The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

II. Baha’ism Bears Telltale Spiritualist Marks

The 1840’s appear to have been the launching point not only of Modern Spiritualism but of certain related movements in other lands that have definite Spiritualist connotations. For instance there was Baha’ism-a movement for religious and social reform launched in Persia in 1844, with an Islamic background. But Baha’ism was first called Babism, ³⁴ after an earlier leader who claimed to be the forerunner of the coming prophet, much as John the Baptist preceded Jesus. Babism gained so much momentum that both the Persian government and the church became alarmed and took drastic action. The Babist leader, called the “Bab” (Arabic for gate or door), was thrown into prison and later martyred in 1850, and his followers, called Babis, were subjected to mass murder. CFF2 1225.2

But the Bab had foretold the coming of a “Greater One” to carry forward the cause. So they regrouped, and changed the form and the name to Baha’is in 1863, under the leadership of Bahá’u’lláh (the glory, or splendor, of God), as the last and greatest of “God’s manifestations.” The Bahá’is, or followers of this new prophet, believed that the last dispensation in the history of the world began in 1844-the “new day of God”with Bahá’u’lláh as the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecies of the sacred books concerning the coming of the Messiah. ³⁵ CFF2 1225.3

Picture 1: Abdu’l-Baha’
Abdu’l-Baha’, leader of the Baha—it is believed his appearance began the “New Day of Day”
Page 1226

1. WILMETTE TEMPLE SYMBOLIZES ONENESS OF RELIGIONS

From Baghdad, Bahá’ism began to take on international dimensions, spreading to Turkey, China, India, Arabia, and Europe. It is now operating in “nearly every country of the world,” and claims more than a million adherents. ³⁶ In 1921 an American headquarters was established at Wilmette, near Chicago, Illinois, where a Bahd’i Temple was erected ³⁷ overlooking Lake Michigan. They have centers in some one thousand five hundred cities and towns in the United States, and their official organ is Star of the West. CFF2 1226.1

The Wilmette Temple is a combination of mosque, cathedral, and synagogue. It is nonagonal in form, its structural number being nine-having nine piers, nine pillars (symbolizing the nine living religions of the world), and nine arches. It is situated in a park with nine sides, nine avenues, nine gateways, and nine fountains. ³⁸ It is designed to visualize the “oneness” of the great religions of the world, and of mankind, merged through Bahd’ism. It holds that all are of God. By entering any one door of the temple and walking straight forward, one meets at the center under a great dome all others who enter by the other doors. Baha’ism is thus a syncretism asserting the “unity of all religions.” Moreover, on two of the nine sides of the temple the words are inscribed, “The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens-I have made Death a Messenger-of-joy, wherefore doest thou grieve.” ³⁹ That affords an inkling of its emphasis. CFF2 1226.2

2. COMMUNION OF LIVING WITH THE DEAD

The essence of Baha’ism, of primary concern to us, is embodied in a series of principles of “unity”—unity of thought, truth, religion, mankind, the two worlds, and science. Baha’ists hold that the world was produced by divine “emanation,” with man as the product of a long process of evolution. They assert that death is merely a new birth through which the soul enters into the larger life, where it continues its growth until it reaches perfection. The body is but a temporary housing for the soul. CFF2 1227.1

Baha’ism holds to a pantheistic, impersonal God as the source of everything. And since God is all in all, there is no room for evil-evil being but the absence of good. Again, evil is only imperfection. It all has a strangely familiar ring. Moreover, truth is held to be a progressive revelation through the ages, manifested through all creeds. Thus God is said to have spoken through Zoroaster, Mohammed, Buddha, Moses, and Christ-all of whom are equally revered. But Moses and Christ had not yet reached full and complete knowledge in the revelation of truth. That was reserved for Abdu’l-Baha. So they add to Jesus’ words. Such is Bahá’ism’s exotic flair. It is Eastern mysticism, though in America it is largely decked in Western garb. Just note: CFF2 1227.2

“The collective center has always appeared in the Orient. Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad were collective centers of their day and time, and all arose in the east. CFF2 1228.1

Today’s Bahá’u’lláh [Bahá’ism’s founder] is the collective center of unity for all mankind, and the splendor of His light has likewise dawned from the east. He founded the oneness of humanity in Persia!” ⁴⁰ CFF2 1228.2

3. CONSTANT INTERCOMMUNICATION WITH OTHER WORLD

Baha’ism specifically teaches that the spirit of man proceeds from a pantheistic god,. and establishes the union of each spirit with the eternal spirit. The body, discarded at “death,” is held to be simply the covering of the “indestructible” soul. And the liberation of the spirit is declared to be entrance upon a “limitless” experience. Life after death is believed to be the intensified continuation of this life. And progression in salvation is promised after death-“infinite progress in perfections through the limitless worlds of God.” ⁴¹ This proffered perfection is attained, allegedly, by a continual evolutionary process after death, with hope and assurance for all. CFF2 1228.3

But, far more significant, there is believed to be constant and inevitable communion between embodied and disembodied souls. These authoritative Bahá’ist quotations, in support, must suffice: CFF2 1228.4

“All those living on earth, and those who have passed through the change of death, belong to one and the same organism. Separation from those we love is, therefore, a bodily separation only. Between the seen and the unseen there is a constant intercommunication.” ⁴² “When we are in receptive condition... when the soul is lightly tethered to the body, messages can reach us from the other world, and are flashed into the waking consciousness.” ⁴³ CFF2 1228.5

Such the Baha’ists call the “oneness of the two worlds.” And again: “The soul continues its life and activity after its separation from the physical body, in worlds where time and space, as sense impressions, cease to exist.” ⁴⁴ CFF2 1228.6

That is Bahá’ism. Its close kinship to Spiritualism is apparent. So again we see the intermingling of East and West. It is unquestionably a Spiritualist affiliate. CFF2 1229.1