|
Letter of 24 June 1947
|
1 |
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
|
2 |
Your letter, dated June 16th, has been received, and our
beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer it on his
behalf.
|
3 |
He can quite well understand that after so many years of
isolation from the rest of the Bahá'í world it came as a
surprise to some of you to hear that we, as Bahá'ís, must not
have any affiliations with churches or political parties. But
he feels certain that when you meditate on this matter you
yourselves will see the wisdom of it. We, as Bahá'ís, can
never be known as hypocrites or as people insincere in their
protestations and because of this we cannot subscribe to
both the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and ordinary church dogma.
The churches are waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ; we
believe He has come again in the Glory of the Father. The
churches teach doctrines--various ones in various creeds
--which we as Bahá'ís do not accept; such as the bodily
Resurrection, confession, or, in some creeds, the denial of
the Immaculate Conception. In other words there is no
Christian church today whose dogmas we, as Bahá'ís can
truthfully say we accept in their entirety--therefore to
remain a member of the Church is not proper for us, for we
do so under false pretences. We should, therefore, withdraw
from our churches but continue to associate, if we wish to,
with the church members and ministers.
|
4 |
Our belief in Christ, as Bahá'ís, is so firm, so unshakable
and so exalted in nature that very few Christians are to be
found nowadays who love Him and reverence Him and
have the faith in Him that we have. It is only from the
dogmas and creeds of the churches that we dissociate
ourselves; not from the spirit of Christianity.
|
5 |
Very much the same reasons motivate us in withdrawing
from all political movements, however close some of their
ideals may be to ours. We Bahá'ís are one the world-over,
we are seeking to build up a New World Order, Divine in
origin. How can we do this if every Bahá'í is a member of a
different political party--some of them diametrically
opposed to each other? Where is our unity then? We would
be divided because of politics, against ourselves, and this is
the opposite of our purpose. Obviously if one Bahá'í in
Austria, is given freedom to choose a political party and join
it, however good its aims may be, another Bahá'í in Japan,
or America or India, has the right to do the same thing, and
he might belong to a party the very opposite in principle to
that which the Austrian Bahá'í belongs to. Where would be
the unity of the Faith then? These two spiritual brothers
would be working against each other, because of their
political affiliations (as the Christians of Europe have been
doing in so many fratricidal wars).
|
6 |
The best way for a Bahá'í to serve his country and the
world is to work for the establishment of Bahá'u'lláh's
World Order, which will gradually unite all men and do
away with divisive political systems and religious creeds.
|
7 |
He does not force you to do this at once; but urges you all
to decide to withdraw from your churches and political
groups within, say, a year, and then to help each other to do
this. You will find your spiritual strength greater for taking
this step.
|
8 |
Please assure dear Mrs. Schwarz of his loving prayers on
her behalf.
|
9 |
He will also pray for you all in the Holy Shrines, and
urges you to persevere in your services to our beloved
Faith....
|
10 |
[From the Guardian:]
|
11 |
Dear and valued co-workers:
|
12 |
I was so pleased to receive your message and so thankful
for the evidences of devotion, of determination and love it
contained. The Austrian believers are dear and near to my
heart, and I deeply sympathize with them in the ordeal and
tribulations which they have suffered, and which have
demonstrated the quality of their faith and the depth of their
devotion. The funds accumulated for their relief and for the
development of the Faith in their land will, I trust, be soon
forwarded to them, and will no doubt greatly contribute to
the rehabilitation and growth of their beloved community.
Persevere in your meritorious labours, and rest assured that
you are often in my thoughts and prayers, and that I will
continue to supplicate for you all the Master's richest
blessings.
|
13 |
Your true and grateful brother,
|
14 |
Shoghi
|
15 |
P.S. He feels that the German and Austrian believers are one
in language and that the Austrian friends should consider
the N.G.R. as their National Assembly, the same as before
the war. We are Bahá'ís and have no nationalistic feelings in
such matters. Our ties are purely spiritual. But you can
consult the European Teaching Committee if the NGR is
too difficult at present. The Guardian wishes you to know
that as soon as there are a sufficient number of Bahá'í
assemblies in Austria she will naturally have her own NGR.
|