Baháʼís

“ It repeats as a slogan, "the brotherhood of man." C. M. Remey91 says: "The Bahai cause stands for the unity of all religions, political unity of nations, the social unity of all classes, peoples and races." "Its aim," says Harold Johnson, "is to knit all the faiths and all the peoples into one."92 "The essential principle of the teachings of Bahaism is the unification of the religious systems of the world," says MacNutt.93 This is a high ideal, which interpreted in their several ways is [64] the aim of Christianity, Islam, Socialism, etc. ”

“ It is the unity which through the influence of the divine spirit is permeating the Bahá’ís so that each offers his life for the other and strives with all sincerity to attain his good-pleasure. This is the unity which caused twenty thousand people in Írán to give their lives in love and devotion to it. It made the Báb the target of a thousand arrows and caused Bahá’u’lláh to suffer exile and imprisonment forty years. This unity is the very spirit of the body of the world. It is impossible for the body of the world to become quickened with life without its vivification. ”

“ Let him not make of God’s Law, created as it was to bring about unity and love, a means of discord. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: ‘If religion be the cause of disunity, then irreligion is surely to be preferred.’
Today as well, the Chosen Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, is at all times waiting expectantly—and indeed, it is the most cherished desire of his heart—to see this reality, this proof of serious effort, this feature that distinguishes the Bahá’ís from all others, clearly and unmistakably revealed in the life of every single Bahá’í. ”

“ Its guiding focus is to encourage the unity of all peoples on the earth so that justice and peace may be achieved on earth. Baha'i revelation contends the prophets of major world religions reflect some truth or element of the divine, believes all were manifestations of God given to specific communities in specific times, and that Baha'u'llah is an additional prophet meant to call all humankind. Bahais are an open community, located worldwide, with the greatest concentration of believers in South Asia. ”

“ He discoursed at length on woman's rights and equality, but omitted to inform the public that Baha Ullah had three wives and carefully concealed his women in an oriental haram. Besides all these, he erroneously attributed to Baha Ullah the origination of teachings which have been the age-long possession of Christendom.
The meetings with the believers were of a different character. To them his message was: "Teach Bahaism; work for the cause; spread the faith; build the Temple." With them he celebrated the Unity Feast. ”

“ Divine grace descended upon him; the summons of God so enraptured him that he threw the peace of Manshad to the winds. Leaving his kinsfolk and children, he set out over mountains and desert plains, passed from one halting-place to the next, came to the seashore, crossed over the sea and at last reached the city of Haifa. From there he hastened on to Akká and entered the presence of Bahá’u’lláh.
In the early days he opened a small shop in Haifa and carried on some trifling business. God’s blessing descended upon it, and it prospered. That little corner became the haven of the pilgrims. ”

“ In the Turkish empire they are few, for Sunni Moslems are utterly indifferent to Bahaism. The Egyptian Gazette says of Egypt where Abdul Baha resided for two years, "The new religion has made little perceptible progress; Islam remained indifferent, and the Christian community was ignorant of his presence." Of Syria, Mr. Phelps wrote:16 "All the Bahais in Acca are Persians. No other nationalities are among them." The inference is plain that no native of Acca had become Bahai through forty years of contact with Baha and his seventy followers. ”

“ Of all the work being undertaken by the believers, East and West, at the present time, undoubtedly the most urgent is that of getting the pioneers out to the goal countries during this year, if possible. Not only will spiritual strength accrue from this settlement of so many new lands, but the prestige it gives us in the eyes of the non-Bahá’ís is great. He fully realises heavy burdens have been placed upon the shoulders of all the Bahá’ís, and particularly upon the members of the twelve N.S.A.s directing this great crusade. But who else except the believers can do the work of Bahá’u’lláh? ”

