# The Baha'i Cause Today

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: William McElwee Miller, The Baha'i Cause Today, bahai-library.com.
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> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY
> 
> One hot summer day in the year 1921 I was crossing a vacant
> lot in one of the villages of Sistan in Eastern Iran. Turning about,
> I saw an old man following me, and when he caught up to me
> he came close and whispered in my ear, “Aren’t you a Bahai?”
> “Why do you ask that question?’ I asked. “You are an American,
> aren’t you?’ he said. “Yes”, I replied, “I am an American”. “Then
> you milst be a Bahai”, he answered, “for are not all Americans
> Bahais?” “No”, I said, “most Americans are not Bahais. I have
> heard that there are Bahais in America, but as yet I have never
> seen one”. The old man looked at me in surprise and disappoint-
> ment, and walked away.
> How many times that question has been asked me in Iran!
> Somehow the impressiop has been left in the minds of Iranian
> Bahais that the number of their co-religionists in America is very
> great, and I fear that more than once my veracity has been
> doubted when I have explained that most people in America have
> never even heard the name of Baha’ullah.
> However, there are a number of centers in America where
> Bahais have been conducting meetings and working for their cause
> for a number of years, and it sometimes happens that people who
> come in touch with them wish to know more about the movement.
> The Bahais have done considerable writing, and their literature is
> available and should be studied by all who are interested. But the
> books and articles written on the subject by non-Bahais are for
> the most part out of print. It is to meet the need of those who
> wish to consider the movement from a different point of view that
> this article is being written, at the request of the editors of THE
> MOSLEM WORLD.
> 1. Summary of the History of the Movement.
> I t is impossible to understand the Bahai Movement, or to evaluate
> it, without a clear understanding of its history. Unfortunately,
> numerous conflicting accounts have been given of its origin, and
> it is not always easy to distinguish history from fiction or forgery.
> However, two distinguished European scholars visited Persia not
> long after the movement began, and published the results of their
> 380                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> careful investigations in this field. Their works provide the
> material for a true understanding of the origins of Bahaism. Conte
> de Gobineau, the brilliant secretary of the French Legation in
> Persia, was in Teheran from 1855 to 1858, arriving only five years
> after the death of the Bab, and his book, Les Religions et les
> Philosophies dans PAsie Centrde, which is largely devoted to a
> study of the religion of the Bab, is a source of primary importance.
> It was through reading this book that Dr. E. G. Browne of
> Cambridge University became interested in the Babi movement. As
> a result, he came to Persia in 1887, and spent a year in travel
> and in intimate association with the Bahais of that land. In 1893
> he published his large book, A Year Amotrgst the Persians, and at
> about the same time he published a number of scholarly articles
> on Bahaism in the Journal of the Royal AJiatic Society. He later
> translated and published several important books on the same subject.
> For everyone who wishes to understand Bahaism, a careful study
> of the writings of these two impartial scholars is indispensable.
> The outline of the history of Bahaism, as I give it in this article,
> is largely drawn from these sources. A fuller account will be
> found in my book Buhu’imr (Revell, 1931) and in The Religion of
> the Baha’is, by J. R. Richards (S.P.C.K., London, 1932).
> The Appearunce of tk Bab.
> The people of Persia, for the most part, belong to the Shiite
> sect of Islam. They believe that Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam,
> (died A.D. 632) was succeeded not by the Caliphs, as the majority
> of Moslems believe, but by his own descendants. The generally
> accepted Shiite belief is that the Prophet was followed by a line of
> twelve men called Imams, the first of whom ‘was Ali, the son-in-law
> of Mohammed, and the last another Mohammed, who disappeared
> from the view of men in A.D. 837. This twelfth Imam did not
> die. but is still alive somewhere, and will return at the end of
> the world to fight against all unbelievers and make the whole world
> Mohammedan. When he comes, every true Moslem will take his
> sword and go forth after him to battle. As the end of the thousand
> years which followed his disappearance drew near, there was a
> strong expectation in Persia that the Hidden Imam was soon to
> appear. So when a young man of Shiraz, mamed Ali Mohammed,
> himself a descendant of Mohammed, on May 23, 1844, made the
> claim that he was the Gate (Bab) to the Knowledge of the Hidden
> Imam, there were many ready to acclaim him ; and when his apostles
> began to proclaim him as the Hidden Imam himself, eager disciples
> took up their swords and assembled for the long-expected battle.
> Now at last the Imam would be seated on the throne of Persia and
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             381
> 
> would establish a church-state which would finally embrace the
> whole world, over which the Divine King would rule!
> Naturally, the government of Persia was much disturbed by
> these developments, and when the Babis (as the followers of Ali
> Mohammed were called) gathered in force in Mazanderan, the
> armies of the Shah went out against them and defeated them.
> Much ‘blood was shed, not only in Mazanderan, but also in Zenjan
> and other places in Persia. Most of the “twenty thousand martyrs”,
> of whom the Bahais speak, lost their lives in this war, and they
> were not really Bahais but Babis. Many thousands of Moslems
> also were slain. In order to put an end to these uprisings the
> government decided to execute the Bab, who had been kept a
> prisoner for some time, and so, on July 8, 1850, he was shot in the
> city of Tabriz. By his patience and gentleness he won friends for
> himself, and although it was his claims which caused the Babi
> uprisings, it is not fair to hold him personally responsible for all
> that his followers did in his name. It was the opinion of
> Dr. Cormick, the English physician who attended him, and of other
> doctors also that his mind was unbalanced.
> The Teachings of the Bub
> The distinctive teaching of the Bab was that God, who is un-
> knowable, has sent into the world a series of Manifestations, or
> Prophets, each one of whom brought a law for the government of
> mankind which took the place of the law that preceded it, and pre-
> dicted the coming of another Manifestation who would be more
> perfect than those who came before. These Prophets were more
> than men, for they possessed the divine attributes, and rightly called
> themselves God. Only through them could God be known.
> The first Manifestation was Adam ; later Abraham, Moses,,Jesus
> and Mohammed appeared, and now the Bab has come, the greatest
> Manifestation of all. The Bab thought Adam had lived 12,210 years
> before him, and suggested that Manifestations appeared once in a
> thousand years. He likens them to a boy, who as Adam was a
> mere embryo, as Jesus was ten years old, as Mohammed was eleven,
> and as himself was twelve. He predicted the coming of the next
> Manifestation, “He whom God shall manifest’: likening him to
> a boy of fourteen, thus hinting that he would appear after two
> thousand years. The Bab considered himself the “forerunner” of
> the next Manifestation only as Mohammed had been his fore-
> runner. He anticipated the time when his laws, both civil and
> religious, would be supreme in Persia, and no one who refused
> to accept him would be permitted to remain in that land. His
> Buyun (the name given to the voluminous writings of the Bab)
> was the Bible of mankind for this age, as the Gospel and the
> 382                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> Koran had been before it, and the Babi religion would become the
> dominant religion of the world.
> The Rule of Subh-GAzal
> When the Bab was executed, the headship of the Babi movement
> passed to Mirza Yahya, known as Subh-i-Azal, who had been nomi-
> nated by the Bab as his successor (Nuqtatu’l-Kuf, p. 250; New
> History, p. 413) and for ten years he was the undisputed leader
> of the Babis. So highly was he regarded by the Babis that some
> of them thought Mirza Yahya was “He whom God shall mani-
> fest”, of whom the Bab had spoken. For two years after the Bab’s
> death Mirza Yahya remained in Persia with his followers, but in
> 1852, as the result of an attempt on the life of the Shah by
> several Babis, persecution broke out in Teheran. Twenty-eight Babis
> were executed, and Mirza Yahya Aed with a number of Babis to
> Baghdad, which was outside Persia, in Turkish territory, and this
> became the headquarters of the sect.
