Baha'i World Faith

The Baha'i World Faith claims to be a religion of unique relevance to the modern world. Few cults are better adapted to the mentality of the 20th century than this one. Its emphasis upon rationalism, human rights, international peace, education, equality of the sexes, and the eradication of all forms of prejudice gives the Baha'i Faith a very broad base of appeal. The Baha'i cry for one world religion appeals to the ecumenical spirit of the age, especially in light of the continuing insistence that Baha'is are in perfect harmony with the Christian Faith. We will look into several areas of this cult.

Organization

The Baha'i World Faith has had its headquarters on Mt. Carmel in Haifa, Israel, since 1949. In America the center for the Baha'is is in Wilmette, Illinois, where a 3 million dollar temple draws over 100,00 visitors a year according to their spokesmen. Additional temples are located in Frankfurt, Germany; Kampala, Uganda; and Sidney, Australia. Though each one is different, they are all nine- sided (Nine has religious significance to Baha'is) and each is covered with a dome.

Since they are convinced they have a message the entire world should hear, Baha'is have a strong missionary emphasis. They are active in more than 250 countries, and though world wide missionary work has been limited to the 20th century, total membership totals over 5 million. The 60's and the 70's witnessed very strong growth, especially in the United States (special emphasis in California), where a large percentage of the membership consists of minorities and youth. California membership constitutes over 25% of the membership of Baha'i.

The Baha'is have three levels of administration. A minimum of nine believers is sufficient to constitute a local spiritual assembly, which elects a nine member administrative body each year. These centers have no clergy or house of worship. They employ only teachers who conduct "Firesides" or discussion groups in homes or Baha'i centers. The second level of Baha'i is the National Spiritual Assembly of nine members elected each year by the delegates to the faith's national conventions. The very top level is the UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE, which is another nine member body elected every FIVE years by the national spiritual assemblies throughout the world. Although the House of Justice serves presently as the governing body for a "world" religion, its ultimate intention is to serve as the FINAL GOVERNING AUTHORITY for ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD.

Baha'i History

It is amazing that most of the various texts found on this faith are duplicates of the media handed out by BAHA'I themselves! You will note here, however, that the author makes careful examination of the HISTORICAL record and the BIBLICAL record (if existent) to arrive at our text files. We can do no different, so we stay away from Encyclopedia Brittanica, etc. and look to History for the history of this cult.

Iran, the birthplace of the Baha'i Faith, has long been a Muslim nation. The Persians (present day Iran) embraced the Shi'ite sect of Islam rather than the larger, more democratic Sunni sect, which is the more traditional form of Islam. The Shi'ites believe that Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad and the last of the four universally recognized caliphs (rulers of the faith in temporal matters), was succeeded to the caliphate by twelve of his descendants, called Imams. The Shi'ite sect, alone, recognizes these twelve as divinely appointed leaders of Islam, and they came to be regarded as sinless, supernatural beings. The twelfth Imam mysteriously disappeared without leaving an heir, and the belief began in the Shi'ites that he was still alive and would one day return as the Messiah, or Mahdi. In addition, some schools among the Shi'ites began to teach that the Imams were manifestations of deity, a belief against orthodox Islam, which denies even the possibility of divine incarnation.

Periodically, especially during times of oppression, men would arise claiming to be the Hidden Imamorhis appointed channel of grace. This was especially true in the early nineteenth century when political and religious reform was badly needed in Persia and when the 1,000 years that Shi'ite tradition affirmed would pass between the disappearance and return of the Hidden Imam was nearly completed. One such man was Shaykh Amad al-Ahsa, whose followers were called "Shaykhis." He and his successor, Sayyid Kazim, were both called Bab (The gate between the Hidden Imam and mankind). They claimed to be in contact with the Hidden Imam and proclaimed that he would soon become manifest.

After the death of Kazim, the sect became divided between those who believed that the new successor was Hajji Karim Khan of Kirman and a much larger faction which followed Sayyid Ali Muhannad of Shiraz. The latter proclaimed in 1844 that he was the Bab, a manifestation of God, the Mahdi for whom all had waited. The first group continued under the name of Shaykhis; the latter were called Babis.

