Jay Barnes:  

It's 10:35 P.M., November 8, 1979 and the TV network ABC broadcasts "Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage" with Frank Reynolds. I had always considered myself a "news junkie", and I thought that this program was going to satisfy my daily fix. The first scene I saw were thousands of Iránian men wearing headbands marching in a procession while beating themselves on their backs with chains; Reynolds tells us that it's some form of submission in obedience to "The Will of God" . "Wow" I Thought, What kind of God demands that from his followers? So I hopped over the fence that separated my yard from my brother's backyard. I felt I should ask him; "What gives?" after all he went to college and studied comparative religions, so he should know. Also he was a member of The Bahá'í Faith which has its origin in Irán. He informs me that most of these people are paid to put on this demonstration, and so we wonder how much devotion would they have if they were truly made to suffer. Through the course of the evening we discussed various world events throughout history and how all of these problems could have been more effectively dealt with if we [Humanity] would have applied spiritual principals to solve our problems rather than resort to violence. He goes on to tell me that all Prophets of God have laid down spiritual principals for humanity to follow and that Bahá'ís believe in a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe. Though inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of his creation, with a mind, will and purpose. And that Bahá'ís believe God expresses this will at all times and in many ways, including through a series of Messengers in which Bahá'ís refer to as Manifestations of God or divine educators. In expressing God's intent, these Manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world. Thus they are seen as an intermediary between God and humanity. Well, I hadn't been much of a religious guy, but I always felt that there was something that put this all in motion, I guess that made me Agnostic, I didn't know what I didn't believe. He offered me a couple of books and pamphlets so I took them home with me and put them on a shelf. Nearly a week had passed when I decided to try a little reading before I went to sleep, so I picked up one of the books entitled "The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh" Vol I. [First of four volumes on the Writings of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith during His forty-year ministry, describing their contents, including much as yet not translated, with descriptions of the circumstances of the time. Vol. 1 covers Bahá'u'lláh's period of exile in Baghdád, 1853-63] While I lay there mentally reading to myself, I found myself beginning to drift off to sleep, so I decided to read aloud to myself so I could remain awake until I finished at least a few more chapters. The next morning as I was getting up for work, I remembered thinking about the penetrating insights that were discussed in those few chapters. Later the next day, I couldn't wait for my day at work to end so I could get back to reading. I thought that ev...Expand for more