“ Each will be composed of nine or more Bahai men elected by the people. Bahaism will be the state religion. Kings will exist, but the politico-religious hierarchy will perform many of the functions of the state, even to settling international disputes. Churches, assemblies, and conferences, bishops and popes—all will be dispensed with. The Bahai "houses" will conduct and control religion for the world. The first universal vicegerent of God is Abdul Baha. ”

“ In 1992, the Bahá’í world celebrated its second Holy Year, this one marking the centenary of the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh and the promulgation of His Covenant. More eloquently than words could have done, the ethnic, cultural and national diversity of the 27,000 believers who gathered at the Javits Convention Center in New York City—together with the thousands present at nine auxiliary conferences in Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, Panama City, Singapore, Sydney and Western Samoa—provided compelling evidence of the success of Bahá’í teaching work around the world. ”

“ All who were known to be of this sect fell under suspicion. Bahá’u’lláh was passing the summer in the village of Afchih situated one stage from Ṭihrán. When this news was spread abroad and punishment began, everyone who was able hid himself in some retreat or fled the country. Amongst these Mírzá Yaḥyá, the brother of Bahá’u’lláh, concealed himself, and, a bewildered fugitive, in the guise of a dervish, with kashkúl in hand, wandered in mountains and plains on the road to Rasht. ”

“ He put himself forward as the Lord of a new dispensation, the founder of a new religion.
During the next quarter of a century Bahaism made little stir in Persia. Its advancement was by no means as rapid as during the earlier years of the Bab. The zeal and devotion of the followers sensibly slackened. Tagiya (dissimulation regarding one's religion) was allowed and practiced. The fierce warriors turned to professing the doctrines of expediency, condemning as unwise zealots the fighting Babis of the previous generation. During these years they escaped bloody persecutions except in rare instances. ”

“ The number of territories opened to the Faith in that fast-awakening continent and its neighboring islands has risen to fifty-eight, while the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside is over four hundred. The number of tribes represented in the Bahá’í Community is now over one hundred and forty, the number of local Assemblies already established is over one hundred and twenty, and the number of languages into which Bahá’í literature has been and is being translated exceeds fifty. ”

“ The male and the female of the human kingdom are equal before God. Divine justice demands that men and women have equal rights." [152]
My first thought on reading these statements was one of surprise, for they contradict my observations during thirty years' residence in Persia, in close touch with Bahais. I decided to make a thorough investigation of the teachings and practice of Baha Ullah bearing on the relation of the sexes, to determine definitely whether these claims of the "inspired interpreter" were valid or not. A considerable body of Bahai literature and "revelation" is accessible. ”

“ The conduct of Abdul Baha and his followers towards the brothers and their followers, as well as that of Bahais to the Azalis, contradicts their fine professions of toleration and love to all religions and all men. Well may we exclaim with Professor Browne: "Where is the restraining power, when they can show such bitter animosity against those of their own household!" The numbers of Bahais living at Acca then was about ninety,596 and of them thirty597 or forty598 were of the opponents of Abbas. ”

“ In this sense their claim is based on very meagre premises. A few thousand only, outside of Persia, have embraced Bahaism. Harold Johnson says: "The Non-Mohammedans do not number probably very many thousands." But do we not see myriads gathering into the Christian brotherhood out of every race and religion of Asia, including even thousands from Islam. Thirty thousand Moslems have become Christians in Malayasia in Abdul Baha's lifetime. In Asia how many races and religions, forgetting their former antagonisms, are united in the faith and baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ Verily the Spirit of Truth has come to guide you into all truth. He hath come from the Heaven of Preëxistence." "Baha," says the editor of the Star of the West, "is the fulfillment of the promise of the 'second coming' with a new name (Rev. iii. 11-13) ."172
It must be remembered that Bahaism, chameleon-like, takes on a different aspect according to the environment of its adherents. In Persia its creed is different from that of America in regard to the "return." For the most part American Bahais regard Baha as God the Father, and Abdul Baha Abbas as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. ”

