# Baha'ism: An Anti-Christian System

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Samuel Graham Wilson, Baha'ism: An Anti-Christian System, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> BIBLIOTHECA SACRA
> 
> ARTICLE I.
> 
> BAHAISM AN ANTI CHRISTIAN SYSTEM.
> 
> BY THE REVEREND SAMUEL GRAHAM WILSON, D.D., TABRIZ,
> PERSIA.
> 
> ABDUL BAHA ABBAS, the Pontiff of the Bahais, says:
> "Some say Abdul Baha is Antichrist. They are not in-
> formed of Bahai principles. Baha Ullah 1 established Christ
> in the East. He has praised Christ, honored Christ, exalted
> Him, called Him the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and
> spread His m~ntion." 2 These words could be written with
> the name Mohammed substituted for Baha Ullah. But;n
> the case of both of them it is the kiss of betrayal. Judas
> also made known Jesus. Both Mohammed and Baha write
> " ex" before his title "King of Kings." Abdul Baha fur-
> ther says: "Baha Ullah will be assailed by those who are not
> informed of his principles." Having spent a generation in
> contact with Bahais in Persia, and having studied several
> .
> score volumes and pamphlets setting forth their doctrines and
> history, and read their journal the Star of the West for sev-
> eral years, I may claim not to be in the class referred to. I
> unhesitatingly affirm that Bahaism is an antichristian system.
> To accept Baha and Abdul Baha is to deny and forsake
> Christ.
> But I hear some Christian say: "Of course. What YOll
> YoJ. LXXII.   No. 285.    1
> 2             Bahaism an Antichristian System.           [Jan.
> 
> say is self-evident. Bahaism is a new religion whose aim IS'
> to sUPl?lant Christianity." This is tl;ue. Yet the claim is
> put forth by Bahais, and, more strangely, it is accepted by
> some Christians, that the two religions are not antagonistic,
> and may be held at one time by the same person. To an
> esteemed Christian lady I expressed my regret that a certain
> Doctor, forsaking Christ, had gone as a Bahai missionar-y to
> Persia. The reply startled me: "Doctor - - - is very
> much a Christian." Yet why was I startled? It was simply
> hearing an idea with which I was familiar in the writings of
> the Bahais. Sydney Sprague says: "The true Bahai is also
> the truest Christian." a Charles M. Remey says: "To be
> a real Christian in spirit is to be a Bahai, and to be a real
> Bahai is to be a Christian," for " Bahai teaching is only th<!
> perfection of Christianity.'"    A report of an interview of
> Rev. R. J. Campbell, of City Temple, London, with Abdul
> Raha, states the claim of Bahaism as follows: "It does not
> seek to proS'elyte. One can be a Bahai without ceasing to
> be a Christian, a Jew, or a Mohammedan." 5 In accordance
> with this idea, Thornton Chase and some Bahais in America
> continued to worship and teach in Christian churches, and to
> have their dead buried by pastors. Some in London, in con-
> nection with the City Temple and St. John's Church (Canon
> Wilberforce's), profess both Christianity and Bahaism. Of
> southern India, Dr. A. L. Wylie said: " It is said that there
> are thirty-five Bahais in our city [Ratnagiri]. Some of     .
> these are Christian converts. They continue to be Christians,
> saying that they can remain such and are instructed to do
> so." Such an erroneous idea, when not due to the misrepre-
> sentations of the leaders and Oriental tagiya (" dissimula-
> tion "), must arise from' ignorance of or dislike to true
> Christianity or ignorance of what Bahaism is.
> 1915. ]       Bahaism an Antichristian System.                3
> 
> There are several classes who look with favor on Bahaism.
> 1. One class have little or no attachment to Christianity,
> or at least no vital relation to it. They ar&. bent on seeking
> !'ome novelty. They are well described by the Egyptian Ga-
> zette, of Alexandria, in speaking of the recepti~ of Abdul
> Baha in London: " About the London meetings there was a
> certain air of gush and self-advertisement on the part. of
> Baha's friends, which was quite patent to all who are famil-
> iar with that kind of religion which will listen to anything so
> long as it is unorthodox, new, and sensational." 6
> 2. Some are believers in the truth of all great religions,
> and, with a vague pantheistic notion, recognize all great men
> as God-inspired. They are willing to put Baha Ullah and
> Abdul Baha on the list of true religious leaders. Such is
> Rev. R. J. Campbell, who, in receiving Abdul Baha, spoke of
> the "diverse religious faiths that are all aspects of the one
> religion," and of the services as "a wonderful manifestation
> of the Spirit of God." He said to the congregation: "We as
> followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is to us and always
> will be the Light of the W orId, give greeting to Abdul Baha." 7
> Similarly Professor Cheyne, of Oxford, consorted with Abdul
> Baha, addressed him as "Guide," and said, "There was no
> need for me to be converted," because " I always lived by the
> truths you are insisting on." @
> 3. Another class look on Bahaism as simply an ethical
> l"oystem. and Baha and Abdul Baha as world teachers. Their
> relation to Christ has been only that of a disciple to a teacher
> of morals. They recognize in Baha a new schoolmaster.
> Bahaism, to them, con~ists in admiration of certain princi-
> ples (eleven more or less) on which Abdul Baha is i~ the
> habit of dilating.' But these are not Bahaism any more than
> Romans xii.-xv. are Pauline Christianity. Paul's gospel i~
> ·L           Bahaism an Antichristian System.             lJan.
> 
> Romans i.-viii. In its moral precepts and social principles,
> Bahaism is a borrower from Christ's unique teaching, and
> i;ometimes' from Mohammed. However, Bahaism is a re-
> ligion, as we shall see.
