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 twentieth century. 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 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.

Organizational Information

The Baha'i World Faith has had its headquarters on Mt. Carmel in Haifa, Israel, since 1949. The faith's American center is in Wilmette, Illinois, where a $3 million temple draws over 100,000 visitors a year. Temples are also located in Frankfurt, Germany; Kampala, Uganda; and Sydney, Australia. Though each one is different, they are all nine-sided (the number nine has religious significance to Baha'is) and are covered with a dome.

Convinced they have a message the entire world must hear, Baha'is have a strong missionary emphasis. They are active in more than 250 countries, and though worldwide missionary work has been limited to the twentieth century, membership numbers roughly 5 million. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed particularly phenomenal growth, especially in America, where a large percentage of the membership consists of minorities and young people. The fertile mission grounds of California have supplied a quarter of the new converts.

There are three Baha'i organizational levels. 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 nor house of worship. They employ only teachers who conduct "firesides" (discussion groups) in homes or Baha'i centers. The second level of Baha'i organization is the national spiritual assembly, a nine-member body elected each year by delegates to the faith's national conventions. At the top level is the Universal House of Justice—again, a nine-member body elected every five years by the national spiritual assemblies throughout the world. Although the House of Justice serves now only 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.

History

Since most historical accounts of the Baha'i Faith have been taken primarily from Baha'i sources, it is only natural that a slanted perspective of the movement's history has been widely circulated. However, William McElwee Miller, who served for forty-three years as a Christian missionary in Persia (Iran), did extensive first-hand research on the movement and uncovered a decidedly different Baha'i history than one normally encounters, even in Christian publications. This he has chronicled in a heavily documented study, The Baha'i Faith: Its History and Teachings (William Carey Library, 1974), and an abridged version of that work, What Is the Baha'i Faith? (Eerdmans, 1978). In the following historical survey of Baha'ism, we are heavily indebted to Dr. Miller's definitive work on the subject.

Iran, the birthplace of the Baha'i Faith, has long been a Muslim nation. The Persians (Iranians) embraced the Shi'ite sect of Islam rather than the larger, more democratic Sunni, or 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 grew up among the Shi'ites that he was still alive and would one day return as the Messiah, or Mandi. In addition, some schools among the Shi'ites began to teach that the Imams were manifestations of deity, a belief quite contrary to orthodox Islam, which denies the possibility of divine incarnation.

Periodically, especially during times of oppression, men would arise claiming to be the Hidden Imam or his 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 known as Shaykhis. He and his successor, Sayyid Kazim, were both called Bab (i.e., the gate between the Hidden Imam and man). 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 Muhammad of Shiraz. The latter proclaimed in 1844 that he was the Bab, a Manifestation of God, the Mandi for whom all had waited. The first group continued under the name Shaykhis; the latter became known as Babis. Sayyid Ali Muhammad of Shiraz was born in 1820, a 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 Baghdad, 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 "letters of the living." They began to proclaim vigorously his "divine" identity and mission and met with varying responses 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 a political uprising."¹ 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 was visited by his disciples.

In the spring of 1848, while the Bab was still alive in prison, the Babi leaders met in conference where they declared that 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 Babis clearly outside of the Islamic fold and invited the utmost hostility from 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 eventually led to the mass defeat of the Babis and, in 1850, the execution of the Bab.

Those writings of the Bab which have been preserved are called the Bayan (which means 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 the 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 Ali to the caliphate before his death, the Bab appointed to the viceregency of his movement a Mirza Yahya Subh-i-Azal. Subh-i-Azal continued as the ruler of the Babi community for some sixteen years. This appointment is noted in Nuq tatu 'L-kaf, a history of the Babi movement written in 1851 by a Babi, Mirza Jani. There is no historical evidence to the contrary, though Baha'i histories do not recognize Subh-i-Azal's appointment.

Subh-i-Azal instructed his followers to lay aside the sword, and under his leadership, the movement continued to grow with little open opposition. He was assisted in the leadership of the movement by his older half brother, Mirza Husayn Ali, who became known as 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 assassinate the Shah, which failed and resulted in a search for Babi leaders and the execution of many. The Mirza brothers fled to Baghdad in order to escape.

In Baghdad 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" (perhaps in response to others who were claiming to be "He") that the time interval between the Bab and He whom God will manifest "is about 1000 years."

After ten years in Baghdad, 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 (the 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'lláh's claim and henceforth 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 at least 1,511 years before "He" would appear. They reasoned that since the Bab was infallible and he had appointed Subh-i-Azal to succeed him, if Baha was truly "He," Subh-i-Azal would have recognized him. Thus, the minority that remained loyal to Subh-i-Azal continued to be known as Babis, or 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 act incurred even greater wrath from Baha'u'llah. The Baha'is responded to Babi 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 Baghdad, Adrianople, and Akka. Two of these Babis were brothers of Fatima, the widow of the Bab; one was her current husband; and two were "letters of the living" 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 the Babis to Cypress and the Baha'is to Akka in Palestine.

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

Bahá'u'Iláh 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.