> A few months after Mirza Yahya’s arrival, he was joined by his
> half-brother Baha (Baha’ullah), who also had been a zealous fol-
> lower of the Bab, and had been imprisoned in Teheran for four
> months after the attempt on the Shah’s life. From 1852 till 1863
> Subh-i-Azal was looked upon by all Babis as their Supreme Head,
> but being a peace-loving soul, caring little for authority, he retired
> into almost complete seclusion, “leaving the direction of affairs in
> the hands of his half-brother Baha, a man of much more resolute
> and ambitious character, who thus gradually became the most
> prominent figure and the moving spirit of the sect.” Outwardly
> Baha was subordinate to his brother, as is clearly seen in the Iqan,
> which was written by him during this period, but he was secretly
> preparing to advance the claim to be “He whom God shall manifest”.
> The Babis in Baghdad became so active that the Persiah govern-
> ment, fearing a repetition of what had happened in Mazanderan
> and Zenjan, asked the Turkish government to send them back to
> Persia, where they could be controlled, or else remove them to a
> more distant spot. The Turkish government was glad to comply,
> for the quarrels and fightings of Babis and Moslems in Baghdad
> had caused great trouble, and so it came to pass that Baha’ullah and
> Subh-i-Azal and their families and followers were deported, first
> to Constantinople and then to Adrianople, where they remained from
> 1863 to 1868.
> The Appearance of Bahu’ullah
> It was during this period that Baha definitely put forward his
> claim to be the new Manifestation predicted by the Bab. There
> was nothing to prevent Baha from claiming this exalted station, for
> the Bab had said that no one could falsely make this claim, and
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             383
> had commanded Subh-i-Azal to acknowledge the new Manifestation,
> should he appear in his time, and to abrogate the Bayan to make
> way for the new law.
> And what did the Babis do about this claim of Baha’s? “Amongst
> the Babis”, writes Dr. Browne, “the effect of this announcement
> [of Baha’s] was little short of stupendous. From Constantinople
> to Kirman and from Cairo to Khurasan the communities of the
> faithful were rent asunder by a schism which every subsequent year
> but rendered wider and more permanent. . . , . At Adrianople
> itself the struggle was short and the triumph of Baha complete.
> . . . . Elsewhere, though active and astute emissaries were at
> once dispatched in all directions by Baha, the conflict. . . . . was
> longer maintained. For the question at issue was . . . . whether
> the doctrine and writings of the beloved Master [the Bab], for
> which his followers had been willing to suffer death or exile, were
> t o be regarded as abrogated and cancelled in favor of a new revela-
> tion ; whether his chosen viceregent [Subh-i-Azal] , whom they had
> so long regarded as their Supreme Pontiff and as the incarnation of
> all purity, virtue and heavenly wisdom, was to be cast down from
> this high position. . . . . Babis who remember that time cannot
> easily be induced to speak of it.”
> Though the majority of the Babis finally accepted Baha, Subh-i-
> Azal steadily refused to do so, saying that it was unreasonable that
> God should have sent a major Manifestation, such as the Bab,
> for only twenty-two years. The refusal of Subh-i-Azal to accept
> his brother Baha’ullah was very embarrassing to the followers of
> the latter, who were called Bahais. For Subh-i-Azal, having been
> appointed by the Bab himself, should have been the first to recognize
> the new Manifestation. What was to be done about it? The Bahais,
> with or without the approval of their new leader, did two things.
> First, they got rid of a number of the chief disciples of Subh-i-Azal,
> at least twenty of whom, according to Dr. Browne, were murdered
> by the followers of Baha’ullah. (Traveller‘s Narrative, pp. 370-
> 372), and an attempt was made on the life of Subh-i-Azal him-
> self. Second, the Bahais destroyed as far as possible the books
> which might be used to disprove the claims of Baha’ullah, such
> as the history of the Babi movement written by Mirza Jani, a
> devoted disciple of the Bab, who died as a martyr to the Babi cause
> in Teheran in 1852. This book, known as Nuqtatu’l-Kaf, disappeared
> from Persia, but was discovered in Paris by Dr. Browne, and was
> translated in part and published by him. The Bahais today do not
> include the Nuqtatu’l-Kaf in their bibliographies, though it is one
> of the most important sources for a study of Babi history. Thus,
> by getting rid of the people who opposed and the books which
> 384                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> disproved the claims of Baha’ullah, the Bahais were able to rewrite
> the history of their cause to suit their own purpose, as Dr,Browne
> has so clearly demonstrated, and in modern Bahai histories, such as
> The Dawn-Breakers, Subh-i-Azal is entirely ignored, and Baha’ullah
> is represented as the immediate successor to the Bab.
> As a result of this bitter quarrel which occurred among the
> Babis in Adrianople the Turkish government found it necessary to
> separate the two rival factions. Hence in 1868 Subh-i-Azal and his
> followers were sent to the Island of Cyprus, and Baha’ullah and
> his party to Acre on the coast of Syria. The Azalis were in the
> minority, and have almost disappeared, though a few are still to
> be found in Persia. The Bahais carried on an active propaganda
> in Persia and won over most of the Babis to their party. Baha’ullah
> and his followers were kept in prison for a time, and suffered much
> from hunger and sickness, but after two years they were allowed
> to move to a house in the town of Acre, and there they lived for
> nine years in comparative comfort.
> During this period Baha’ullah was busily engaged in developing
> his new religion. “His chief aim”, writes Dr. Browne, “seems
> to have been to introduce a more settled order, to discourage specula-
> tion, to direct the attention of his followers to practical reforms
> .   . . . , to exalt ethics at the expense of metaphysics, to check
> mysticism, to conciliate existing authorities, including even the Shah
> of Persia . . . . , to abolish useless, unpractical and irksome
> regulations and restrictions, and, in general, to adapt the religion
> at the head of which he now found himself to the ordinary exigencies
> of life, and to render it more capable of becoming, what he intended
> to make it, a universal system suitable to all mankind.” He wrote
> epistles to various rulers, including the Czar of Russia, the Pope,
> Queen Victoria, and others, bidding them acknowledge him and
> obey his laws. And he received many pilgrims who came from
> Persia to visit him and bring him gifts.
> In 1877 Baha’ullah rented a palace outside Acre, and from that
> time until his death in 1892 he lived peacefully in the midst of his
> family and friends. Here Dr. Browne saw him in 1890.
> The Teachings of Baho’ullah
> Baha’ullah, like the Bab, was a prolific writer. Many of his
> writings have been translated into English and French and can
> be found in Bahai Scriptzlres and other Bahai publications.
> Baha’ullah’s teachings resemble in some respects those of the Bab.
> God is unknowable, except in his Manifestations. As Mohammed
> succeeded Jesus, and the Bab Mohammed, so Baha’ullah has come
> to succeed the Bab and perfect his work. He will found a Church-
> State which will become dominant in the world, and this will be
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             385
> done, not by the sword, a s h the Babi fashion, but by peaceful means.
