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Baha'is differ in their belief on an all-important point from Christian and especially Protestant thought. They visualize religion as an encompassing power which embraces all aspects of our existence and brings order to it. Religion is not confined to the individual and his relationship to God. It is also the power which stabilizes society and gives it order: "Religion is verily the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the world, and of tranquillity amongst its peoples (Gl)." It is "a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold for the protecting and welfare of the peoples of the world, for the fear o God impelleth man to hold fast to that which is good, and shun all evil. Should the lamp of religion be obscured , chaos, confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine." (26:2) This point of view, according to which a religion is the glue which holds society together, is in no way new, but it has been forgotten.. It is therefore no wonder if the moral decadence of our society and the consequent brutalization of our lives and barbarization of our manners are rapidly advancing and nations are being visited by waves of violence, terrorism and lawlessness, with today's spreading unbelief. (26:3) Baha'u'llah's influence over society is not restricted to the behaviour of the individual believer. He has also laid down the foundations of a new order in which all peoples, united by their common belief in God and His revelation, will live together in peace an justice. Baha'u'llah has come to establish the promised kingdom of God on earth. This kingdom is neither a supernatural, supra terrestrial place nor a metaphor for the abode of the deceased, but it is a kingdom on this planet. It is none other than the realization of the unity of mankind and of world peace, the creation of an all-embracing and just order, in which every human being can live in security and fulfil himself in conformity with God's law, a kingdom in which God Himself rules His people. (27:1) To be a Baha'i does not mean therefore that one works selfishly, with an eye on the next world, for one's own salvation, but rather that one participates fully in this earthly life and cooperates in the building of this kingdom of peace as envisioned by the prophets. This will be realized neither in the way Christian zealots have imagined nor as so many socialists envision the creation of a new order, neither by God's cosmic interference in our order of existence with the consequent transformation of human nature which would then no longer be capable of evil, nor simply by the resolute adherence to the commandment to love one's neighbour, nor by the wholehearted observation of the exhortations in the Sermon on the Mount, as Leo Tolstoy vaguely dreamt. It will not come about simply by destroying the old social structures in revolutionary civil wars or by trying to build a new society free from contradictions in which man, no longer suppressed or exploited, can fulfil himself and will spontaneously become "good". The kingdom of peace will come to men neither as a cosmic event, as some Christians, on the basis of a literal interpretation of the Scriptures, expect, nor "from the barrel of a gun" (Mao Tse Tung). Peace and justice cannot be bombed on to the planet. They will be the fruit of a complete transformation of human consciousness and of a laborious building process by a new race of men. (27:2) Baha'is believe that two forces-- the elements of a historical dialectic already taking place-- will bring about mankind's golden age: first, the transformation of man, his spiritual rebirth through God's creative word; secondly, the transformation of society both through the change in its structures according to the divine will proclaimed by Baha'u'llah, and through the establishment by means of Baha'u'llah's world order, of universal justice in which all men can live in peace. (29:1) We are experiencing this process of the fall of the old order and the building up of the new one. The collapse of the old order, however painful and dangerous, is necessary and cannot be stopped; it is as necessary as the sweeping away of the leaves from the trees by the cold wind in winter, which makes room for the tender buds, already perceptible. (29:2) But there is one point we (Baha'is) must not lose sight of: it is not our duty to tear down the old order which we find unacceptable. Over a hundred years ago, at a time when people thought "We've really come a long way", and when no one could imagine the extent of the present cultural decadence, Baha'u'llah foretold the breaking down of the old social order and the rise of the new one: "Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead (Gl)." Today we are realizing the meaning of these words. Our forms of government are being questioned. Young people are rebelling against the existing social order. The entire world is crying out for reforms and-- one cannot help feeling-- the more it is reformed, the more disastrous is the confusion and the more insoluble become our problems and conflicts.
(29:3)
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