black Americans.
Reflection:
Bahá'u'lláh wrote:
“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”
Juana Inés de la Cruz wrote:
“I do not value treasures or riches; it always gives me more pleasure to put wealth in my thought than thought in my wealth.”
Standing up for the dignity sex workers, she wrote:
In a passion that is guilty
Who bears the greater blame:
She who falls on being entreated
Or he who falls to make entreaty?
When each is guilty of sin,
Which is the most to blame:
She who sins for payment,
Or he who pays for the sin?
In The Woman’s Bible chapter on Genesis 1, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote:
“…As to women’s subjection, on which both the canon and the civil law delight to dwell, it is important to note that equal dominion is given to woman over every living thing, but not one word is said giving man dominion over woman. …Here is the first title deed to this green earth giving alike to the sons and daughters of God. No lesson of woman’s subjection can be fairly drawn from the first chapter of the Old Testament.”
Prayer: God, not only our passions, but our morality and society are disordered. Help us to see clearly through our moral condemnation and our racism and sexism to the disordered social structures we have constructed in our hearts and our societies. Amen.