> 4. Some adherents regard Bahaism as Christianity con-
> tinued or renewed by the Second Coming of Christ, whom
> they recognize in Abdul Baha. Most American Bahais are
> of this class, with faith in Baha Ullah as the Father.
> The development of my theme is adapted to Western Ba-
> hais, but the facts are mostly the same with reference to Per-
> !'ian Bahais. Some differences in doctrines and rites come
> from the Christian or Moslem environment. It is my pur-
> pose to show five ways in which Bahaism is an anticllristian
> system.
> 
> ANTICHRISTIAN IN ASSIGNING CHRISTIANITY A PLACE AS BUT
> 
> ONE AMONG THE TRUE RELIGIONS.
> 
> Bahaism indorses and accepts in the same category with
> Judaism and Christi.anity, as true and divinely revealed re-
> ligions, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddh-
> ism, Mohammedanism,- Babism, and Bahaism. Abdul Baha
> says: "The reality of the religions is one, the difference is
> one of imitation." 10 Remey says: "Bahais consider all re-
> ligions to be, from a spiritual standpoint, one religion." H
> ., Every religion has had its birth in the advent of its divine
> founder." 12 "The founders of the world religions have been
> seers as well as channels of truth to the people." 18 It tries
> to build on all the other religions by professing to be the ful-
> fillment of each one. "The Bahai propaganda in India,"
> says Sprague, "has not the difficulty that besets a Christian
> missionary, that of pulling down; his duty is only to build on
> what is already there. He sees the Hindu, Buddhist, and
> 1915.]         Bahaism an Ant;chr;sliall Syst01!.
> 
> Mohammedah with the same eye, acknowledges their truth
> and shows that a further revelation has come throtlgh Baha
> UlIah." 14 It says to each one, Baha fulfills your traditiom
> and prophecies. 1G
> But this liberality is only apparent. Only original Buddh-
> ism, Christianity, etc., was God-given and true. Now all
> are corrupted. "The key-note of Bahai teaching is identical
> with the Christian, but in Christianity it was so forgotten, that
> i~ came almost as a fresh, new illumination from Baha." 16
> Christianity refuses to be classed with the ethnic religions.
> In its nature it is exclusive. It admits that there is a me~ure
> of truth in all religions, but Christ's gospel is the trtlth " once
> for all " dclivered to men.
> ANTlCHRISTlAN     IN   CLAIMING TO ABROGATE       AND   SUPERSEDE
> CHRISTIANITll.
> 
> Bahaism in its origin is a Mohammedan sect. It declarc,>
> that Islam is from God. Christianity was a divine revelation,
> but Islam was :t better one. In the" Ikan," Baha maintains
> the validity of Islam, testifies to its truth, defends Mohammed's
> vrophetic mission as the fulfillment of the New Testament pro-
> phecies, and the Koran as the Book of God.17 Abdul Baha ex-
> alts Mohammed, and declares that he "gave more spiritual
> education than any of the others," 18 i.e., than Moses or Jesus.
> He justifies Mohammed's life and conduct, and defends his
> laws and doctrines.19 He declares that " whatever European
> and American historians have written regarding His Highness
> Mohammed, the Messenger of God, is mostly falsehood .... Tht.!
> narrators are either ignorant or antagonistic." 20 Christians
> have therefore been in the wrong for thirteen centuries. They
> have sinned against God, and were a stiff-necked and per-
> verse people in rejecting Mohammerl, as the Jews were in
> 6             Bahaism an Alltichristian System.              lJan.
> o
> 
> rejecting Jesus the Christ. "If those who have acc~ptp.d a
> revelation, refuse to believe a subsequent revelation, their faith
> becomes null and void."
> Similarly Babism abrogated Islam. At the Badasht (Shah-
> rud) Conference (1858) the law of the Koran was formally
> cieclared to be annulled. Baha abrogated Babism in the Riz·
> wan at Bagdad in 1864. Bahaism is the New Covenant,
> "which confinns and completes all religious teaching which
> has gone before." 21
> Christianity is, atcording to this, a system of the distant
> past.' It was effective in its day, for" the Christian teaching
> was illumined by the Sun of Truth: the Christian civilization
> 'was the best," 22 concedes Abdul Baha. But now, says Remey,
> .. Bahaism is not one of many phases of Universal Truth, but
> . the Truth, the only Living Truth to-;day, ... the only source
> of Divine Knowledge to mankind.... Abdul Baha's word i5
> the Truth .... There are those who will say, 'Have we not
> Jesus? We want no other.' The Revelation of Jesus is no
> longer the Point of Guidance to the world. We are in total
> blindness if we refuse this new Revelation which is the end
> of the Revelations of the past. . . . All the teachings of the
> past are past. ... Only that which is revealed by the Supreme
> Pen, Baha Ullah, and that which issues from the Center of
> the Covenant, Abdul Baha, is spiritual food." 2S Bahaism in
> proclaiming thus the abrogation of Christianity is emphatical-
> ly antichristian.
> 
> ANTICHRISTIAN IN CASTING CHRIST FROM HIS THRONE AS THF.
> UNIQUE MANIFESTATION OF GO~.
