A New Temple For A New World Religion Opens On Mt. Carmel
On the evening of May 22 in Haifa, Israel, more than 4,500 people are expected to gather on "God's Holy Mountain," Mt. Carmel, for a dedication ceremony of the new Shrine of the Bab, a succession of 19 terraced gardens that evoke the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Baha'i World Center, a complex of classically designed shrines and administrative buildings which will serve as the headquarters for an emerging world religion.
The dedication of the new complex signals Baha'i's growing prominence in the world, and its leadership in the evolution of a new one-world religion — which it claims is the fulfillment of all other religious traditions.
The Baha'i faith, founded a little more than a century ago, now has more than five million members in 235 countries. Its founder, Baha'u'llah, taught that there is but one God, there is only one human race, and that all founders of the world's major religions — Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius — were prophets sent by God to educate humanity as it reached certain stages of development.
"Our Scriptures tell us that the very construction of these facilities for housing these institutions will coincide with several other processes in the world," said Douglas Samimi-Moore, director of Baha'i International Community's Office of Public Information.
"One of these processes is the maturation of local and national Baha'i institutions. The other is the establishment of processes leading to political peace for humanity, and we feel this synchronicity is obvious if you look broadly at the way things are going in the world."
The Baha'is have built the gardens, shrines, and administrative buildings, he continued, in the belief that "they will contribute to the unification of the planet."
The official dedication of the $250 million (U.S.) Mt. Carmel Terraces and buildings will feature an open-air, world-premiere, internationally televised concert of original compositions by Norwegian Lasse Thoresen and Tajik Tolib Shahidi, performed by the Israel Northern Symphony, Haifa, under the direction of Stanley Sperber, accompanied by vocal soloists from Canada, Austria, and the United States. Early the next day, there will be a procession up and around the 19 terraces by thousands of Baha'is garbed in their ethnic clothes.
From the beginning of recorded history, Mt. Carmel has been referred to as "the sacred promontory." In the ninth century B.C., Mt. Carmel was where the prophet Elijah called together the people of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 18) and the prophets of Baal and Queen Jezebel to demonstrate the power of God. Elijah remained on Mt. Carmel, living in two caves, now enclosed by the famous Carmelite monastery, founded in 1226 by the Crusaders.
In the mid-1800s, according to information from bahaiworldnews.org, "others from Europe were enticed to settle on Carmel's fertile plains. . . Christopher Hoffmann, Georg David Hardegg, and Christoph Paulus founded the Temple Society in Germany. Their dream was to establish communities that would realize the idea of creating God's kingdom on earth. Hoffmann and Hardegg arrived in Haifa in 1868, leading an influx of families that settled in Haifa and Jaffa between 1868 and 1875 . . . and awaited the return of Christ."
The Baha'i faith was founded in Persia (Iran) in 1844. In addition to holding to Jesus, Buddha, and the other founders of major religions, the Baha'is believe in two additional teachers for the new world religion: the Bab and Baha'u'llah, who point the way to "an ever-advancing civilization." The Bab's main function, according to official teaching, "was to prepare humanity for the imminent appearance of another divine Teacher, who would lead the world to a period of everlasting peace. In 1863, Baha'u'llah appeared, and announced that he was the teacher foretold by Bab.
"The main theme of Baha'u'llah's revelation," according to Baha'i publicity, "is unity. He taught that 'the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.' His writings contain principles, laws, and institutions for a world civilization, including: abandonment of all prejudice; equality between the sexes; recognition of the common source and essential oneness of the world's great religions; elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth; universal compulsory education; responsibility of each individual to search independently for truth; establishment of a world federal system based on the principles of collective security; and recognition that religion is in harmony with reason and scientific knowledge.
"Because of its commitment to these ideals, the Baha'i community has been an active supporter of international organizations such as the United Nations. . .
"The Baha'i World Center in the Acra/Haifa area of Israel has been both the spiritual and administrative center of the Baha'i faith since Baha'u'llah was exiled here in 1868."
The new complex, designed by Fariborz Sahba, who also designed New Delhi's famous Lotus Temple, completes the Baha'i World Center: the Shrine of Bab (1909); the golden-domed mausoleum for Bab (1953) the International Archives (1957) and the Seat of Universal Justice (1983). The new administrative buildings are the International Teaching Center and the Center for the Study of Texts.
