In response to your letter received on 6 March seeking from
the Universal House of Justice a definition of "ungodliness", we have
been directed to quote the following passage found on page 200 of "Dawn of
a New Day", a compilation of letters written on behalf of the beloved
Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India:
“In the passage "eschew all fellowship with the
ungodly", Bahá'u'lláh means that we should shun the company of those who
disbelieve in God and are wayward. The word "ungodly" is a reference
to such perverse people.”
With reference to Shoghi Effendi's clarification quoted
above, it may also be helpful to note that dictionary definitions of
"wayward" include "childishly self-willed or perverse, capricious"
and "unaccountable"; and the definition of "perverse"
includes "stubbornly departing from what is reasonable",
"persistent in error", "perverted" and "wicked".
In the context of the Persian Hidden Words, number 3, then, the phrase
"ungodly" apparently refers to a broad range of behaviors including
those associated with Covenant-breaking. (From a letter dated 10 March 1983
written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer,
contained in a memorandum from the Research Department dated 10 September 2001
to the Universal House of Justice)