> 
> Bahaism recognizes two classes of prophets: (1) The in-
> dependent prophets, who were lawgivers and founders of new
> cycles. Of this class were Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mo-
> 191.5. ]       Bahaism an Antichristian System. -                7
> 
> hammed, the Bab, and Baha. (2) The others are dependent
> propbets, who are as "branches." Such were Isaiah and
> Daniel. All the greater prophets, of the first class, were Mani-
> festations of God. 24 So Bahaism continues to honor Christ
> . as the Incarnate Word, the Spirit of God, God manifest in
> the flesh. At the same time it exalts Baha to supreme and
> unique dignity and glory above Christ and all prophets. In
> order to understand this essential, fundamental doctrine of
> Bahaism, we must know its doctrine concerning God and His
> Manifestation.
> The teaching of Bahaism regarding God is hard to grasp,
> because it oscillates between Theism and Pantheism. Myron
> Phelps's exposition of it is certainly pantheistic. 25 Baha Ullah
> in maQY places bears out his interpretation, as, for example,
> " God alone is the one Power which animates and dominates
> all things, which are but manifestations of its energy." 26 In
> subsequent expositions, as in "Answered Questions," Abdul
> Baha repudiates Pantheism, and so does M. Abul Fazl in
> "The Brilliant Proof." Kheiralla, while maintaining that
> Baha taught Theism, accused Abdul Baha of Pantheism. In
> to The Epistle to the Shah" Baha simulates a monotheism al-
> 
> most as rigid as Islam: "We bear witness that there is no
> God but Him. He is independent of the worlds. No one
> hath known him .... God singly and alone abideth in His own
> place which is holy, above space or time, mention and utter-
> anoe, sign, description, definition, height and depth .... The
> way is closed and seeking is forbidden." A favorite text is
> that of the Koran, in wbich God says: " I was a hid treasure,
> I desired to be known. therefore I created the world." In
> this process" the first thing which emanated from God [etern-
> ally) was that universal reality which the ancient philosophers
> turned the 'First Mind,' and which the people of Baha call
> Bahaism an A ntichristian System.            IJan.
> 
> the ' Primal Will.' This is without beginning or end, essen-
> tially but not temporally contingent, and without power to
> become an associate with God." 27 The Primal Will, Holy
> Essence, ,"Vord, Spirit, is manifested in perfect men, who an~
> the Great Prophets. They are supreme, holy, sinltss souls,
> godlike in their attribut'es. They show the perfections (If
> God. 28 This reality does not change, but the garment in
> which it is clothed' is different. One day it is the garment
> of Abraham, who is Zoroaster, then Moses, Buddha, Krishna,
> Christ, Mohammed, the Bab, and Baha Ullah. 29 Abul Fazl
> says: " All the prophets are respectively the Manifestations of
> the single Reality and one Essence." 80 The" Ikan" says:
> " All are one, as the sun of yesterday and to-day are one. The
> sun is one, the dawning-points of the sun are numerous. One
> light, many lanterns." 81 "Baha is the same light in a new
> lamp." 32 Yet there are differences in degree. Of the Bab,
> Baha says: "His rank is greater than all the prophets, and
> His Mission loftier and higher." 33 But he is merely as a
> forerunner in comparison with Baha. Baha is superior to
> all, greater, more glorious. 34 He is infallible, absolute, uni-
> versal. "All the prophets were perfect mirrors of God, but
> in Bah-a, in some sense, the Divine Esse/Ice is manifested." 85
> " Baha is the consummation of all degrees; the Revelation of
> all Truth and Light." ~'AII preceding ones are inferior to him;
> all subsequent ones are to be under his shadow." 38 But even
> the latter are not to come for a "thousand or thousands of
> years," and perhaps not then, for the Kitab-ul-Akdas says: " 0
> Pen, write and inform mankind that the Manifestations art!
> ended by this luminous and effulgent Theophany."
> The Manifestation has two stations: "One is the station of
> oneness and the rank of absolute Deity, the second station is
> one of temporal conditions and servitude. If the manifesta-
> 1915.]        Bahaism an Alltichristian System.
> 
> tion says, 'Verily I am only a man like you,' or 'Verily I
> am God,' each is true aqd without doubt." The Tajallayat
> quotes the Bah as saying concerning 'Him whom God shall
> ~anifest': "Verily he shall utter, 'I am God. There is nc
> God but Me, ·the Lord of all things, and all besides is created
> by Me! 0 ye, my creatures, ye are to worship me.''' 87 In
> Bahai literature such words as the following are not uncom-
> mon: " Baha Ullah is the Lord of Hosts, the Heavenly Father,
> the Prince of Peace, the Glory of God." 38 "He is the framer
> of the whole Universe, the Cause of the life of the world, and
> of the unity and harmony of the creatures." 80 "No one of
> the Manifestations had such great power of influence as was
> with EI-Baha." 40 In passing, it may be noticed how little
> ground for such boasting they have. How great in compari-
> son was the influence of Moses as leader of Israel, emancipa-
> tor, lawgiver, and prophet! How great even was Mohammed's
> success and influence, compared with what Baha has accom-
> plished! How evidently antichristian is Bahaism in denying
> that Christ's name and glory are above all, and that to him
> every knee should bow!
> 
> ,'NTICHRISTIAN IN ITS FALSE ASSUMPTION THAT ITS LEADER
> IS CHRIST COME AGAIN.
> 
> There is confusion about this claim, for some Bahais repre- .
> sent Baha to be Christ, and others make Abdul Baha Abbas to
> be Christ come the second time. Confusion also arises from the
> fact that Baha is set forth as the Manifestation of all the
> IIpromised ones." He is set forth as the Messiah for the
> Jews, God the Father, the Word, and the Spirit for the Chris-
> tians, Aurora or Shah Bahram for the Zoroastrians, the fifth
> Buddha for Buddhists, reincarnated Krishna for Brahmans,
> the Mahdi or the twelfth Iman or Husain for the Moslems. 41
> 10             Baha4m an AI~tichristian S)'stem.          [Jan.