> The laws for the government of this Empire were written in the
> Kitub-dAqdas (“Most Holy Book”), a summary of which is found
> in my book Bahaism (pp. 110-121). Some of the most important
> of these laws are the following:
> Private worship is to be performed three times a day, while
> the worshipper faces Acre. Worship is to consist of nine prostra-
> tions, but on a journey one is sufficient. One month of the year
> (nineteen days) is to be devoted to fasting, and from sunrise to
> sunset food and drink and sexual intercourse are prohibited. Each
> day every believer should wash his hands, then his face, and having
> seated himself facing Allah [Acre ?] should say ninety-five times,
> “Allah is the Most Splendid!” All male believers who are able
> must make the pilgrimage to the Hovse [of the Bab in Shiraz],
> but women are excused. All Bahais must be engaged in some
> useful occupation. Austerities and ascetic practices are forbidden.
> Shaving the head [as the Mohammedans did] is forbidden. Men’s
> hair must not fall below the ears.
> The thief is to be imprisoned for the first and second offence,
> and for the third he is to be branded on the forehead. “Do not
> let pity restrain you.” If a man and woman commit adultery they
> must each pay nine misqals of gold [about $201 to the House of
> Justice, and for a second offense the fine is to be doubled.
> The use of gold and silver plate and ornaments is not forbidden
> [as in Islam], and knives and forks are to be used in eating instead
> of the fingers. Every father must educate his sons and daughters.
> Listening to music is lawful.
> If a man purposely burns down a house, he must be burned to
> death. Marriage is obligatory for all. “Beware of taking more
> than two women, and he who is satisfied with one handmaid will
> enjoy peace himself, and so will she.” Traffic in slaves is forbidden.
> Cleanliness is enjoined. The prayers of people with dirty clothes
> will not ascend to God. The nails must be cut, and a weekly bath
> must be taken. The feet must be washed daily in summer, and
> every three days in winter. The use of perfumes is enjoined, for
> God likes this. The books of people of other religions may be
> read. Believers who possess more than a hundred misqds of gold
> [$225] must give nineteen per cent. of their property [to Baha],
> that the remainder may become lawful to them.
> Believers must speak kindly to those who speak roughly to them.
> Gambling and opium are forbidden. Beasts are not to be overloaded.
> If one kills a man accidentally he must pay one hundred misqds of
> gold as compensation to the relatives of the deceased.
> Such is the character of the perfect law by which the world
> 3%                  T H E MOSLEM WORLD
> 
> is to be ruled for a ,thousand years, and in obeying which man will
> be saved.
> Shortly before his death Baha’ullah sent to Dr. Browne a little
> manuscript which contained a compendium of his principal teachings.
> These were in brief as follows:
> 1. The abolition of religious war as practiced by the Moslems
> and Babis.
> 2. Permission to all sects and peoples to unite in friendly
> intercourse.
> 3. Permission to study foreign languages, and the choice of
> one language and one character for all mankind.
> 4. Bahais are to give loyal support to any King who protects
> them.
> 5. Bahais are to submit to the laws and customs of the land in
> which they live.
> 6. Promise of the “Most Great Peace”.
> 7. All men may follow their own taste in dress and wearing
> of the hair.
> 8. Christian priests must abandon their seclusion and engage
> in useful service. They are permitted to marry.
> 9. Sins are not to be confessed to men, but to God.
> 10. The Bab’s command to destroy all books of science and
> philosophy is abrogated.
> 11. The study of useful arts and sciences is encouraged.
> 12. All men must learn and practise some craft, trade or pro-
> f ession.
> 13. The settlement of differences, the apportionment of alms,
> and the ordering of the affairs of the commonwealth general-
> ly, are entrusted to the “House of Justice”.
> 14. Pilgrimages to the tombs of saints and martyrs as com-
> manded by the Bab are no longer obligatory.
> 15. The best form of government is a combination of a republic
> and a monarchy.
> Through his reading of books and newspapers published in Syria,
> and his intercourse with men, Baha’ullah kept in close touch with
> the movements of his day, and was a keen observer of events. His
> outlook was far broader and more modern than was that of the
> Bab. Yet there is little in his teachings that is original, most of
> the Bahai doctrines being derived from the Moslem sects in Persia,
> from the Bible, or from contemporary Western thought.
> The Rule and Teachinp of Abdul-Bahu
> In spite of the fact that Baha‘ullah in his last Will and Testa-
> ment besought his followers not to quarrel over the succession after
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             387
> 
> his death, no sooner had the Manifestation died than bitter strife
> broke out among his sons. Abdul-Baha, who had been appointed
> by his father the leader of the movement, began to make claims for
> himself, which to many Bahais seemed blasphemous. Baha’ullah
> had said that no new Manifestation would appear for a thousand
> years, thus preventing anyone from doing to his Rule what he had
> done to that of the Bab. So Abdul-Baha never made that claim.
> But he so associated himself ‘with his father that he led the Bnhais
> to give him the same honor which they gave the Manifestation, and
> today the words of Abdul-Baha are included in the Bahai Scriptures
> on perfect equality with the words of Baha’ullah. Moreover, Abdul-
> Baha claimed to be the sole interpreter of his father’s teachings.
> The opposition to these claims was fierce, and the strife lasted
> for several years, but at length the party of Abdul-Baha won the
> day. Not content with having the allegiance of the Bahais of the
> East, Abdul-Baha in 1893 sent a missionary, Dr. Khayrullah, to
> America, and converts were won in Chicago. Later, Dr. Khayrullah
> broke with Abdul-Baha, and led away with him several hundred
> of the American Bahais, and the quarrel begun in Acre was repeated
> in this country. Strife in the Bahai community led the Turkish
> government once more to confine Abdul-Baha to Acre, after he had
> been free for twenty years to travel about Syria. This confinement
> lasted for seven years, and was terminated by the Turkish Revolu-
> tion in 1908. During this time he received many visitors, both from
> the East and from the West.
> In 1911, Abdul-Baha left Syria for a tour of Europe and
> America. R e spent seven months in America, giving many ad-
> dresses and talking with inquirers. While in Chicago he dedicated
> the grounds f6; the Temple now nearing completion at Wilmette.
> In his teaching he continued to carry out the liberalizing tendencies
> which we have noted in the teachings of Baha’ullah. In an address
> given in England in 1913 he enumerated ten of the principles of
> Baha’ullah, and it is instructive to compare this list with that given
> by Baha’ullah himself to Dr. Browne (see above). The list is as
> follows :
> 1. The independent investigation of truth.
> 2. The oneness of the human race.
> 3. International Peace.
> 4. The conformity of religion to science and reason.
> 5. Religious, racial, political, and patriotic prejudices must
> be banished.
> 6. The equality of men and women.
> 7. All classes of society are to work together in love and
> harmony.
> 388                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> 
> 8. “The Parliament of Man” as a court of last appeal in
> international questions.
> 9. Universal education.
> 10. A universal language.
> Abdul-Baha told the Christians of the West that the Bahai
> movement includes all, and said that all differences must be put
> aside, and all mankind are to realize their oneness in Baha’ullah.
> He did not ask that Christians give up their Christian faith or
> church membership, but said, “Whoever acts completely in accordance
> with the teachings of Christ is a Bahai”. Yet he demanded full
> obedience to himself. “All must obey Him [Abdul-Baha] ; All
> must turn to Him   .. . . Whatsoever he says is true”. “Beware!
> Beware!” he said to the Bahais of Chicago, “lest anyone declare
> his own ideas”. World unity is to be achieved by complete sub-
> mission on the part of all men to the word and will of this one man.
> The Rule of Shoghi Efendi
> When Abdul-Baha died in 1921 he was succeeded by his grand-
> son Shoghi Efendi, who is called the Guardian of the Cause.