Sayyid Ali Muhammad of Shirazwas born in 1820, descendant of the family of Muhammad. He was quiet and modest and, as he grew older, became studious and pious. He made a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Imams near Bagdad, where he met Sayyid Kazim and became strongly influenced by Shaykhi doctrine. When Kazim died, the movement temporarily lacked a leader. Becoming convinced of his own divine mission, the Bab gathered eighteen "apostles," whom he called the "Letters of the Living." They began to proclaim vigorously his "divine" identity and mission, which met with varying response in different cities. Some eagerly accepted the "good news," while others reacted with hostility And, in some cases, violence. "...in the History of Islam, putting forward a claim to be the Hidden Imam has always been connected with political uprising." In order to prevent this, the Persian authorities imprisoned the Bab. However; because the people were looking for a deliverer, the movement spread. While in prison, the Bab wrote a number of books and had visits from his disciples.

In the spring of 1848, while the Bab was still alive in prison, the babi leaders met in conference where they declared the laws of the Islamic dispensation had now been abrogated in the same way that Muslims believe that the Islamic dispensation replaced the Christian revelation. They decided that rather than being the twelfth Imam, the Bab was the prophet of the new dispensation in place of Muhammad. This declaration placed the Bab clearly outside of the Islamic fold and invited the utmost hostility from the traditional Muslims.

After the Babis sought forcefully to gain control of the province of Mazanderan, a succession of conflicts with the Persian government resulted that led to the mass defeat of the Babis and in 1850, the execution of Bab.

Those writings of the Bab which have been preserved are called the Bayan (translated = utterance or exposition). The Bab was convinced that his works were superior TO ALL OTHERS, that they were inimitable, and that they replaced Muhammad's Quran (KORAN) as the scripture relevant to the present age. He cited the supposedly superior quality of his writings as proof of his divine mission, just as Muhammad had compared his writings to the Bible. The Bayan includes religious and social laws for the universal theocracy of this new age.

As Baha'is claim, the Bab taught that one would come after him who would be greater than he. In the Bayan there are seventy references to "He whom God will manifest."

Subh-I-Azal And Baha

In keeping with the Shi'ite belief that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law to the caliphate before his death, the Bab appointed the vice regency of his movement to Mizra Yahya Subh-I-Azal, Subh-I-Azal continued as the ruler of the Babi community for about sixteen years. This appointment is noted in the book NUQ tatu 'L-kaf, which is a history of the babi movement written in 1851 by an "authorized" Babi, Mizra Jani. There is no historical evidence to the contrary, though Baha'i histories omit mention of this appointment of Subh-I-Azal.

Subh-I-Azal instructed his followers to lay aside the sword, and under his leadership, the movement continued to grow with little opposition. He was assisted in the leadership of the movement by his older half-brother, Mizra Husayn Ali, who took for his name, BAHA (Glory).

Turmoil began when a number of claimants to the coming divine manifestation arose, citing certain verses in the Bayan and ignoring the required time span of 1,500 years. Then Azim, a devoted disciple of the Bab, devised a plot to assasinate the Shah, which failed and resulted in a search for Babi leaders and the execution of many. The Mizra brothers fled Bagdad to escape.

In Bagdad, Baha became increasingly active in the leadership of the movement, while his brother retired to seclusion in order to contemplate and write. Baha saw that the movement needed stronger leadership than his brother was supplying, but he recognized that since he had not been appointed by the Bab, the only way he could attain it would be to convince the faithful that he was "He whom God will manifest." However; strong opposition from other leaders prevented Baha from making any such claim at that time. In spite of these thoughts, Baha wrote during that period in his "Book of Certitudes" (alleged to have been a response to others who were claiming to be the "HE") that the time interval between the Bab and He whom God will manifest "is about 1000 years."