> 
> " All are realized in the coming of Baha UIlah." U In accord
> with this, Baha declared in his" Epistle to the Pope": " Con-
> sider those who turned away from the Spirit [Christ] when
> he came to them. Verily he hath come from heaven as he
> came the first time. Beware lest ye oppose him as the Phari":
> sees opposed Him. Verily the Spirit of Truth has come to
> guide you into all truth. He hath come from the Heaven
> of Preexistence." "Baha," says the editor of the Star of the
> West, "is the fulfilment of the promise of the 'second com-
> ing' 'With a new name (Rev. iii. 11-13)."·~
> he
> It must     remembered that Bahaism, chameleon like, takes
> on a different aspect according to the environment of its ad-
> herents. In Persia its creed is different from that of Ameri-
> ca in regard to the" return." For the most part American
> . Bahais regard Baha as God the Father, and Abdul Baha Abbas
> a'i the Son of God, Jesus Christ. After the quarrel and
> schism following the death of Baha (1892), Abbas became
> very wary of assuming titles and dignities, lest he give a
> handle to his opponents to accuse him of claiming to be a
> "Manifestation." So he assumed the title Abd-ul-Baha, the
> "servant of Baha," which his followers translate "Servant
> of God." He also calls himsel f the "Center of the Cove-
> nant." Baha had entitled him the" Greatest Branch of God"
> (Zech. vi. 12) and the "Mystery of God" (1 Tim. iii. 16).
> He was commonly called " Agha," an equivalent in Persia of
> Effendi or Mister, but his followers translate it "Master,"
> and put into it the full New Testament significance. Un-
> ioubtedly Western Bahais worship Abdul Baha as Jesus
> Christ the Master come again. In spite of all disavowals and
> beclouding by words, their faith is plain. Getsinger, a leader
> and missionary, says: "Abbas is heir and Master of the
> Kingdom: he was on earth 1,900 years ago as the Nazaren~."
> 1915.]         Bahaism   an A1rtichristian S:yste117.          11
> 
> Mrs. Corinne True says: "If this is not the resurrection of
> the pure Spirit of the Nazarene of 1',900 years ago, then we
> need not look elsewhere." U Mr. Anton Hadad says: "The
> Master, Abbas Effendi, the Lord of the Kingdom, is the one
> who was to renew and drink the cup with his disciples in the
> Kingdom of the Father, the one who taught the world to
> pray, , Thy kingdom come,' " i.e. Jesus Christ.'~ Chase says:
> " He has come again in the Kingdom of his Father." '6 Mrs.
> Brittingham, on pilgrimage to Acca, writes: " I have seen the
> King in his beauty, the Master is here and we need not look
> for another. This is the return of the Lion of the tribe of
> Judah, of the Lamb that once was slain; - the Glory of God
> and the Glory of the Lamb." 47
> Emphasizing, the side of his divinity, we have such declara-
> tions as these: M. Haydar Ali taught Mrs. Goodall, " God i,;
> not realized oexcept through his Manifestations. Now you
> have recognized Him and have come to see Him," '8 i.e. Abdul
> Baha (1908). M. Asad Ullah gave instructions (1914):
> .. This world has an owner, and Abdul Baha owns the world
> and all that is in it." ,D "He is the Son of God" 50 - the
> only Door, "the Lord of Mankind." H A supplication from
> Persia, given out for publication, says: "O! Abdul Baha!
> Forgiver of sins, merciful, bountiful, compassionate! How
> can a sinner like me reach Thee? Thou art through all the
> Forgiver of Sins." U
> But there is an interpretation to all this for" those of under-
> standing." Bahais reject metempsychosis, but they have a
> doctrine of "Return," which must be borne in mind. This
> principle is expressed by Phelps as follows: "When a charac-
> ter with which we are familiar as possessed by some individual
> of the past, reappears in another individual of the present, we
> 12            Bahaism an A Iltichristiml System.            [Jan.
> 
> say that the former has returned." 53 Baha states it thus:
> "In every succeeding Manifestation those souls who exceed
> all in faith, assurance, and self-denial can be declared to be
> the return of the former persons who attained to these states
> in the preceding Manifestation. For that which appeareo
> from the former servants became manifest in the subsequent
> ones." 54 Their classic illustration of this is John the Baptist.
> Abdul Baha says: "Christ said that John the Baptist was
> Elijah. The same perfections which were in Elijah existed
> in John, and were exactly realized in him. Not the essence
> but the qualities are regarded. As the flower of last year has
> returned; so this person, John, was a manifestation of th:-
> bounty, perfections, the character, the qualities, and the virtues
> of Elias. John said, 'I am not Elias' - not his substance and
> individuality." 55 Remey clearly states the idea: "The return
> of a prophet does not refer to the return to this world of a
> personality. It refers to the return in another personality of
> the impersonal Spirit. the Word or Spirit of God, which spoke
> through the prophets in the past. . .. People are mistakenly
> looking for the personal individual return of their own special
> prophet." 56 In accordance with this theory of the" Return,"
> Abdul Baha wrote to the Bahai Council of New York: "I am
> 110t Christ; I am not eternal." 57 To Mrs. Grundy he said:
> "Some call me Christ; it is imagination." 58 Yet the final
> word of his missionary, Mr. Remey, is: "The same Christ
> which was in Jesus is agai~ manifest in the Bahai Revela-
> tion. The real Christians are those who recognize the New
> Covenant to be the return of the same Christ, - the Word
> of God." 59 In like manner, this usurper of Christ's name is
> proclaimed to be "the expected one," the " desire of all na-
> tions," to the various religions!