“ In Badasht, there was a great open field. Through its center a stream flowed, and to its right, left, and rear there were three gardens, the envy of Paradise. One of those gardens was assigned to Quddús,127 but this was kept a secret. Another was set apart for Táhirih, and in a third was raised the pavilion of Bahá’u’lláh. On the field amidst the three gardens, the believers pitched their tents. Evenings, Bahá’u’lláh, Quddús and Táhirih would come together. In those days the fact that the Báb was the Qá’im had not yet been proclaimed ”

“ Social historians of the future, with a perspective far more dispassionate and universal than is presently possible, and benefiting from unimpeded access to all of the primary documentation, will study minutely the transformation that the Master achieved in these early years. Day after day, month after month, from a distant exile where He was endlessly harried by the host of enemies surrounding Him, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was able not only to stimulate the expansion of the Persian Bahá’í community, but to shape its consciousness and collective life. ”

“ For house furnishings must be changed every nineteen years. In obedience to this command my old teacher in Persia got rid of his rugs, whose sheen was polished and colours were mellowed with age, and refurnished his house with gaudy modern rugs. In prescribing the Moslem fast and namaz (prayer-rite) , with some modifications, Bahaism limits the spirit of liberty, which is the essence of universality.
Copying from the Bab, Baha has seen fit to regulate the calendar. ”

“ The persecuted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has fallen into the hands of persons who appear as sheep and in reality are ferocious wolves; they exercise every sort of oppression, endeavor to destroy the foundation of the Covenant,—and claim to be Bahá’ís. They strike at the root of the Tree of the Covenant—and count themselves persecuted—just as did the people of Bayán who broke the Covenant of His Holiness, the Báb, and from six directions shot arrows of reproach and calumny at Thy Blessed Body. Notwithstanding this great oppression, they call themselves oppressed. ”

“ What might the minority expect? The oppressions and anathemas received by the old Bahais from the followers of Abdul Baha Abbas give the answer.312 Fortunately for the world, the universal reign of Bahaism is not to be realized, neither is the prophecy of Abdul Baha to be fulfilled which says313 "that the flag of Baha Ullah will overcome every other flag and all rulers will do homage to it." ”

“ It is irrevocably decreed that whatsoever has been revealed and written down by the Supreme Pen and the holy hand of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will come to pass and be fully realized in this world, wherefore does it behove the people of Bahá, the souls attracted to His Splendour, to become all eyes and ears, and to be in body and soul and limbs and members all sagacity and prudence. ”

“ Spiritual, and have pleasure in being called the "divine philosopher," "priest of the Prince of Peace (Baha) ," and being compared to St. Paul as a herald of the Kingdom, and write himself a "member of the Bahai community." At the same time Doctor Cheyne wrote himself down as a "member of the Nava Vidhan, Lahore" (Brahma-Samaj) .
At present there are Bahai congregations in sixteen of the United States, in Canada, Hawaii, South Africa, England, Germany and Russia, as well as in India and Burmah. The future of its propaganda in Christendom lacks promise. ”

“ Although the policy of Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd was harsher than ever; although he constantly insisted on his Captive’s strict confinement—still, the Blessed Beauty now lived, as everyone knows, with all power and glory. Some of the time Bahá’u’lláh would spend at the Mansion, and again, at the farm village of Mazra’ih; for a while He would sojourn in Haifa, and occasionally His tent would be pitched on the heights of Mount Carmel. Friends from everywhere presented themselves and gained an audience. ”

“ II. Bahaism claims to abrogate and supersede Christianity. Bahaism in its origin is a Mohammedan sect. It declares that Islam is from God. Christianity was a divine revelation, but Islam was a better one. In the "Ikan," Baha maintains the validity of Islam, testifies to its truth, defends Mohammed's prophetic mission as the fulfillment of the New Testament prophecies, and the Koran as the Book of God. 146 Abdul Baha exalts Mohammed, and declares that he "gave more spiritual education than any of the others,"147 i. e., than Moses or Jesus. ”