After ten years in Bagdad, outbreaks of violence between Muslims and Babis forced the Turkish government to banish the Babi leaders to Adrianople on the extreme western border of Turkey. There, with no one nearby to oppose him, Baha declared that he was the one who should come. He assumed the name Baha'u'llah (Glory of God), a title applied to the Divine Manifestations in the Bayan. Baha'u'llah called upon his brother and all the Babis to submit to him without question, since this would be the only appropriate response to one who is GOD, and the Bab had instructed in the Bayan that "HE" be received in that manner.

While most of the Babis accepted Baha'u'llah's claim and thus became known as Baha'is, Subh-i-Azal and some of his followers refused. They strongly believed that the Bab's revelation was all sufficient for the age. They held that it was unreasonable to suggest that the elaborate system revealed by the Bab was only to last twenty- two years, but rather that it must be accepted and instituted for multitudes of people for many centuries before another manifestation would appear. After all, the Bab had indicated that it would be a minimum of 1,511 years before "HE" would appear. They reasoned that (1) since the Bab was infallible and (2) that he had appointed Subh-i- Azal to succeed him, if Baha was truly "He," Subh-i-Azal would have to recognize him. Thus the minority that remained loyal to Subh-i-Azal continued to be called Babis (sometimes Azalis).

Baha'u'llah sought to force Subh-i-Azal to recognize him by withholding his share of the allowance that the Turkish government had been supplying to the exiles. As a result, Subh-i-Azal's children fell sick due to lack of food, and his wife complained to the wife of the Turkish governor. This "betrayal" incurred even greater wrath from Baha'u'llah. The Baha'is responded to Babis resistance by rewriting many Babi writings and records, degrading the Bab to a forerunner of Baha'u'llah, the REAL prophet for the age, and MURDERING about twenty Babis in Bagdad, Adrianople, and Akka. Two of these Babis were brothers of Fatima, widow of the Bab; another one was her current husband; and two were "Letters of the Living" that were appointed by the Bab. The murderers were never punished nor disowned by Baha'u'llah. The conflict between the two parties became so fierce that the Turkish government separated them, sending Babis to Cypress and the Baha'is to Akka in Palestine.

Baha'is often claim that Baha'u'llah was imprisoned most of his life. He was in exile and was not free to leave Akka, but for the most of his stay in Akka he was free to move about and owned palaces and gardens that were purchased with funds supplied by his followers in Iran and other countries.

Baha'u'llah's claim to be God put him under the difficult pressure of having to play and live up to that role during the twenty- six years of his life that followed. Contrary to his previous custom, in Akka he lived largely in seclusion. No one was allowed to visit him except by special permission.

One writer of this time wrote: "each visitor was carefully prepared for his audience with the Manifestation of God. He was told that what he saw when he came into the Divine Presence would depend on what he was himself - If he was a material person he would see only a man, but if he was a spiritual being he would see God. When his expectations had been sufficiently aroused, the pilgrim was led into the presence of Baha'u'llah and was permitted to gaze a few moments upon the "Blessed Perfection", care being taken that the visitation should end before the spell was broken. Baha'u'llah, however, did not encourage the Baha'is in their desire to visit him..there was too great a risk of their seeing and hearing things in Akka which might weaken their faith. There was a saying among the Baha'is of Iran that "whosoever went to Akka lost his faith."

In Akka Baha'u'llah recognized that the Bab had designed his religion in a manner suitable only to Persia. He also saw that the Bab's vision of world wide theocracy was unrealistic. Thus, in order to promote the universal aspirations of the Babi/Baha'i religion, Baha'u'llah ignored many of the Bayan's injunctions and sought to make the faith appealing to the Christians and Muslims in the lands to which the religion had spread. Baha'u'llah appealed to members of these faiths out of their own scriptures, claiming not only to be the one whom the Bab foretold, but also the return of the Shi'ite Hidden Imam, the return of Christ, AND the Comforter whom Jesus said would come.

Baha'u'llah wrote numerous epistles called "tablets" to believers, rulers, the Pope in Rome and other religious leaders. He also wrote longer treatises. All are considered to be the word of God. In all, these works number over 100. Baha'is have no definite Canon of scripture. A small book called the AQDAS is considered the most important of Baha'u'llah's writings, and yet no authoritative translation of the Arabic has ever been published. One Arabic scholar refers to them as "rehash of the Bayan."