> Abdul-Baha named him in his Will as his successor, and charged
> all the Bahais to accept and obey him. “All must be under his
> shadow and obey his command. Should any .         ...     disobey and
> seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon
> him.” “To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion
> or express his particular convictions. All must seek guidance and
> turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice.” The
> universql House of Justice has not been established, but when it
> is established it will be entirely under the control of the Guardian,
> for Abdul-’I3aha provided that “should any of the members [of the
> House of Justice] commit a sin, injurious to the common weal,
> the Guardian of the Cause hath at his own discretion the right to
> expel him”. Hence, whenever the Bahai cause prevails and this
> system is established throughout the world, as its followers ardently
> desire, Shoghi Efendi (or his successor) will “find himself in
> possession of an authority which the popes and emperors have never
> aspired to, even in their wildest dreams. For the authority of the
> Guardian of the Cause is not confined to spiritual matters. He is
> to be the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the President
> of presidents, as well as the Pope of the popes of the earth. ‘All
> must be under his shadow and obey his command’. In politics, in
> economics, in international problems, in religion, in everything he
> is the final authority, and his word is absolute law.” Here is
> totalitarianism in its perfection! W e can be thankful that the Babis
> laid aside their swords, and that now the Bahai campaign for world
> conquest is a peaceful one.
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                              389
> For the last two decades Shoghi Efendi has been directing the
> affairs of his Cause from his home on Mount Carmel in Palestine.
> Zealous missionaries of the cause have been going around the world
> proclaiming the Bahai message. In Iran, the cause has met with
> considerable opposition from the government, which closed the Bahai
> schools, forbade the holding of public meetings, and prohibited
> the bringing of Bahai literature into the country. In spite of these
> difficulties, the Bahais have been active in their propaganda, but
> as far as one can see, their numbers are not increasing. In other
> lands progress is reported, but, in the words of the Guardian him-
> self, the Bahai Cause is still in its infancy. Nearly a hundred years
> have passed since the Bab appeared, and one cannot help wonder-
> ing when the Cause is going to grow up!
> 11. Bahaism in America Today
> Having given a resume of Bahai history, we will now consider
> the status of Bahaism in America at the present time.
> The United States Census of Religious Bodies (1936) gives the
> following figures for Bahaism :
> 1936      1926     1916    1906
> Number of Assemblies .....            88        44       57      24
> Number of Members ...... 2,584 1,247 2,884 1,280
> Contributions
> Temple in Chicago (present value)     ...........     $1,04O,oOO.
> Gifts to local Relief, Charity, etc., in 1936 . . $     281.
> Location of Members in 1936
> I n New York State    ...........................        354
> In Illiiiois....................................         427
> In California .................................          353
> The reader will note that the number of Spiritual Assemblies
> (local congregations) has doubled in the last decade, and the
> number of voting members has also doubled, bringing the figure
> almost up to that for 1916. The property of the Temple in
> Wilmette, Illinois, is now worth over a million dollars, just twice
> what it was in 1926. And almost half of the American’members
> reside in the three states of Illinois, New York and California.
> Principles of the Bahai Faith
> The Bahai teachings have been summarized as follows in the
> official magazine of the movement :
> The Bahai Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His
> Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth,
> condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the
> 390                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony,
> that it must go hand in hand with science, and that it constitutes
> the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, ordered and progressive
> society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and
> privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes
> extremes of wealth and poverty, exalts work performed in the
> spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption
> of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary
> agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and
> universal peace.”
> Literature
> The Bahai teachings are set forth in a well-edited little monthly
> magazine, called World Order; and in the Bahui World, the large
> year-book of the movement, which appears every two years, a great
> deal of interesting information is found. Also several books .have
> recently been published which are worthy of notice. I would call
> especial attention to ‘*Security for a Failing World”, by Stanwood
> Cobb, who is one of the editors of World Order; “The World Order
> of Baha’ullah”, by Shoghi Efendi, the present head of the move-
> ment ; “The Dawn-Breakers”, a history of the movement translated
> by Shoghi Efendi; and “The Bible of Mankind”, compiled by
> Mirza Ahmed Sohrab. All these publications may be secured from
> the Bahai Center, 119 West 57th Street, New York City. As I
> have read these more recent publications of the Bahais, I have
> been favorably impressed both by the spirit and by the quality
> of their literature. Many of the articles have dealt with the
> vital problems of the day, and were written by authors of real
> ability. Some of the titles found in World Order during the past
> five years are: Turkey Takes the New Road; Religion, Race and
> Unity; Race Prejudice; A World Community; Social Trends in
> American Life ; Is War Incurable ?; Meaning of Prayer ; Education
> in World Friendship ; Psychology and ‘Criminal Control ; Spiritual
> and Material Healing; Islam (a series of articles) ; Cooperative
> Movement ; International Language ; History of the Christian Church
> (a series) ; Marriage ; Immortality ; Divine Consciousness (the bear-
> ing of Jung’s work on Bahaism) ; St. Catherine of Siena; Over-
> coming Worry; Child Guidance; Negro in America; Why I Am a
> Bahai.
> From these titles it is apparent that American Bahais are abreast
> of the times, and are wrestling with the same problems that are
> confronting all of us today. Some of the articles were written by
> Christians, but most of them are from the pens of American Bahai
> authors who had a Christian background, and who have been more
> deeply influenced by Christ than by Baha’ullah, though they have
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                              391
> substituted his name for that of our Lord. I n every issue of the
> magazine there are pages of quotations from the words of Baha’ullah
> and Abdul-Baha, some of which are impressive, but most of which
> make extremely dull reading. In my humble opinion, the disciples
> are more interesting than their masters !
> Security for a Failing World
> The most attractive interpretation of American Bahaism which
> I have seen is “Security for a Failing World”, a book published
> by Stanwood Cobb in 1934, and in attempting to portray the spirit
> and message of the Bahai movement I cannot do better than give
> a summary of this challenging volume. I n a most interesting and
> impressive manner the author describes the new age of plenty
> and of power which has dawned on earth. He shows that man
> is unable to use for good the power which is his, because while the
> intellect is trained and controlled, the emotions are not. “What can
> govern the emotions? Only a master emotion.” And “the greatest
> of all master emotions is religion”. There is no “cure for the world
> except a spiritual renaissance. We face the need of a great spirit-
> ual message capable of sweeping men off their feet and carrying
> them on broad streams of enthusiasm to the ocean of universal
> love, harmony and peace.”
> “But has the institution founded upon the message of Christ
> -the    present Christian Church-sufficient       spiritual power to
> eliminate the organic evils of the world? To ban war, to suppress
> economic exploitation, and to establish universal peace and brother-
> hood? Has it the capacity and vitality to inaugurate a world-wide
> ideal civilization?
> “Or must we await a new spiritual dynamic-more potent, more
> universal, more capable of winning the allegiance of all races, creeds
> and nations?” The answer of the author is that Christianity, like
> all the other religions, has lost its power, and will die and pass
> away.
> He says, “The history of every great world religion, carefully
> studied, will reveal this same fundamental law : namely, that religion,
> as it tends to crystallize into form and ritual, correspondingly
> declines in spiritual power and in ethical effectiveness.”
> “Humanity, like a battery which has to be recharged, is under
> the necessity of fresh spiritual impulse at stated intervals.
> Fortunately for the spiritual evolution of humanity, at every epoch
> when one religion has been outgrown, a new religion has magically
> arisen-a religion full of vital hope and promise, and charged with
> the power to remold and remake the lives of its communicants.”
> The coming of a new reljgion is an act of God. It is He who
> 392                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> sends the Prophet. “These founders of religions not only proclaim
> anew the everlasting truths and universal moral laws which must
> guide humanity, but they bring a subtle and tremendous force to
> bear upon the life of humanity. They are human dynamos, generat-
> ing from the world of the Unseen an electric spiritual force which
> they communicate to their disciples. The disciples, charged with
> this force, are able in turn to communicate it to others.”
