Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2008-04-04 Great Disappointment

Request details
There is a dispute concernming a single paragraph regarding the Bahais attitude toward The Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844.

Who are the involved parties?
For: Cunado, Lamba Jan, Jeff3000, MARussellPESE, Flammifer

Against: Paul Hammond, Heiko Evermann, MyNameIsNotBob, Ansell, JCrocombe

Of late myself and Jeff3000 are the main parties.

What's going on?
I feel we are talking past each other. Despite extensive discussion on the talk pages nothing has been resolved. None of my questions have been answered, nor have requested references are not being supplied. Accusations regarding NPOV are being made but in my view the issue is firstly & fore-mostly as well as issues of evidence and referenceing--verifiablility.

What would you like to change about that?
That questions be answered, that evidence be supplied & that we make sure we understand the opposing position before continuing with this war of deletion & reversion.

Mediator notes
Veeeery slow; editors last contrib was the creation of this page on Apr. 4th. Will resume when (if? I hope not... that was an awesome rewrite) .....when he gets back. Xavexgoem (talk) 18:35, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Discussion
Well first off, as I was saying on the article talk page here say more generally, there is a strong push going on about the Great Disappointment being an exclusively Seventh Day Adventist issue when it manifestly is not. Content from the Bahá'í and Jehovah Witness relationship to the event and what it gave birth to has been removed and shorted. I also feel there is breadth of incidents that speak to the atmosphere of the Disappointment that made it Great. Expectations for the Return of Jesus and events of that theme and magnitude were great indeed - and are covered in several articles one way or the other but this article reflects none of that. It seems to make the Seventh Day Adventists the single meaningful effect of this event. I spoke of slave owners freeing slaves out of fear of the Day of Judgement note emphasis as part of three signs leading to the Return - a tertiary ref but pointing to the primary (since part of this is about citations.)--Smkolins (talk) 22:21, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

About three signs not covered being relevant

 * The Night the Stars Fell My Search for Amanda Young
 * Truth or Fables Exposing Seventh-day Adventist Fables I don't particularly like this specific ref but it points to some primary sources that show these three signs.

About the relevance of the Bahá'ís

 * Saints and Sinners Awaiting the Third Coming of Christ? By George Plagenz Friday March 3, 2006.
 * note emphasis as part of three signs leading to the Return - a tertiary ref but pointing to the primary
 * Fundamentalism and Liberalism:towards an understanding of the dichotomy By Moojan Momen, Bahá'í Studies Review, Volume 2.1, 1992
 * THE ROCKETS OF HAIFA � THE ATTACK ON BAHA'I: Mahmoud And the End of the World by Marshall Smith, Editor, Brother Jonathan Gazette
 * Baha'i Faith - Prophecy and Conversion by Brian Mistler, 2001-02-13
 * Sears, William [1961] (2002). Thief in the Night. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 085398008x.
 * Gail, World Order, vol. 6, no. 7 (Oct. 1940), pp. 229-39. It was included in a 1976 anthology: Gail, Marzieh (1976). Dawn over Mount Hira and Other Essays. London: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980632.
 * Townshend, George (1966). Christ and Bahá’u’lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980055 (see Chpt 10)
 * “O thou Godlike person and spiritual friend!…”, Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Author: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Source: Bahá’í Publishing Committee, 1909 edition, Print Selection Pages 197-198 - interesting, a poetic but direct reference from scripture.
 * Yerrinbool Report on Scholarship 1997 by Graham Hassall 1998-04-10. refers to a masters thesis by William Collins "The Final Consummation: The Millerites and Biblical Time Prophecy in the American Bahá'í Community."
 * The Prophecies of Jesus by Michael Sours, Oneworld Publications Ltd, 223pp, ISBN 185168025X

and Jehovah Witnesses

 * Jehovah Witnesses
 * The Apocalypse and Three of its later Movements John M. Hutchinson