> HI15.]        Bahaism all Alllichristiall S.vstem.
> 
> ANTICHRISTlAN IN    ITS DEALINGS WITH THE PROPHECIES OF
> THE BIBLE.
> 
> Derogating from the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and his
> Kingdom, Bahaism asserts that " the promises and prophecies
> given in the Holy Scriptures have been fulfilled by the appear-
> ance of the Prince of the Universe, the great Baha Ullah
> and of Abdul Baha." 80 A volume would be necessary to re-
> view their treatment of the prophecies. They quote a multi-
> tude of verses without proof that their applications are valid.
> .
> The" messenger" and" Elijah" of the Book of Malachi arc
> declared to be the Bab.6l He is also the Angel with the
> sound of the trumpet (Rev. iv. 1) and his cycle is the" First
> Resurrection." Baha is declared to be the fulfillment of
> Isaiah's prophecies. Of chapter ix. 1-6, " unto us a child is
> born, . . . the Prince of Peace," Dealy says: "Many mis-
> guided people have referred this to Jesus Christ." 62 In verse
> 1, " Galilee of the nations," land of Zebulun and Naphtali, is
> made to mean Acca (Acre in Syria) where Baha lived in ex-
> ile, and not the region of Christ's ministry, contradicting
> Matthew iv. 13-16. By a great stretch of imagination Acca 6J
> becomes Jerus.t!em, "the city of the great king" (Ps. xlviii.
> 12), and Mount Carmel becomes Mount Zion, and Isaiah ii.
> 3 refers to them, " for out of Zion shall go forth the law and
> the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Even" the root out
> of Jesse" U and the millennial peace are only partially reo
> ferred to Christ. They find the real fulfillment in Baha Ullah,
> whom they imagine to be descended from Abraham, through
> an imaginary descendant of his named Jesse. 85 The new
> covenant and the law written on the heart is again the Bahai
> dispensation, contrary to Hebrews viii. 8, 10, 16. When Baha
> as a prisoner in chains rode into Acca seated on an ass, he
> fulfilled Zechariah ix. 9. 80
> 14:           Bahaism an Antichristian System.             [Jan.
> 
> I attended a Bahai meeting in the Masonic Temple in Chi-
> cago. The leader read the following verses as all fulfilled in
> Bahaism.oT The" son of man" (Dan. vii.) was Abdul Baha,
> and the "Ancient of Days," Baha. The question of Pro-
> verbs xxx. 3, "What is his name and what his son's name?"
> was answered, Baha and Abdul Baha; similarly in Psalms
> lxxii. and ii., "The King" and the "King's Son." The
> " Branch" (Zech. vi. 12-13) who shall build the temple was
> again Abdul Baha, and the latter is specially urgent that the
> Bahai Temple in Chicago should be built in his day, so that
> the prophecy may appear to be fulfilled. The dates in Daniel
> are juggled with. For example, Abdul Baha explains Daniel
> viii. by taking the solar year. He calculates 08 that the 2,300
> days were completed at the Bab's manifestation in 1844. In
> Daniel xii. 6 the lunar 00 year is resorted 10, and the forty-two
> months (1,260 years) are dated from the hegira of Mo-
> hammed, but Daniel xii. 11 does not come exactly right, so
> the terminus a quo is made to be the proclamation of the pro-
> pheth~d of Mohammed, three years after his mission, which
> was ten years before the hegira. By this means the date of
> Baha's manifestation (1863) is reached. In connection with
> Daniel xii. and Revelation xi. we have the startling informa-
> tion, so contradictory to history, that "in the beginning of
> the seventh century after Christ, when Jerusalem was con-
> quered, the Holy of Holies was outwardly preserved, that is
> to say, the house which Solomon built. The Holy of Holies
> was preserved, guarded, and respected." TO On this alleged
> fact Abdul Baha founds an argument. T1 Prophecies referring
> to the glory of God or of the Father are applied to Baha, be-
> cause his title means" glory of God." The Bab, according to
> the custom in Persia, gave many high-sounding titles. Baha's
> rival was called" The Dawn of the Eternal." Voliva, the suc-
> 1915. ]       Bahaism an Antichristian System.               15
> 
> cessor of Dowie, might assume some fitting title and claim to
> fulfill the prophecies. He has a good foundation for inter-
> pretation, he does really live in Zion City (Illinois). Our
> Bahais further tell us that the "New Jerusalem," the new
> heaven and the new earth, mean the new dispensation, the
> new laws of Baha. This is now " the day of God," " the day
> of judgment," "the kingdom of God," "the second resur-
> rection." 72 The parable of the vineyard is a favorite proof
> text. It says I that the Lord of the vineyard will come himself
> and will utterly destroy the wicked husbandmen. This, they
> say, is a real coming of the Father, even as the Son ~ame. In
> that case the destroying must be real, and we should expect
> that Baha would have destroyed the religious leaders of Mec-
> ca or Kerbela, Jerusalem or Rome. "No," says the Bahai,
> " the destroying is figurative, and means simply the abrogation
> of their authority." Well, if he escapes to a figurative inter-
> pretation, we too can interpret the coming of the Lord of the
> Vineyard as his visitation on Jerusalem in the time of Titus.