> And what is the religion which today has sufficient vitality and
> power to overcome man’s selfishness and greed and make possible
> the establishment of a world order of peace and justice? The
> answer of the author is Bahaism. It claims to be a divine revela-
> tion. It has inspired amazing devotion and self-sacrifice. It has
> definite spiritual and ethical teachings. Its great miracle is “the
> transformation of human character, especially in the way of abolish-
> ing prejudices and emotional barriers. It is bringing together Jews,
> Zoroastrians, Mohammedans, Christians, Buddhists, Confucianists
> -welding them into an organic whole, a living, breathing body of
> brotherhood and love.” It transforms human nature and has pro-
> duced many saints.
> The reason for the success of Bahai missionary work is that
> “no one is asked to abandon his own religion in order to become a
> Bahai.” The Bahai missionary does not have to attack other
> religions, draw comparisons, hurt people’s feelings. All religions
> are in essence one: love to God, love to man. Hence the Bahai
> movement is “the great keystone to the arch of human progress,
> the fulfilment of the dreams of all the prophets; the Utopia which
> philosophers have visioned ; the Golden Age, the Millennium, the
> Kingdom of God upon earth.”
> “Imagine a world bound together by one language, one religion,
> one code of morals, and one government, into a great common
> culture. S w h is the Bahai World State. Universal education, a
> universal curriculum, international exchange of commodities, with-
> out tariff barriers, peaceful and friendly national rivalry. A world
> parliament to form international laws and a world court to enforce
> them, and the maintenance of universal peace by means of an
> international police force.”
> The Need of the World for God
> Many of the words of Mr. Cobb and other earnest Bahai writers
> strike a responsive chord in Christian hearts. We sympathize deep-
> ly with the Bahais in their concern about the state of the world, and
> we too are moved by the words of Baha’ullah which they quote so
> effectively. “How long will humanity persist in its waywardness ?”
> he asked. “How long will injustice continue? How long are chaos
> and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                              993
> the face of society? The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from
> every direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human
> race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
> chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appears
> to be lamentably defective.”
> For the “convulsions and chaos” which Baha’ullah and all dis-
> cerning men foresaw are now, in April, 1940, on the front page
> of every newspaper, and the end is not yet.
> We also agree that mankind, unaided by God, is impotent to
> right these wrongs and remake our world. “Humanity”, writes
> Shoghi Efendi, the Guardian of the Cause, in World Order (April,
> 1935) “whether viewed in the light of man’s individual conduct or
> in the existing relationships between organized communities and
> nations, has, alas, strayed too far and suffered too great a decline to
> be redeemed through the unaided efforts of the best among its
> recognized rulers and statesmen-however            disinterested their
> motives, however concerted their action, however unsparing in
> their zeal and devotion to its cause. No scheme which the calcula-
> tions of the highest statesmanship may yet devise; no doctrines
> which the most distinguished exponents of economic theory may
> hope to advance; no principle which the most ardent of moralists
> may strive to inculcate, can provide in the last resort, adequate
> foundation upon which the future of a distracted world can be
> built.”
> Yes, the world is unable to save itself, and our only hope is
> in God. And what has God done to save the world? It is here
> that Bahais part company with followers of Christ. The Christian
> believes that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Him-
> self”, that Christ is the only Saviour of the world, that He, by
> His spirit, is always with His disciples, and is able to meet all their
> needs and the needs of the whole world. The Christian remembers
> Christ’s word, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go
> not away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I go I will
> send Him unto you”, and believes that Christ’s spiritual presence
> everywhere is better for the Church today than would be His
> physical presence in Palestine or in America. The Christian, there-
> fore, expects no repetition of the Incarnation, with its birth and
> death and resurrection, but awaits Christ’s return in glory, when
> Time shall become Eternity, and Death shall be swallowed up of
> Life. Meanwhile, the Christian exerts himself to the utmost to
> persuade men to accept Christ as their Saviour and Lord and to
> follow His teachings in private and community life, as well as in
> national and international affairs, believing that whenever life is
> dominated by His spirit, a righteous and harmonious world order
> 394                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> will be established. The Christian is convinced that God Himself
> can do no more for the salvation of the world than He has done
> and is doing in Jesus Christ, and that through Christ God will
> finally save the world.
> But the Bahai position is different. As we saw above, Baha’ullah
> following the doctrine of some of the mystics of Iran, taught that
> God had manifested Himself, not once but many times, and would
> continue to do so forever. Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster,
> Christ, Mohammed, the Bab, and now Baha’ullah have all been
> divine Manifestations, but since the religions founded by the other
> prophets are now out of date, the only hope of the world today
> is the Bahai Cause, founded by Baha’ullah, furthered by his son
> Abdul-Baha, and guided by his great-grandson Shoghi Efendi-this
> is the God-chosen instrument for the salvation of the world in
> our age.
> The coming of a new Prophet, or Manifestation, brings a new
> day for the earth, a new spring-time for a world dead in ignorance
> and unbelief. The Prophets belong to a higher order of existence
> than that of man. “Baha’ullah establishes the existence of three
> worlds”, writes Ruhi Afnan in World Order, “(1) the World of
> God, or Divine Existence, (2) the World of the Prophets . . . ; .
> ( 3 ) and the World of Creation. The World of the Prophets is the
> bridge over the chasm existing between the other two worlds, and
> forms the basis of our moral and spiritual life.”
> The Prophets are mirrors which reflect the light of the sun.
> One mirror is broken, another takes its place. One Prophet dies
> (the Bahais say “ascends”), another follows him,and the sun shines
> in all. “Just as the sun reflected in the mirror can assert with full
> justification that it is the same sun, so can the Prophet say that he
> is God.” Jesus said, “I and my Father are one”. Mohammed is
> quoted as saying, “He is I and I am He” [not in the Koran].
> The Bab said, “I am the Primal Point from which have been
> generated all created things”. And Baha’ullah said, “Naught is
> seen in My beauty but His beauty, and in My being but His being,
> and in My self but His self.” And so, Bahaism has no real
> Incarnation, for the illustration of the mirror indicates not a true
> union of God and man in the Manifestation, but merely a temporary
> and formal relationship. The sun does not in any sense unite with
> the mirror, and its contact may therefore cease at any time. A
> thousand mirrors may follow one another in rapid succession, and
> the beholder is not aware of any difference between them, for he
> sees only the reflected light of the sun, and the mirror means but
> little to him.
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                          395
> The Szcccession
> As one reads the Bahai literature he frequently meets the state-
> ment that one of the weaknesses of Christianity and Islam is that
> the founders of these religions did not give any definite directions
> regarding the organization and government of their followers after
> their death. As a result, Christians and Mohammedans are split
> into many sects, and no one is acknowledged by all believers as
> their divinely appointed head. But this fault has been corrected
> in the latest Manifestation, for Baha’ullah gave clear directions
> regarding his successor, and the Bahais will not split up as others
> have done. Whether Bahaism in the years to come will be spared
> the controversy and strife which have weakened other religions
> remains to be seen. Certainly the first seventy-five years of Babi-
> Bahai history had their full share of internal as well as external
> strife! And though the leadership of Shoghi Efendi was not
> seriously opposed, there were some Bahais who refused to follow
> him in spite of Abdul-Baha’s Will. Man being as he is, no plan
> and no command, even though it be from God, will prevent schisms
> from occurring unless the community is full of the Holy Spirit, who
> is the Spirit of Love and Unity.
