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Many people, among them Gratten Guinness, were close observers of the missionary enterprise and were keenly aware of the prophetic significance of such dates as 1844 and its correspondence to the Islamic 1260. However, there is no existing evidence that he or anyone else set aside their literal expectations long enough to think there might be a connection between the ministry of the Bab and Baha'u'llah and these biblical prophecies. The belief that Christ's return would take place in the literal heavens, that His rule would be of an immediate and visible nature, was too strong for any of these observers to recognize that what they had so fervently anticipated had actually taken place. (162:1) Moreover, the perception of many Christians was deeply embedded in the Victorian mentality of the time and there was, therefore, a strong aversion to many of Baha'u'llah's progressive teachings. Church institutions were struggling to combat scientific knowledge in order to maintain their positions of authority, Christians were divided by growing nationalistic movements, others openly engaged in racism, and the social order was ruled by a male hierarchal power structure. The common ground shared by the world's different religious systems was only beginning to be dimly perceived. Hence, Baha'u'llah's teachings concerning the harmony of science and religion, His call for an international tribunal for the arbitration of international disputes, for the adoption or creation of a world language, the elimination of all forms of prejudice, the recognition of the oneness of humankind, and the establishment of the equality of men and women, were all too radical for many Christians. It was, therefore, the more liberal Christians such as The Revd Dr T.K. Cheyne,
(162:2)
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