Baha’i
A 19th Century prophet proclaims a new expression of Universalism.

In the sermon for this week,
   I'm going to be wandering a bit
       among the more esoteric weeds
            of religion and history.

I promise that I will wander back in any case,
   and I will wander back to more normal territory
       as soon as I see some heads nodding,
           or if I see some looks that seem to say,
               "What is Fred talking about now??"

So... shall we begin?

You may remember from the last time,
    I said that the division of Sunni from Shi'a Islam
         came about from disagreements
             over who would rule the community
                  after the death of the Prophet.

Sunnis believed that the leader could be
  anyone whom the people and the prophet favored.

So the first ruler was Abu Bakr,
    arguably Muhammad's best friend.

The Shi'a wanted only members
    of the Prophets family to be eligible.

So they recognized only Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law
    as the first Imam, as they called the ruler.

To add to the confusion,
    the term Imam is used today by Sunnis
        to indicate any spiritual leader among Muslims.

So, for example, Muslim chaplains
    in the U.S. military services
          are referred to as Imams
              as long as they are Sunnis!

Among the Shi'a,
    there have only been Twelve Imams
        who are recognized as legitimate.

The Twelfth Imam disappeared.

He is expected to reappear and rule
    just before the end of the world
        and the day of judgment.

You can imagine that this could be
    the source for all sorts of Muslim
         messianic cults,
             and it has been so.

In the mid-nineteenth Century,
    a world-wide time of religious ferment,
          almost equal to today (!),
               a new religion arose,
                    called Babism.

The Bab, meaning Gate, prophet of Babism,
    was regarded by many 
         as the gateway for the return
             of the Twelfth Imam.

His faith grew up in Iran,
   the heartland of Shi'a Islam to this day.

He proclaimed that there would soon arise
   a Prophet like Jesus and Muhammad.

It didn't take long!

Baha'ullah soon began to preach and teach,
    also in 19th Century Iran,
         that he was the prophet
              of whom the Bab spoke.

He proclaimed a message of universal revelation.

That idea is in fact consonant
   with the teachings of the Qur'an.

Muhammad believed and taught
    that God sent prophets to every nation on earth.

Not everyone accepted their prophets,
   but at least they had the chance!

Like Muhammad before him,
    Baha'ullah claimed to be a universal prophet.

Unlike Muhammad,
   he taught the validity of every
       major religious tradition on earth.

He was, in other words,
   a true pioneer of universalism.

The bumper stickers that say, "Co-exist,"
  with a variety of symbols of various religions,
    would be meaningful to him.

Our own chart of various world religions
   with appreciative summaries of their beliefs
       seems like a teaching tool of the Baha'i faith.

Even our current series,
   studying and considering together
       different aspects of various religions,
            would seem like a good thing
                 in the context of the Baha'i faith.

Yet, as happens with every religion
     that proclaims universalism,
         the adherents simply end up creating
             yet another religion!

It's a universal problem,
   and it's a universalist problem.

We want to include everyone,
    but we end up making our own in group.

We can even be as exclusionary as anyone.

The Baha'i are not known for this,
   and neither are UU's,
       but it does happen.

People do not necessarily feel comfortable with us,
    especially before they have had a chance
         to get to know us.

Although we don't tend to be pushy about UU faith,
   our Baha'i friends can be
      outgoing in "witnessing"
         for the wonders of their religion
             which recognizes the value and goodness
                  in all religious traditions.

They are convinced that theirs is the first program
    that could truly lead to world peace.

Pope John XXIII proclaimed a very similar program,
    and many Baha'i are convinced
        that he plagiarized Baha'u'llah.

In matters of faith, maybe we should look for truth,
   no matter who presents the truth.

In looking for a plan for world peace,
   we don't need to care who first proposed the plan.

The world is as desperate now as it has ever been
    for a plan that will enable peace to prevail.

The work of a prophet from the mid-19th Century
    in Persia and Palestine
        may be a key to peace
           if we pay attention to his call
              to accept and love each other
                 even when we disagree
                     in important ways.

At the same time,
   one of the most dangerous institutions
        in Abrahamic religions
            is prophecy.

A prophet's work
   is to comfort the afflicted
        and to afflict the comfortable.

That is noble work.

In a real and metaphorical sense,
  if a prophet does that,
    she or he is speaking for God,
       speaking for us all.

Baha'u'llah believed and taught
   that social justice is really Divine justice
       and vice versa.

All prejudice is to be eliminated
  because we are all one human family.

To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable
   Baha'u'llah called upon his followers
      to be a treasure to the poor,
         an admonisher to the rich,
             and an answerer to the cry of the needy.

In our time, Baha'is believe that
   following the teachings of Baha'u'llah
       would eliminate the extreme gap
           between great wealth and extreme poverty.

I would love to believe that it is so.

If only everyone would follow Baha'i social teachings
    and the Seven Principles of the UU's
        the world would become a much better place!

Now I'm starting to sound and feel like a prophet.

The problem is that prophecy is also dangerous
    to a society and to the prophet.

If someone can claim to speak for God,
    people will follow him or her.

Not everyone who makes that claim
    has the best interests of everyone at heart.

False prophets arise,
   in the pay of the rich and powerful.

They will often comfort the comfortable
    while they afflict the already afflicted.

You don't have to look far these days
   to find religious leaders
      who will gladly tell the poor
           that their poverty is their own fault.

It goes on and on.

False prophets will even claim
    that one political leader or another
        is anointed by God to lead a nation.

The mark of a true prophet,
   as I have said before,
      is whether or not his or her teachings
          turn out to be true.

We don't know yet if Baha'u'llah's teachings
    will turn out to be true:

They have not yet been tried.

Yet a movement is beginning
    toward ever stronger compassion for each other.

We are learning to see beyond our differences.

We are even seeing that it is possible
   to disagree without being disagreeable,
      that it is possible
          to be kind to one another
             even if we do not agree about anything.

Of course not everyone is part of this movement,
   but it is definitely underway.

Our own times are the birth pangs of a new age.

It is yet to be determined if the new age
   will be stillborn.

Yet, I am convinced that the birth will be successful.

We will see an age of peace and plenty.

People will come to their senses.

Life and hope will prevail.

We will see if I am a true prophet or not
    when we see if these words
        turn out to be true or not.

To live in hope in the meantime
     seems like a really good idea to me.

Amen.
Ameen.
Omeyn.
So mote it be.
Blessed be!