> The Bahai leaders maintain that the spiritual principles of
> Bahaism cannot be accepted without the Administrative Order, for
> they are inseparable. The Guardianship is indispensable to the
> movement, for there must always be someone to give infallible
> interpretation and guidance to men. Thus in an article in World
> Order (April, 1936) Ruhi Afnan defends the necessity of “Institu-
> tionalism’’ in religion. He says a religion without an organization
> will not survive. Christianity and Islam have both had organization
> and owe their strength to this. Likewise the Bahai cause must have
> its Guardian and its legislative body. In order to avoid the confusion
> and divisions which result from freedom of interpretation of the
> Scriptures, “Baha’ullah gave the exclusive right of interpretation to
> Abdul-Baha. How could he have safeguarded His faith from the
> disruptive influences that clove asunder the older Faiths if not
> through the institution of Guardianship, through an institution the
> distinguishing prerogative of which would be to interpret the
> scripture?” There must be a Guardian, say the Bahais, appointed
> by God, not elected by men, who shall have the sole right to
> interpret the scriptures, and to whom men must give absolute
> obedience. For only thus can the unity which is desired be attained.
> The Guardian is to be the Head, not only of a religious organi-
> zation, but also of a World State, which will have supreme authority
> in every phase of human life. “Some form of a world super-state
> 396                  THE MOSLEM WORLD
> must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world
> will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights
> to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for
> purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective
> dominions. Such a state will have to include within its orbit an
> International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchal-
> lengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the common-
> wealth.’,
> There will also be a World Parliament and a Supreme Tribunal.
> Thus a World Community will be created in which economic barriers,
> religious fanaticism, racial animosity will not exist, which will be
> governed by a single code of international law.
> Mr. Stanwood Cobb, writing in World Order in April, 1937,
> takes us to the year 2001 A.D., and shows us the world as it has
> been reconstructed according to the Bahai plan-        wonderful Utopia,
> in which there is no war, no poverty, no illiteracy, and no religious
> division. He says, “This new and miraculous spiritual unity of the
> human race is the most important single factor in the creation of
> an effective, working unity of thought and action among the two
> billion people that inhabit -the globe.
> “The apex and keystone of this world structure is the institution
> of the Guardianship established by Baha’ullah as the focal point
> around which the world’s thought and iction revolve, creating a
> functional unity unassailable by the d5spersive quality.
> “This sane spiritual force of divine guidance and protection per-
> meates to greater or less degree the functioning of the various legis-
> lative and administrative bodies-local,      national, and international.
> I n fact, a new type of government has sprung into being, combining
> the important elements of democracy, aristocracy, autocracy, and
> .
> theocracy. . . Permeating universally the ordering and function-
> ing of this new government is the practice of collective turning to
> the Divine Ruler of the universe for guidance in the solution of
> all the difficult legislative and administrative problems.’, The Bahais
> feel the need of a Divine Ruler who sits on Caesar’s throne, and
> that Ruler they believe to be Shoghi Efendi.
> & Bahaism an Independent Religion?
> In his book, “Security for a Failing World”, Mr. Cobb has a
> chapter on “Christianity and the New World Order”, in which he
> discusses the relation of Bahaism to Christianity. “Does Bahaism
> supersede Christianity?’, he asks. He replies that it does not. Its
> purpose is the same as that of Christianity, to establish the will
> of God upon earth. If the church can accomplish this end, Bahaism
> will rejoice. Becoming a Bahai does not necessitate separation
> from one’s church. To a woman who asked, “What shall I do to
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                            397
> become a good Bahai?” Abdul-&ha replied, “Work in your
> church, be the best Christian you can be, and thus you will become
> a good Bahai”.
> The point of view expressed by Mr. Cobb in the above para-
> graph is not in accord with the pronouncement of the Guardian
> Shoghi Efendi, as published in the “Bahai World” ( 1934-1936,
> p. 200), which clearly indicates that Bahaism is a distinct religion,
> and that a Bahai should not retain his membership in his former
> church, synagogue or mosque. He says that formerly when the
> Bahai cause was just beginning to emerge, it was permitted for
> Bahais to keep their old religious connections. But now the situa-
> tion has changed. Bahaism has become a separate world religion.
> “No Bahai”, writes the Guardian, “who wishes to be a whole-hearted
> and sincere upholder of the distinguishing principles of the Cause
> can accept full membership in any non-Bahai ecclesiastical organi-
> zation. . . . For it is only too obvious that in most of its funda-
> mental assumptions the cause of Baha’ullah is completely at variance
> with outworn creeds, ceremonies and institutions”.
> Though we cannot agree that there is nothing in Christianity
> but “outworn creeds, ceremonies and institutions”, we do heartily
> agree with Shoghi Efendi that it is impossible for one to be a
> Christian and a Bahai at the same time. As the Persians say, “two
> watermelons cannot be carried in one hand”! Anyone who under-
> stands what is involved in membership in the church of Christ, and
> who is informed regarding the teachings and organization of Baha-
> ism, will recognize that the two systems are contradictory and that
> a Christian who wishes to accept Baha’ullah and his laws must give
> up his allegiance to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
> The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United
> States and Canada, acting on this principle, sent a petition-in the
> year 1934 to the United States Government requesting that Bahaism
> be recognized, and Bahais be exempted from military service. They
> said: W u r petition involves the claim that the Bahai Faith is an
> independent religion, not an off-shoot or mere creedal or ritualistic
> variation of any former religion. It stands upon the same spiritual
> foundation as Christianity, Judaism’ and all other recognized in-
> dependent religions of history” (Bahai World, ’1932-1934).
> We hope, therefore, that in the future Bahais will desist from
> proclaiming their cause as the union of all religions, and will main-
> tain their stand as “an independent religion”, one of the numerous
> religions claiming the allegiance of mankind. And we also hope that
> they will realize that by forming a new .independent religion today
> they have added to the religious confusion of the world, and have
> increased the religious strife which they so much deplore.
> 398                THE MOSLEM WORLD
> 
> The Most Great Peace
> One of the most important points in the Bahai program has
> been Peace. When in 1890 Professor Edward G. Browne went
> to Acre, Baha’ullah said to him, “These fruitless strifes, these
> ruinous wars shall pass away, and the ‘Most Great Peace’ shall
> come”. For many years the followers of Baha’ullah in Iran have
> asked Christians to explain the meaning of the prophecy of the
> eleventh chapter of ’Isaiah. When Christians replied that this is
> a prophecy of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the Bahais would say,
> “But Christ did not bring peace on earth. Look at the wars which
> have occurred during the past two thousand years! No, this is a
> prophecy of Baha‘ullah, who will actually bring wars to an end”.
> A half-century has passed since Baha’ullah uttered these words,
> and during this period two world wars have been fought. Where
> is the Most Great Peace that Baha’ullah was to have brought? He
> has not brought peace on earth any more than Christ did, and the
> Bahais find it necessary to change their interpretation.
> “AS we look at the world today,” writes Shamaz Wake in
> World Order (April, 1936), “nation rising against nation, the great
> monster of war again appearing upon the horizon . . . . these
> majestic and prophetic words of Baha’ullah, ‘The Most Great Peace
> shall come’, seem but a far-off dream and not a present reality.
> But, ‘So it shall be’, for . . . . when a Prophet speaks the
> creative word, it is instantly accomplished in the inner plane, and
> no opposing power in the universe can obliterate it. Just how long
> it will be before it becomes apparent in the phenomenal world lies
> in the Will of God.” And that is just what the Christian says
> about Christ’s final triumph over sin and hatred. If Baha’ullah
> has been unable to accomplish any more toward World Peace
> than Christ accomplished, what has been gained by his cbming ?
