Beyond Congregational Prayer – O God My God My Beloved My Heart’s Desire
We are so used to the idea that a religious leader stands in front of a congregation delivering a sermon or carrying out religious rituals, …
The Secret Mission of Sulayman Khan
The terrible news that the Bab was to be executed in Tabriz had reached Bahá’u’lláh in Tehran. He knew just the man for a daring …
Sacrifice
The concept of sacrifice is integral to religion. Like other religious concepts it has undergone transformation over the ages. The concept of sacrifice was integrally …
Healing
Healing has a deep connection with the work of the messengers of God. We may, for example, think of the many stories and parables of …
Trees of Meaning
Trees are a recurring metaphor in Bahá’u’lláh’s writings and the Baha’i writings more generally. Here are a few examples. Trees are a metaphor for transformation …
Effie Baker – Photographer of the Birth of a World Faith
What if photography had existed 2000 years ago and St Paul or St Peter had commissioned a woman to travel to Palestine to compile a …
The Fire Tablet
The Fire Tablet, written by Bahá’u’lláh, begins as a lament. Its name is echoed in its opening verses: … the hearts of the sincere are …
The Execution of the Bab
The Bab was in a cell in the barracks of Tabriz. He had already been condemned to death by the Amir Kabir, Persia’s highest official. …
Plan B – The Lesser Peace
* * * As noted previously, Bahá’u’lláh wrote to kings and rulers. He did not expect them to accept his proclamation of messianic fulfilment. Indeed …