The essence of Baha'u'llah's message is aptly summarized thus: "His writings reached the outside world. They advocated a broad religious view upholding the unity of God and the essential harmony of all prophesy when rightly understood. He called upon all religions to unite, for every religion contains some truth because all prophets are witnesses to the one Truth that Baha'ism supremely represents. The human race is under one God and will be united through his spirit when the Baha'i cause is known and joined."

Baha'u'llah WARNED that NO NEW MANIFESTATION would come for 1,000 YEARS! "Whoever claims Command before completion of a thousand years is a false liar....Whoever explains this verse or interprets it in any other way than that plainly sent down, he will be deprived of the Spirit and Mercy of God."

This warning is interesting because Baha'u'llah had previously taken this very liberty with the Bab's writings, but realizing someone after him could do just what he had done, he forbade anyone else from taking the same liberty.

Baha'u'llah died a natural death in 1892 at the age of 74. It is reported that between the years 1866 and 1891 about 31 Baha'is were killed in Iran.

Abdul Baha

With the death of the Divine Manifestation, leadership of the Baha'i movement passed to Baha'u'llah's oldest son, Abbas Effendi, who took the name Abdul Baha (Servant of Baha). Abdul Baha was born on May 23, 1844, which is reputed to be the same day that the Bab made his fateful declaration of deity.

While he never claimed to be an actual Manifestation of God, Abdul Baha proclaimed that he was the "Center of the Covenant." Though Baha'u'llah would have objected, Abdul insisted that only HE was the sole rightful interpreter of his father's writings and that his writings were OF EQUAL AUTHORITY with those of Baha'u'llah. Most of the faithful gladly accepted these claims, as to them it meant the divine manifestation of Baha'u'llah was continuing with them through his son. However, an opposition party arose headed by Abdul's brother, Mizra Mohammad Ali, who had been appointed second in succession by his father. The opposition contended that Baha'u'llah had never made provision for his successor to take such absolute authority, and that, in fact, only a Manifestation could rightfully claim such authority. The opposition called themselves Unitarians and called the rest "Violators of the Covenant. "Most of Baha'u'llah's family members sided with the Unitarians, believing that Abdul was a self-seeking opportunist. In return, Abdul excommunicated them and deprived them of the funds that Baha'u'llah had arranged for them to receive. The conflict grew extremely bitter, even to the point of violence. The schism was especially significant because it centered around two sons of Baha'u'llah, his appointed successors. The Unitarians never became a strong movement and eventually disappeared from the scene.

In the early 20th century Baha'i missionary efforts began to take hold in Western lands. Abdul Baha himself was able to personally promote the Baha'i Faith in Egypt, Europe, England and America after the Turkish revolution of 1908 made Akka's political prisoners free. Abdul was especially successful in the United States, where he received a warm reception and good press coverage in 1912. He was invited by Mrs. Hearst of the publishing family, which assured heavy and favorable coverage. Abdul traveled the United States for 7 months.

Shoghi Effendi

Abdul Baha died in 1921 and, by a directive in his will, was succeeded by his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, who ruled until his death in 1957. Abdul Baha had appointed his grandson to be the first Guardian of the cause of God, and Shoghi Effendi made full use of the authority vested in him, demanding absolute obedience and excommunicating all who, in any manner, questioned him. Virtually all of Abdul Baha's family, including his wife and Shoghi Effendi's own parents and brothers and sisters, were eventually counted among the excommunicants. It must be noted that loving one's own family is depicted in the Bible as one of the most basic commands of God. The consistent inability of Baha'u'llah and his descendants to love members of their own family when conflicts of ambition arose hardly confirms the reliability of the exalted claims they made and make for themselves.