> Miss Waite says in the same article that the reason why all the
> elaborate machinery which men have set up for bringing about Peace
> has failed to produce any results is that the power that moves the
> universe is lacking-“the power of the love of God”. “In all our
> great Peace Conferences and Peace Parleys, is it not strange”, she
> asks, “that all mention of God is eliminated’, All reference to the
> power of prayer ignored?’ And then she says that it is to call men
> back to the love of God that Baha’ullah has been sent into the
> world. “He has left a plan so perfect, so all-inclusive, so adaptable
> to the solution of every need of man . . . . that would men but
> stop all human effort, and study and apply the divine Plan for a
> New World Order, the ‘Most Great Peace’ would be an estab!ished
> and blessed fact.”
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                            399
> But why will they not accept this? Because, says Miss Waite,
> “humanity needs new hearts”. Yes, a spiritual renewal is necessary.
> The Bahai says that Baha’ullah is giving men new hearts. If he is,
> let us thank God. But we know that for the past nineteen hundred
> years Jesus Christ has been doing just that, and is still doing it in
> almost all lands today. And He, by His cross and resurrection, is
> able to exercise a life-giving power which no other prophet has ever
> possessed. What is needed is not a change of doctors, but a more
> faithful and earnest following out of the instructions of our Good
> Physician, Jesus Christ.
> 111. Is Bahaism Adequate to Meet the World’s Need?
> As I have already indicated, there are elements in the Bahai
> teaching with which the Christian finds himself in full sympathy,
> and one cannot but admire the zeal and earnestness which some of
> the Bahais show in their service of the Cause. But admiration for
> certain aspects of the teaching or for certain devoted missionaries
> should not blind us to the nature of the system as a whole; and
> honesty requires us to state our conviction that the Bahai Faith is
> altogether inadequate to meet the deepest needs of men today. It
> is impossible in this article to do more than mention a few of the
> points at which Bahaism fails to justify its claim to be the religion
> of all mankind for the coming one thousand years.
> Bahaism Fails to Take Sin Seriously.
> In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments sin is taken
> seriously. “Woe is me, for I am undone!” cries the Prophet,
> “because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of
> a people of unclean lips.” “Have mercy upon me, 0 God!” prays
> the Psalmist. “Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned.       . ..
> .
> Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my
> sin.” “All have sinned”, writes the Apostle, “and come short of the
> glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one.” And Jesus
> taught men to pray the prayer of the publican, “God be merciful to
> me, a sinner !” But in the Bahai teaching sin is seldom mentioned.
> The evils of war, ignorance, poverty, prejudice, etc., are discussed,
> but Bahaism has contented itself with an attack on the symptoms,
> and has failed to realize the seriousness of the disease. Occasional-
> ly, in the writings of Bahais who had a Christian background, one
> finds the statement that man needs a new heart, which is a distinctly
> Christian idea. But Baha’ullah, because of his pantheistic concep-
> tions inherited from the Shaykhis in Persia, was unable to think of
> sin as being anything more than the absence of good, and he and
> Abdul-Baha largely ignored it in their writings. Nowhere in the
> Bahai literature have I found a statement regarding sin so penetrat-
> 400                 THE MOSLEM WORLD
> ing as the following, which I discovered in a recent article in The
> Muslim Review of India:
> “Sin is a tremendous fact. There is no excuse for sin. Sin
> is a transgression of God’s commandments. Sin involves a degrada-
> tion of the whole being, a debasement of the inner life, a
> prostitution of the moral powers. Sin is the expression of a
> perverted nature in whatever form it may reveal itself. A sinner
> is one who fails to manifest the character of God. I n other words,
> whatever in our lives is not the result of the active exercise of faith
> in God, a faith which accepts Him as the Lord of our lives, is sin.
> Self is sin personified. Self-seeking is the all-inclusive sin. Self-
> ishness is the very essence of sin. Self-idolatry lies at the founda-
> tion of all sin.”
> Bahaism F d s to Provide a Saviour
> Failing to realize the seriousness of the disease, Bahaism has
> provided no adequate remedy. Baha’ullah and Abdul-Baha propose
> to reform men with laws and admonitions, but Paul discovered
> long ago that “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
> justified”. Bahaism says that man needs an Educator (Morabbi),
> but fails to realize that before he can be trained, man needs to be
> saved. Isaiah foretold the coming of One who would be wounded
> for our transgressions and would take our sins upon Himself. John
> the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God, that taketh
> away the sin of the world”. “He bore our sins in His own body
> on the tree”, said the Apostle. And many another sinner during
> the past nineteen hundred years has found in Jesus forgiveness and
> cleansing and freedom from the power of sin. But in Bahaism
> there is no Gospel of salvation. What would a Bahai preacher say
> in a downtown Mission? The “Principles” which he proclaims
> would offer little help to a crowd of drunkards and outcasts. So
> far as I know, Bahais have never opened a Mission for the down-
> and-outs, and the reason is clear-they have no Saviour to offer to
> the slaves of sin. The rose-water of beautiful teachings will not
> wash out the stain-only the blood of the Lamb of God can do that.
> Nor will Bahaism ever be able to meet the deepest needs of great
> souls like Augustine, Bunyan, Wesley, and Alexander Whyte, who
> are close enough to the Holy God to be aware of their utter sin-
> fulness, and long for reconciliation and complete sanctification.
> Bahaism Keeps Men in Bondage to the Law.
> The popular religion at the time of Christ was a religion of
> works, and devout men like the Pharisees tried to save themselves
> by keeping the Law. Christianity rejected legalism as a way of
> salvation, and set men free from bondage to the Law, offering
> them salvation through faith in the Saviour. And though the doctrine
> of salvation by works has appeared again and again in the Church,
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             401
> 
> it is contrary to the Gospel, and cannot be tolerated by a Christian.
> For the Christian keeps God’s laws, not in order to save himself,
> but because he has been saved! Islam, however, reverted to legalism,
> demanding that men once more take on their necks the yoke of the
> law, from which Christ had set them free, and promising the joys
> of Paradise to those who kept the laws of Mohammed.
> Bahaism, .which is historically an off-shoot from Islam, retained
> the Islamic attitude toward Law. According to this teaching, every
> Prophet must have a code of laws, each more perfect than that
> which preceded it, and salvation is to be won by observing these
> precepts. As Moses gave a law to the people of his age, so
> Baha’ullah has given us the law for the modern world. This law,
> which is found in the various writings of Baha’ullah, particularly
> in the Kiitab-i-Aqdar (Most Holy Book), is the most perfect
> standard of conduct ever revealed by God to man, and it is only
> through keeping these commandments that salvation can be attained.
> Baha’ullah and his followers fail to realize that the more perfect
> the law, the more impossible it is for sinful man to keep it, and the
> more hopeless man’s situation becomes. If the Bahai law is the
> most perfect law (a claim which we do not admit)’, then Bahais
> are indeed “of all men most miserable”, for like the Jews of old,
> they are condemned by the law in which they trusted, and they have
> no other way of salvation.
> 
> Bahaism Lacks the Power to Produce Fruit
> A religion which sets forth the claim to be the universal religion
> for the world, must have more to commend it than beautiful phrases
> and noble principles. The tree must have not only leaves but fruit.
