The gist of the Baha'i Faith is this:
We believe there is only one God who has sent Messengers
to different parts of the world at different times. Each Messenger taught similar spiritual values adapted to the conditions
of the times. Of course, many things got lost or changed, but the essential message is surprisingly consistent.
The
most recent Messenger was Baha'u'llah who says, among many other extraordinary things, that humanity is "one family" and the
time is come for us to recognize our essential unity.
Right now, the future looks increasingly dark,
but Baha'u'llah teaches that we will survive as a species and eventually pass into a new era. Suffering and turmoil are inevitable
as we make the far-reaching changes in basic human nature needed to live together on this planet.
All
this will sound seriously airy-fairy if you are, as I was, an atheist/pragmatist. Still, why not check it out? The universe
is an infinitely oddball place where just about anything can happen. Why not something hopeful?