Shoghi Effendi's leadership was characterized by an organization emphasis. He worked at establishing the local and national spiritual assemblies. He also appointed Twenty Seven Hands of the Cause, out of which was to be formed the House of Justice; this in accordance to a stipulation in Abdul Baha's will, would be headed by the Guardian of the cause or someone appointed by him. The Guardianship was to be passed on from father to firstborn son, or to another son if the firstborn was not worthy. These were to be appointed in the Guardian's will.

However, Shoghi Effendi died childless and never wrote a will. As a result, confusion reigned among the Hands of the Cause as to who would succeed the Guardian until they finally determined that there would be no Guardian. Instead, the movement would be democratically ruled by the nine member House of Justice, the members of which they appointed at that time. This decision was accompanied by the (now traditional) internal conflict, and a splinter group was formed which appointed its own Guardian.

The "Hands'" ignoring of Abdul Baha's injunction concerning the Guardianship was only one in a series of violations of previous injunctions which began with Baha'u'llah himself. Baha'u'llah claimed to be a Manifestation, thus violating the Bab's appointment of Subh-i- Azal. In turn, Abdul Baha violated provisions in Baha'u'llah's will that Abdul's brother Mizra Muhammad Ali should succeed him when he appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi, instead. Shoghi Effendi ignored the command of Baha'u'llah that a will must be written in order to avoid squabbles over leadership, and he also violated Abdul Baha's provision that he should appoint a successor in his own lifetime "that differences may not arise after his passing." Since appointments and wills were supposedly inspired by God, Baha'i history is filled with "inspired" violations of "inspired" injunctions.

Major Tenets

The doctrine of Divine Manifestations is the central plank of Baha'i theology. Through this doctrine Baha'is are able to take seemingly amiable positions toward members of the major world religions, for each of their founders were manifestations of God and thus each religion has a measure of truth. On the same premise Baha'is draw converts from other religions, for, they insist, the other religions were for other ages while the religion of Baha'u'llah is for today. To follow it in no way will conflict with one's native faith, for there is truly only one faith in mankind's history, best represented now by the Baha'is.

Though the recognized Divine Manifestations represent just about every conceivable world view (Monotheism through Moses and Jesus, polytheism through Krisna, Agnosticism through Buddah, and dualism through Zoroaster), Baha'is insist that they are actually united in purpose and teaching. The spiritually initiated see beyond the apparent differences. In fact, Baha'u'llah warned that anyone who saw even the slightest possible difference between their words and messages would be guilty of disbelieving and repudiating God.

Among world religions, probably only Buddahism (in its ORIGINAL form) and Confucianism are less concerned with man's relationship to God than Baha'ism. The Baha'is are concerned chiefly with man's relationship to man, as evidenced by the Baha'i thirteen "principles" which denote social and political concerns rather than religious. In volume 13 of "THE BAHA'I WORLD", we read: "It is the avowed faith of Baha'is that this Revelation has established upon earth the spiritual impulse and the definite principles necessary for social regeneration and the attainment of one true religion and social order throughout the world."

This understanding that the purpose of the current revelation is SOCIAL regeneration is the reason Baha'is brush aside the Christian emphasis upon PERSONAL regeneration as being irrelevant to the present age.

Baha'is follow a number of religious laws and observances. Included among these are daily prayer, an annual period of fasting, monogamy, and marriage only by consent of all living parents. Divorce is permitted after a one year waiting period. Parents are under religious obligation to educate their children, education being a KEY WORD to Baha'i. Use of alcohol and narcotics is forbidden, as is cremation.

Harmonic With Christianity?

The Baha'i Faith is essentially rationalistic. "We must not accept traditional dogmas that are contrary to reason, nor pretend to believe doctrines which we cannot understand. To do so is superstitious and not true religion." Because of this inclination to reject any doctrine that does not seem reasonable to them, Baha'is interpret allegorically, rather than literally, the biblical doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the bodily Resurrection of Christ, the existence of angels and evil spirits, and the doctrines of heaven and hell. Yet, despite this insistence that EVERYTHING must be understood in order to be believed, they hold that God Himself is impersonal and UNKNOWABLE. He can only be perceived indirectly through the reflection of his Manifestations - Jesus being ONLY ONE of these NINE, in no manner superior to the other eight.

