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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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