> Baha Ullah's method of interpretation and adaptation of pro-
> phecies is best seen in his "Ikan." In it he interprets at
> I
> 
> length Matthew xxiv. 78 In brief it is as follows: " After the
> tribulation of those days" means times of difficulty in under-
> standing God's word and attaining Divine knowledge; "the
> sun shall be darkened and the moon cease to give light," that
> is the teachings and the ordinances of the preceding dispensa-
> tion shall lose their influence and efficiency. "The stars shall
> fall," etc., means the divines shall fall from the knowledge of
> religion, and the powers of science and religion shall be shak-
> en. Because of the absence of the Son of Divine Beauty, the
> moon of knowledge, and the stars of intuitive wisdom, "all
> the tribes of the earth shall mourn." "They shall see the
> Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven," that, is Baha
> ]6           Bahaism an Antichristian System.            [Jan.
> 
> Ullah shall appear from the heaven of the Supreme Will, out·
> wardly from his mother's womb. "In the clouds" means in
> doubts. which are caused by the human limitations of the
> Manifestation, eating, drinking, marrying, etc. " And he shall
> send his angels," the spiritual believers sent as preachers of
> Baha. The separation of the sheep from the goats, as we
> learn subsequently, means the schism at the death of Baha,
> when the violators, the brothers of Abdul Baha and their ad-
> herents, were exscinded. H Even granting an allegorical in-
> terpretation of Christ's words, only a stretch of imagination
> can find any reference to ·Baha.
> It should be borne in mind that Oriental Bahai writers have
> (ead Keith on Prophecy in Persian and the publications of the
> Mission Press at Beirut. Abdul Baha said to Dr. H. H.
> Jessup, " I am familiar with the books of your press." 70 M.
> Abul Fazl refers to and quotes them. Writers in English
> (as Kheiralla, Remey, Dealy, and Brittingham) refer to Mil-
> ler, Cummings, Seiss, Guinness, and others. Yet with all
> their familiarity with apocalyptic literature, they make an ex-
> ceedingly weak presentation. Their claims are so baseless
> as to require no refutation. They are a mass of unfounded
> assertions and assumptions, - vain, bold, and brazen. We
> may admit the declarations of Baha and Abul Fazl, which
> are but trite principles of hermeneutics, that figurative and
> allegorical language abounds in the Scriptures, that many
> meanings are "sealed" till after their fulfillment, that the
> prophecies of the Old Testament were only partially fulfilled
> at Christ's first coming. But their inference does not follow.
> There is nothing to prove the assertions that the prophecies
> were fulfilled in the Bab and Baha. They furnish no scintilla
> of evidence. For example, "the government shall be upon
> his shoulders." Was this fulfilled in Baha? He came and
> 1915.]        Bahaism an Antichristian System.                17
> 
> went; the nations and their rulers from 1817 to 1892 were
> neither literally nor. figuratively under his sway. He did not
> nor does he rule over the nations. He did not reign in Mount
> Zion nor in Jerusalem. Jerusalem did not cease to be trodden
> down of the Gentiles. Abundance of peace did not attend
> him, but great wars. The signs of Christ's Second Advent
> have not been fulfilled in Baha, either actually or metaphori-
> cally.a As well may Ahmad Quadiani or Dowie assert their
> pretensions. Baha's claim is antichristian. The day of
> Christ's power through the Holy Spirit has not passed. It
> ~ still his day. The knowledge of Christ is yet more cover-
> ing the earth. Men of diverse races and religions in Asia,
> Africa, and the isles of the seas are being joined in the com-
> mon faith and fellowship of Jesus Christ as Saviour of Men.
> There are more Christians in Korea than Bahais in Persia.
> More Jews have become Christian since Baha was born than
> have become Bahais from all races and religions outside of
> Persia. Christ still goes forth conquering and to conquer.
> 
> ANTICHRISTIAN IN ITS TREATMENT OF JESUS CHRIST AS A MAN
> IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE.
> 
> Bahais belittle Christ by both their denials and their affirma-
> tions. In his temptation "the devil signifies the human na-
> ture of Christ, through which he was tempted." His miracles
> of healing are denied.7T Baha and Abul Fazl admit the possi-
> bility of miracles, but deny their evidential value,a but Abdul
> Baha denies their reality. He says: "The miracles of Christ
> were spiritual teachings, not literal" deeds.TO The raising of
> the dead means that the dead (in sin) are blessed with spiri-
> tual life. so By blindness (John ix.) is meant ignorance and
> error; by sight, knowledge and guidance. 81 The spittle com-
> ing from Christ was the meaning of his words, the clay wa~
> Vol. LXXII.   No. 285. 2
> 18            Bahaism an Antichristian System.             [Jan.
> 
> the expression he used in accordance with their understand-
> ing. 81 At the crucifixion darkness did not prevail, nor the
> earthquake, nor was the vail of the temple rent in twain. 81
> The. crucifixion was not an atoning sacrifice; Christ quaffed
> the cup of martyrdom" to cultivate and educate us." 8' "The
> washing away of s!ns by Christ was not by his blood, but was
> by the practice of his teachings." 8~ Christ did not rise from
> the dead. "Resurrection of the body is an unintel1igible mat-
> te'r contrary to natural laws." 86 The body, which signifies his
> word, arose when faith in his cause revived in the minds of
> the disciples after three days.n Christ's real resurrection wa3
> the coming of Mohammed. "Christ by saying that he would
> be three days in the heart of the earth meant that he would
> appear in the third cycle. The Christian' was one, the Mo-
> hammedan the second, and that of Baha the third." "The
> ascension of Christ with an elemental body is contrary to sci-
> ence." He ascended in the same sense as Baha ascended,
> viz. departed to the other world. Thus Bahaism denies the
> miracles,88 atonement, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
> Bahaism shows an antichristian spirit in belittling the life
> and work of Jestls, in instituting comparisons between Christ
> and Baha derogatory to the former. Baha says: "It is not
> meet .... to repeat the error of seeking help of . . . . the Son
> Jesus. Let thy satisfaction be in my self." Abdul Baha
> says: "The difference between Baha and Christ is that be-
> tween the sun and moon. The light of the sun [Baha] sub-
> sists in itself while the moon gets light from the Sun." "All
> the teachings of Christ will not exceed ten pages.Be Those of
> the Blessed Perfection exceed sixty or seventy volumes.