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 Bahá'u'Iláh and was permitted to gaze for 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 whoever went to Akka lost his faith.²

In Akka Baha'u'llah recognized that the Bab had designed his religion in a manner only suitable to Persia. He also saw that the Bab's vision of a worldwide 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 the religion had spread to. Baha'u'llah appealed to members of these faiths out of their own scriptures, claiming not only to be the one of whom the Bab foretold, but also the return of the Shi'ite's Hidden Imam, the return of Christ, and the Comforter whom Jesus said would come.

Baha'u'llah wrote numerous epistles or "tablets" (to believers, rulers, the Pope, and other religious leaders) as well as longer treatises. All were 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 Aquas is considered the most important of Bahá'u'Iláh writings, and yet no authoritative translation of the Arabic has ever been published. One scholar has referred to them as " `a rehash of the Bayan.' "³

The essence of Bahá'u'lláh's message is aptly summarized by John B. Noss:

His writings reached the outside world. They advocated a broad religious view upholding the unity of God and the essential harmony of all prophecy 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 one under God and will be united through his spirit when the Baha'i cause is known and joined.⁴

Baha'u'llah warned that no new Manifestation would come for 1,000 years.

Whoever claims Command before the 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.⁵

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 seventy-four. It is reported that between the years 1866 and 1891 about thirty-one Baha'is were killed in Iran.

Abdul Baha

With the demise of the Divine Manifestation, leadership of the Baha'i movement passed to his oldest son, Abbas Effendi, who took the name Abdul Baha (the servant of Baha). Abdul Baha was born May 23, 1844, which is supposed to be the day 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 his father would probably have strongly objected, Abdul insisted that he was the sole rightful interpreter of his father's writings and that his writings were of equal authority with those of his father. Most of the faithful gladly accepted these claims, as to them this 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, Mirza Muhammad 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 were called by the rest "Violators of the Covenant." Most of Bahá'u'Iláh 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 twentieth 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, Great Britain, and America after the Turkish Revolution of 1908 made Akka's political prisoners free. He was especially successful in the United States, where he received a warm reception and good press coverage in 1912. He traveled throughout the country for seven months encouraging believers and drawing converts.

The Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi

Abdul Baha died in 1921 and, by a directive made 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 invested in him, demanding absolute obedience and excommunicating all who in any way 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 commandments 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 for themselves.

Shoghi Effendi's leadership was characterized by an organizational 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, according 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 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 traditional internal conflict, and a splinter group was formed which appointed its own Guardian.

However, 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 had claimed to be a Manifestation, thus violating the Bab's appointment of Subh-i-Azal. In turn, Abdul Baha violated the provision in Bahá'u'Iláh will that Abdul's brother Mirza 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 these appointments and wills were supposedly inspired by God, Baha'i history is filled with "inspired" violations of "inspired" injunctions.

Distinguishing Features of Baha'ism

The doctrine of Divine Manifestations is the central plank of Baha'i theology. Through this doctrine Baha'is are able to take a seemingly amiable position 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 (e.g., monotheism through Moses and Jesus, polytheism through Krishna, agnosticism through Buddha, and dualism through Zoroaster), Baha'is insist that they were actually united in their 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 the world religions, probably only Buddhism (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 their 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.⁶ 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 is a key word for Baha'is). Use of alcohol and narcotics is forbidden, as is cremation.

Doctrinal Deviations from 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."⁷ 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 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 way 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."⁸ 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, bath offered up his life as a ransom for the redemption of the world."⁹

The central conflict between Bahá'u'Iláh concept of salvation and the biblical revelation on the subject can be found 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."¹⁰ 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 enough to save all who turn to Him for all time (Heb. 10:10-18).

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?¹¹ As a result, they believe that man is capable of keeping the commandments of God, whereas the Bible emphatically declares that he cannot (Rom. 3:20-28; 8:7). Not realizing that man's problems stem from his heart, instead of his intellect, they think education is the ultimate answer. Having made a faulty diagnosis of man's sickness, they have prescribed a faulty cure.

It is ironic that the most fitting description of Bahá'u'Iláh attempt to establish himself as savior and mediator between man and God can be found in words framed by Baha'u'llah himself. Certainly he had anyone but himself in mind when he penned these words; yet with sobering propriety Bahá'u'Iláh indictment can be applied to himself.

We can well 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.¹² (Emphasis added.)

NOTES

1. William McElwee Miller. What Is the Baha'i Faith! (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), p. 18.

2. Ibid.. pp. 52-53.

3. Ibid.. p. 67.

4. John B. Noss, Man's Religions (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.. 1969, 1973), p. 561.

5. Miller, Baha'i Faith, p. 63.

6. Horace Holley, ed., The Balm '1 World (Haifa, Israel: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1970), vol. M, preface.

7. J.E. Esslemont, Baha'u'llah and His Message (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1953),p.11.

8. Baha'u'llah and Abdul Baha, Baha'i World Faith, 2nd ed. (Wilmette. Ill.: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1956), p. 135.

9. Ibid., p. 137.

10. Ibid.. p. 36.

11. Jer. 17:9.

12. Baha'i World Faith, p. 36.

Taken from: Walter Martin's Cult Reference Bible,
1st ed. (Santa Ana, CA.: Vision House Publishing, 1981), p. 13-19. (book is out of print)