Chapter 44
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Conflicting writings regarding those whom it's said "will utterly destroy the Cause of God".
Passage 1 about Covenant-breakers being able to "utterly
destroy the Cause of God", conflicts the passages 2 - 5 from the
writings of Baha'u'llah, where it states humans cannot frustrate God's
will: "The hosts of the world are powerless to frustrate Thy will", "Whoso
hath recognized Me, will arise and serve Me with such determination
that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his
purpose.", and
so on. As suggested in previous chapters, not all parts of the Will and
Testament may be authentic, possibly including passage 1. Also, one may
not know beforehand that they are interacting with a Covenant-breaker, needing to shun them. Context, age/epoch may also matter.
1)
And now, one of the greatest and most fundamental principles of the Cause of God is to shun and avoid entirely the Covenant-breakers,
for they will utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and
render of no account all efforts exerted in the past. O friends! It
behooveth you to call to mind with tenderness the trials of His
Holiness, the Exalted One, and show your fidelity to the Ever-Blest
Beauty. The utmost endeavor must be exerted lest all these woes, trials
and afflictions, all this pure and sacred blood that hath been shed so
profusely in the Path of God, may prove to be in vain.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 20
To read the writings of Covenant-breakers is not forbidden to the
believers and does not constitute in itself an act of
Covenant-breaking. Indeed, some of the Bahá'ís have the unpleasant duty
to read such literature as part of their responsibilities for
protecting the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. However, the friends are warned in
strongest terms against reading such literature because
Covenant-breaking is a spiritual poison and the calumnies and
distortions of the truth which the Covenant-breakers give out are such
that they can undermine the faith of the believer and plant the seeds
of doubt unless he is forearmed with an unshakable belief in
Bahá'u'lláh and His Covenant and a knowledge of the true facts. This is
a factor that any Bahá'í doing research into the history of the Faith
must bear in mind, and he must himself decide, whenever he comes upon
such documents, whether he feels justified in reading them for the
purposes of his research.
-- Letters of The Universal House of Justice, 1987 Jun 17, Treatment of Covenant-breakers in Writing of Baha'i History.
2)
We testify, O my Lord, that Thou art God and that there is none other
God besides Thee. From everlasting Thou wast enthroned on the
inaccessible heights of Thy power, and wilt unto everlasting continue
to exercise Thy transcendent and unrestrained dominion. The
hosts of the world are powerless to frustrate Thy will, nor can all the
dwellers of the earth and all the inmates of heaven annul Thy decree.
Thou truly art the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 44
3)
LXXI. Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day star of My
beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your
eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We
are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power
of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso
hath recognized Me, will arise and serve Me with such determination
that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his
purpose.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 137
4)
Say: This is the sealed and mystic Scroll, the repository of God's
irrevocable Decree, bearing the words which the Finger of Holiness hath
traced, that lay wrapt within the veil of impenetrable mystery, and
hath now been sent down as a token of the grace of Him Who is the
Almighty, the Ancient of Days. In it have We decreed the destinies of
all the dwellers of the earth and the denizens of heaven, and written
down the knowledge of all things from first to last. Nothing
whatsoever can escape or frustrate Him, whether created in the past or
to be created in the future, could ye but perceive it.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 281
5)
Say: Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven, inmate of the
Exalted Paradise! Drape thyself in whatever manner pleaseth Thee in the
silken Vesture of Immortality, and put on, in the name of the
All-Glorious, the broidered Robe of Light. Hear, then, the sweet, the
wondrous accent of the Voice that cometh from the Throne of Thy Lord,
the Inaccessible, the Most High. Unveil Thy face, and manifest the
beauty of the black-eyed Damsel, and suffer not the servants of God to
be deprived of the light of Thy shining countenance. Grieve not if Thou
hearest the sighs of the dwellers of the earth, or the voice of the
lamentation of the denizens of heaven. Leave them to perish on the dust
of extinction. Let them be reduced to nothingness, inasmuch as the
flame of hatred hath been kindled within their breasts. Intone, then,
before the face of the peoples of earth and heaven, and in a most
melodious voice, the anthem of praise, for a remembrance of Him Who is
the King of the names and attributes of God. Thus have We decreed Thy destiny. Well able are We to achieve Our purpose.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 282
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