> Christ's instructions refer to individuals. Those of the
> Blessed Perfection are for all nations, although they apply as
> well to all individuals. The instructions of Christ were heard
> .1 915 .]     Bahaism an Antichristian System .                19
> 
> by but few persons: there were eleven who believed, although
> Christians say there were one hundred and twenty. Tht!
> teachings of the Blessed Perfecti!?n were spread throughout
> the world during his lifetime. The reputation of Christ did
> not extend from Nazareth to Acca [22 miles] ; the reputation
> of the Blessed Perfection extended throughout the world.
> Jesus Christ did not send a letter even to a village chief; the
> Blessed Perfection sent letters to alI the kings of the earth." DO
> Notice how he repeats ad nauseam the title for Baha, but uses
> no title for the Lord Jesus Christ, though the Moslems in-
> variably do use a title in speaking of the latter.
> There is an evident effort on.the part of Kheiralla and Abul
> Fazl to minimize the proofs regarding Christ from prophecy,
> miracles, and history, with the idea thereby of magnifying
> the proof for Baha in contrast. For example, "The Gospels
> contain only a few pages of the true Words of God. Christ's
> teachings were not written in the original language nor writ-
> ttn in his day, his power was slow in proving effective, and
> many even denied his existence." D1 "Even Peter denied him,
> but Baha Ullah has educated thousands of souls, faithful un-
> c.er the menace of the sword." D2 In explaining the progress
> of Bahaism among the Jews and Zoroastrians, Abul Fazl says:
> " Christians could not convert even one Jew or Zoroastrian ex-
> cept by force or compulsion." He ignores the fact that mil-
> lions of Persians had been converted to Christ from Zoroaster
> before the sword of Islam smote Persia. This belittling of
> Christ - his life and work· and influence - shows that a
> spirit antagonistic to Christ really animates the Bahai leaders,
> in spite of their professions to the contrary.
> This review of Bahaism shows that it is antichristian ill
> its spirit and its doctrines, in its treatment of Christ as a man
> and as the Son of God, and in its relation to Christianity as
> 20               Bahaism an Antichristian System.                     [Jan.
> 
> a religion. It may be shown, too, that it is antagonistic to
> Christianity in its institutions and organization, in its rites and
> ceremonies, its sacred seasons, its way of salvation. Enough
> has been said to emphasize the fact that Christian ministers
> and churches should not give it countenance and assistance
> as has been done and is still being done. The church in
> Europe, America,
> ,      and India should be alert to protect its
> members from their insidious propaganda, lest, like the Mor-
> mon delusion, it " deceive many."
> 
> NOTES.
> 
> 1 In an Interview with Rev. J. T. Bixby, who wrote on Bahaism
> 
> In the North American Review, June, 1912, Abdul Baha says: "Baha
> Ullah has upraised the standard of Christ In the East in countries
> and among peoples where there was formerly no mention of Christ's
> name." Not true. Christ was known In Moslem lands, In Indln.
> and Burmah.
> • Star of the West, Sept. 8, 1913, p. 176.
> 'Sprague, Story of the Bahai Movement, p. 21.
> • Remey, The Bahal Movement, p. 45.
> 'The Christian Commonwealth (London), Sept. 13, 1911, p. 850.
> • Nov. 16, 1911; quoted, in Star of the West, Dec. 11, 1911.
> • Mr. Campbell gives opportunity to the Bahal propaganda in the
> Christian Commonwealth, and has enllsted Abdul Baha as a con-
> tributor.
> • Star of the West, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 287. Professor Cheyne Is
> claimed as a Bahal.
> 'Talks In Paris, pp. 132-174; Star of the West, March 21, 1913,
> pp.4-5.
> 11 Wisdom Talks, p. 21.
> 
> U Remey, The Bahal Movement, p. M.       .. Ibfd.., p. 39. ,. IbM., p. 2.
> "The Story of the Bahai Movement, p. 17.
> II So of Persia, Star of the West, April 28, 1914, p. 42.
> 
> ,. C. E. Maud. Fortnightly Review, April, 1912.
> If Pages 68-158.     ,. Table Talks with Abdul Baha, Dec. 2, 1900.
> 11 Answered Questions, pp. 22-29.
> 
> .. Star of the West, Dec. 12, 1911, p. 7.
> .. Remey, Tract on the Bahai Movement, p. 8.
> .. Talks In PariS, p. 20•
> .. Remey, Star of the West, Dec. 31, 1913, pp. 267-271.
> 1915.]          Bahaism an Antichristian System.                       21
> 
> .. In thus regarding the prophets as divine, Bahals are not set-
> ters fortb of strange doctrine In Persia, for the AU' AlJabls (Nu-
> saireyeh), who number, possibly, twice as many as the Babals in
> Persia, have tbe same doctrine, and, In addition, regard the Imam
> All and others as divine Incarnations.
> • Phelps, Life of Abbas Effendi.
> .. Baba's Words of Wisdom, p. 61 .
> .. Answered Questions, p. 23.
> .. Abdul Baha In Mrs. Grundy's Ten Days In Acca .