> I admit that all too often Christianity has resembled the tree which
> Christ destroyed because it had luxuriant foliage but no figs, yet
> every honest student of the history of society must admit that
> Christianity has many times demonstrated the truth of its claim to
> produce the fruit of noble living and loving service, and it is by
> our fruit that we would be known. I do not assert that no good
> fruit can be found on the tree of Bahaism, but I would suggest
> that the best fruit of which Bahaism boasts is not the natural
> product of its own roots, but what has been brought from else-
> where and artificially attached to the Bahai branches. T o speak
> clearly, I find that the best things in Bahaism are taken directly
> from Christianity, or are brought into the new faith by Christian
> converts. Should Bahai missionaries go to Central Africa and
> work among pagans, I fear they would find their branches sadly
> lacking in fruit! But they do not go to Africa as doctors or
> teachers. Nor do they go to the needy people in America’s slums
> 402                THE MOSLEM WORLD
> and neglected areas. The American Bahais report no hospitals or
> schools for the poor, except in Iran, where the Faith originated a
> century ago, and where the Persian Bahais are amply able to look
> after their own people. It is startling to read in the census
> statistics as given by the Bahais of America that whereas the
> property of the Bahai Temple in Chicago is worth more than a
> million dollars, the amount given in 1936 by the members of the
> Cause to charity was only $281. Even if this figure is incorrect,
> we wish that the Bahais would show their “love” more in deed
> than in word, if they would win our confidence. How much more
> convincing a great medical mission in India or Tibet than a million-
> dollar Temple in Chicago, beautiful as the Mashriq-ul-Azkar may be !
> Bahaism P m i t s but Prevents Zrwestigation of Truth
> One of the boasts of Bahaism is that it encourages the in-
> dependent investigation of truth. Abdul-Baha, endeavoring to com-
> mend his teaching to people in the West who were worshipping at
> the shrine of Science, used terminology which would attract and
> make his religion seem up-to-date. Hence he spoke of freedom of
> religious investigation, as opposed to the blind following of tradi-
> tion. But where is that freedom today? The Bahai leaders have
> made it impossible for their. followers freely to investigate truth.
> First, they have made inaccessible some of the chief sources for
> a study of the Babi-Bahai religion. They have permitted their
> followers to go freely about the library, but before they entered
> they have ,.removed from the shelves all the dangerous books! I
> have already described how the Nuqtatu’l-Kaf was destroyed, and
> the early history of the movement re-written, so as to minimize the
> position of the Bab, and to eliminate Subh-i-Azal from the picture,
> in order to exalt Baha’ullah. The statement of Dr. Browne is
> unfortunately true, when he said, “Of this much I am certain,
> that the more the Bahai doctrine spreads, especially outside Persia,
> and most of all in Europe and America, the more the true history
> and nature of the original Bahai movement is obscured and dis-
> torted.” If Bahaism stands for investigation of truth, this should
> not be.
> A no less serious failure to make possible a knowledge of the
> truth is the refusal of the Bahai leaders to translate the Kitab-i-
> Aqdm into English. It is the very heart of the Bahai scriptures,
> it is for Bahaism what the Koran is for Islam, and yet a half-
> century has passed since Baha’ullah’s death, and it has not yet been
> translated from the original Arabic, which is almost as unintelligible
> in Iran as it is in America. How can American Bahais “investigate”
> their own religion if they cannot even read their principal Scripture?
> In his Will and Testament, Abdul-Baha commanded that the Kitab-
> THE BAHAI CAUSE TODAY                             403
> CAqdar be the rule of faith and practice for all Bahais. “Unto the
> Most Holy Book”, he said, “everyone must turn.” Has not the time
> come for some liberty-loving Bahai to publish this book in English?
> But no loyal Bahai will do so, for there is no freedom of
> interpretation in this religion. Shoghi Efendi is the sole authori-
> tative Interpreter of Scripture, and his followers have no right
> to interpret for themselves. They are content to believe the version
> of Bahai history which Shoghi Efendi teaches them, and they will
> patiently wait to read the Kitab-GAqdas till Shoghi Efendi sees fit
> to make an authorized version for them. But why does he delay?
> Thus Bahaism makes impossible not only investigation of truth
> but all true freedom. The Bahai dream is of la totalitarian world
> order, in which the successor of Baha’ullah rules supreme. His
> will is law, and all thoughts and actions must conform to his desires.
> The individual can do nothing but submit in slavish obedience to
> the Guardian. Now the Christian holds that only God has the right
> to demand such obedience of men. If Shoghi Efendi claims to be
> divine, as did Baha’ullah, he might be justified in requiring such
> submission, and in that case, he would be a new Manifestation.
> But if he is man, and not God, how can he rightly demand absolute
> obedience and submission from other men?
> Bahaism Dishonors Jesus Christ
> The most serious charge which can be brought against Bahaism
> is that it has dishonored Him whom Bahais profess to love, the
> Lord Jesus Christ. Now when I say this I am well aware that
> there are many Bahais who have no desire to dishonor our Lord,
> and who argunaware of the fact that they are doing so. But the
> clear teaching uf this Faith is that Jesus was not what the Bible
> represents Him to be-the       only-begotten Son of God, the one
> Saviour of men-for        it declares that Jesus was succeeded by
> a greater Prophet, namely, Mohammed, who brought a new spring-
> time to the world, and was for a period of twelve hundred years
> the Manifestation of God for all men. And Mohammed was suc-
> ceeded by the Bab, and the Bab by Baha’ullah, the greatest Prophet
> of all, so that Bahaism bids its adherents give to #othersthat glory
> and honor which belong to Christ alone. The Bahai interpretation
> of the Christian Scriptures is a misinterpretation, and while Bahais
> are at liberty to reject the Scriptures if they so desire they cannot
> honestly accept them only to distort their teaching beyond recogni-
> tion. In Christian doctrine, Christ is the Head of all things, and in
> Him all things hold together, and He is the Beginning and the End.
> But Bahaism has attempted to push Him off the throne of the
> universe, and to put in His place in succession three others, all of
> whom, it is said, are greater than He. The Christian cannot for a
> 404                     T H E MOSLEM WORLD
> 
> moment tolerate this disloyalty, and while steadfastly confessing the
> supremacy of Jesus Christ will earnestly and lovingly pray that the
> followers of Baha’ullah (Glory of God) may see more clearly
> the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of
> our Saviour, and may find in Him all that their hearts desire. For
> we are persuaded that when they know Him as He is they too will
> sing with us,
> “Thou, 0 Christ, art all I want,
> More than all in Thee I find.”
> 
> BIBLIOGRAPHY
> 
> Written by Bahais
> Baha’u’llah and the New Era-Esslemont.
> The Dawn Breakers-Translated by Shoghi Efendi.
> A Traveller’s Narrative-Translated by E. G. Browne.
> Bahai Scriptures-Edited by Horace Holley.
> Security for a Failing World-Stanwood Cobb.
> World Order Magazine.
> The Bahai World,
> 
> Written by Non-Bahais
> Les Religions et Zes Philosophies duns 1’Asie Centrale-Conte
> de Gobineau.
> A Year amongst the Persians-E. G. Browne.
> Nwqtatw’l-Kaf-Edited    by E. G. Browne
> Mzgerials for the Study of the Babi Religion-E. G. Browne.
> * Bahaism and Its Claims-S. G. Wilson.
> * Baha’ism-W. M. Miller.
> *The Religion of the Baha’is-J. R. Richards.
> 
> Teheran, Iran                             WILLIAM
> McE. MILLER.
> These books are available at the Foreign Missions Library, 156 Fifth Avenue,
> New Yark, N Y.
>
> — *The Baha'i Cause Today (Used by permission of the curator)*