Baha'is deny that man fell through Adam from his original spiritual and moral state. They affirm that no one is "essentially" bad or evil, but merely imperfect. Sins are characteristics of the lower, baser plane of nature, and education brings deliverance from them. Baha'u'llah taught that men ought not to confess their sins to one another, for this would lead to humiliation and abasement, which he taught, are contrary to God's will.

Concerning salvation, Baha'u'llah said, "Whoso keepeth the commandments of God shall attain everlasting felicity." And Abdul Baha stated that there is no sin-atoning value in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. So inadequate was his concept of redemption that Baha'u'llah was able to say of himself: "Fix your gaze upon Him who is the Temple of God amongst men. He, in truth, hath offered up his life as a ransom for the redemption of the world."

The Central conflict between Baha'u'llah's concept of salvation and the biblical revelation on the subject is best shown in BAHA'I WORLD FAITH where Baha'u'llah stated: "Every age has its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require." In CONTRAST to this, the BIBLE teaches that the one universal problem of man throughout the ages is sin, his state of moral guilt and consequent alienation from God. Thus the one remedy - the only POSSIBLE remedy for mankind's dilemma - is the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, a sacrifice sufficient to save all who turn to Him for all time as God tells us in Hebrews 10:10 to 18.

Because they fail to recognize that man fell from his original position with God, Baha'is also fail to understand what the prophet Jeremiah witnessed concerning the nature of man: "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is incurably sick; who can understand it?" As a result they believe that man is capable of keeping the commandments of God, whereas the BIBLE emphatically declares that he cannot in Romans 3:20 to 28 and 8:7. Not realizing that man's problems stem from his heart, instead of the intellect, they think that education is the ULTIMATE answer. HAVING MADE A FAULTY DIAGNOSIS OF MAN'S SICKNESS, they have prescribed a faulty, ineffective cure.

It is somewhat ironic that the most fitting description of Baha'u'llah's attempt to establish himself as savior and mediator between man and God can be found in words framed by none other than Baha'u'llah himself. Certainly, he had ANYONE BUT himself in mind when he penned these words; yet with sobering propriety Baha'u'llah's indictment CAN BE APPLIED TO HIMSELF: "We can perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore tired and disillusioned. They that are intoxicated by self conceit have interposed themselves between it and the divine and infallible Physician. Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices. THEY CAN NEITHER DISCOVER THE CAUSE OF THE DISEASE, NOR HAVE THEY ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE REMEDY."

Jesus Claimed to BE GOD and lived his life in a manner that reflected truth. Jesus said that HE WAS TRUTH. Jesus rose "into the clouds" where, we are told by the BIBLE that he "will return just as we witnessed Him leaving" and not REINCARNATED into another person. It is appointed unto MAN to die BUT ONCE - Then the JUDGMENT. Jesus was God as proven by his life. JESUS is SAVIOR as proven by His Death AND RESURRECTION. The bodies of Baha'u'llah, the Bab, Abdul Baha and other false prophets rot in their graves. The body of Christ is not on Earth, but he lives! He will return with the NEW NAME of JUDGE and LORD - Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD. When he comes in HIS BODY, he will take up to him those who He lives THROUGH at this present time. No one has ever found deceit in the lives of Jesus or his Apostles. Jesus stands IN HISTORY as a PERFECT human - the ONLY MAN IN HISTORY so RECORDED. He came the first time EXACTLY when God WROTE that he would - He didn't have to change God's word!

No, there is NO HARMONY between Baha'i and Christ or Christianity. The blasphemy being exhorted by Baha'i World Faith and its adherents will be dealt with at the BEMA JUDGMENT SEAT. Until that time, we followers of the LIVING CHRIST, must show our love for the souls in Baha'i that have remained in the bondage that Christ offered His life to end. Christ did die for them, and we must always be ready to "give a reason for the hope that lies within us" to "everyman who ask of you." May eyes be opened to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and closed to the bind of Satan. Amen.