> .. Ibid., p. 61: .. The Blessed Perfection said In His Tablets that
> once He was Abraham, once Moses, once Jesus, once Mohammed
> and once tbe Bab. Baba UJlah is all the propbets, no matter by
> what name he chooses to call himself."
> .. Bahal Proofs, p. 209.             at Pages 14-15.
> 
> II Answered    Questions, pp. 199-201. Mr. Sprague says: .. The
> Babal Faith teaches that the Universal Spirit, which Is God, has
> manifested Itself to every race at some time or other, and that It
> comes again and again, llke tbe spring, to make all tblngs new"
> (A Year In India, p. viii).
> II Ikan, p. 175.           .. Babai Proofs, pp. 156-100.
> ·~nswered Questions, pp. 129-131, 199-201.              "I/)id., p. 184.
> Of Ikan. pp. 123-127.
> 
> II Asad UJIah, Tbe Scbool of the Propbets, p. 109.
> 
> .. Mrs. Brittlngbam, Tbe Revelation of Baba mlah, p. 32.
> • Star of tbe West, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 283.
> .. The Revelation of Baha UJIah, p. 24.
> .. C. M. Remey's tract, Tbe Covenant, pp. 14:;15; KhelraJla's Baba
> mlah, p. 533; and Lawb-ul-Akdas, translated In Star of tbe West.
> vol. iv. p. 15.
> .. Star of tbe West, Marcb 21, 1913, p. 13.
> .. Notes at Acea, p. 24.
> • A Mes~age from Acca .
> .... Before Abraham was, I am," p. 46.
> 41 The Revelation, etc., p. 25 .
> 
> .. Dally LeBBons, p. 61.
> • Flowers from Rose Garden, p. 5; also, Dealy, Dawn of KnOWl-
> edge, cbap. Iv.
> 10 Asad mlab, Sacred Mysteries, pp. 74, 85.
> 
> 11 Bahal Proofs, p. 121; Star of the West, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 288 .
> 
> .. A Heavenly Vista, p~ 12.         II Life of Abbas EffendI, p. 197.
> 
> .. Ikan. p. 113.           .. Answered Questions, p. 152.
> .. The Babai Movement, p. 39.              IT Pbelps, p. 99.
> 
> .. Ten Days in tbe Light of Acca,
> .. Stsr of tbe West, Dec. 31, 1913, p. 269.
> .. M. A888d UJlab In M. H. Dreyfus's Universal Religion. p. 63.
> 22               Bahaism an Antich,.istian System.                     [Jan.
> 
> 11 Mal. Ill. 1; Iv. 5-6.     See Dealy, The Dawn of Knowledge, pp.
> 13-15.
> • Ibid., pp. 2'5, 30.
> • Dealy says: .. To quote all the paBBages of Scripture referring
> to Acca would necessitate reading a great' portion of the Bible.
> They Identity Accho with Acca (Acre). Even If thls were tro, Accho
> was not In the land of Nllphtal1 and Zebulun, but In Asher. Na-
> poleon's siege of Acre Is called' the abomination of desolation, stand·
> ing In the holy place'" (p. 40) .
> .. Isa. xl. 1-10.                    • Answered Questions, pp. 72-75.
> .. KhelralIa, p. 419.                   IT Dealy, pp. 31-32, 44.
> 
> • Answered Questions, pp. 50--52. • Khelralla (pp. 412, .f8O-488)
> also skips from lunar- to solar year and back, to make the dates
> ~   tally.
> to Answered Questions, pp. 54-55.            See Milman's Gibbon, "'01. II.
> )   p. 433. "The Emperor Hadrian's plowshare leveled the temple area."
> n Answered Questions. pp. 54-{)5 •
> .. Bahal Proofs, p. 140. "All In their graves arose spiritually at
> his call, for service In his cause."
> II Pages 17~7.
> 
> "The mlllennium began at the death of Baha (1892), and the
> .. Most-Great Peace" will he at the end of the 1,335 days, which
> equal!!' 1917 A.D. (Dealy, p. 44; Khelrnlla, p. 483).
> "The Outlook (New York), 1901, June, p. 451.
> ,. In one particular, no doubt, Balla has fulfilled prophecy. At
> least the Azalls say that he ('a me "as a thief" and stole the sue-
> <'eSslon from Azal.
> "New History, p. 321.                  11 Bahal Proofs, pp. 190, 204-207.
> 
> "Mrs. Grundy, p. ]3.               .. Answered Questions, pp. 115-118.
> OJ Ballal Prooflil, p. 2312.  II M. L. Lucas, My Visit to Acca, p. 20.
> 
> II Answered Question.'!, p. 45 •
> 
> .. Star of the West, April 9,' 1913, p. 40.
> • Ibn Abhar. Thoruton Chase says: "Christianity stands con-
> demned because It refmlp.!I to reje('t miracles and the blood atone-
> ment and will not confine Itself to the precepts of Jesus" (Bahal
> Revelation, p. 158) .
> .. Bahal Proofs, p. 155.
> "Tablets ot Abdul Raha, vol. I. p. 192; Answered QUestlODl", pp.
> 120-121.
> • Yet Baha Informs us that" copper In seventy years becomes gold
> In Its mine It It be protected from Il superabundance of moisture"
> (ltan, p. 111).
> • Wlnterburn's Table Talks, pp. ]9-20. .. Bahal Proofs, p. 231.
> II Answered Questions, p. 42.                 • Bahal Proofs, p. 265.
>
> — *Baha'ism: An Anti-Christian System (Used by permission of the curator)*