The Favored Religion
Members of the Baha'i faith are among the most public leaders in the movement to create a new United Nations-approved world government and religion.
Albert Lincoln, secretary general of Baha'i International, for example, spoke at last year's United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious Leaders, sponsored by CNN's Ted Turner, and articulated the need for a "global community based on unity in diversity."
Members of Baha'i have long been active in the formulation of the UN's "Earth Charter," and, in fact, was promoting the notion before it was embraced by the UN, and was a major player at the 1992 Rio meeting, and in the Rio+5 consultations, along with such other players as Eileen Gannon and Carol Zinn of Global Education Associates; Richard Clugston of the Center for Respect of Life and the Environment; Bawa Jain of the Temple of Understanding; Steven Rockefeller of the Earth Charter Commission; and Brian Swimme — promoter of the New Age "Christ" Matreiya — of the California Institute of Integral Studies.
The Baha'is' Peter Adriance was part of the "values and education" group which formulated the essential elements of the Earth Charter.
In 1995, on the occasion of the UN's 50th anniversary, Baha'i leaders issued a call for a summit on global governance. The 22-page statement of "action items" included: a "fully armed" international force; extending the jurisdiction of the World Court; a commitment to a universal language; a commission to re-examine national borders; and a more positive way to evaluate the United Nations.
"Judged in isolation from the reality within which it operates, the United Nations will always seem inefficient and ineffective. However," the statement declares, "if it is viewed as one element of a larger process of development in systems of international order, the bright light of analysis would shift from the UN's shortcomings and failures to shine on its victories and accomplishments. With an evolutionary mindset, the early experience of the United Nations offers us a rich source of learnings about its future role within the international regime."
Typically, Baha'i leaders are included in any major international gathering of religious figures.
When, for example, World Bank President James Wolfensohn convened an unprecedented meeting with "religious leaders" in London in 1998 to discuss religion and economic development, the Baha'is were there, along with Anglicans, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jainists, Sikhs, and Taoists.
Kiser Barnes, the lead Baha'i representative, opened the session on "participation," observing that spiritual values are the key to economic development.
Useful Idiots
Meanwhile, the recruitment and enlistment of Catholics into the cause of world government and a one-world religion continues apace, as evidenced by the April 25-27 Global Sustainability: Toward Unity Among All Beings conference held at the Assisi Community Center in Rochester, Minn.
This meeting of the Global Education Associates-Religious Orders Partnership, according to promotional publicity for the conference, "is a collaborative network of 160 Catholic religious orders working with the Global Education Associates and with each other to affect global systemic change."
Among the speakers:
• Sr. Elizabeth A. Johnson, a radical feminist theologian from Fordham University, who delivered a talk on "Spirit of God, Spirit of Earth."
Johnson, one of Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese's warriors in The Universal Catechism Reader: Reflections & Responses (Harper Row: 1990), complained that the "figure of Jesus [in the Catechism] comes across as a cold fish, knowing everything, in complete control, at the same time totally submissive, moving through his paces, not very inspiring. . . This Christ is far above our human struggles, and so rather useless for preaching, evangelization, and catechesis." In particular, she criticized the section on liturgy because it "positions Christ at the center of Christian worship."
Helen Hull Hitchcock considers Johnson the most formidable of the radical feminist theologians at work today. In the February 1997 edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, Hitchcock wrote that Johnson, then president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, "is searching . . . for 'emancipatory speech about God,' and finds that 'feminist interpretation makes piercingly clear that [biblical texts] as such were written mostly by men and for men in a patriarchal cultural context and reflect this fact.'
"So oppressive and pervasive is the patriarchal influence on Christianity, she says, that the biblical text must be reinterpreted within the context of 'the struggle for emancipation from sexism.'
"Sr. Johnson's determination to liberate Catholicism from the oppressive patriarchy is so profound that she must feminize Jesus: 'Jesus was so closely associated with Sophia that by the end of the first century he is presented not only as a wisdom teacher, not only as a child and envoy of Sophia, but ultimately even as an embodiment of Sophia herself."
For Johnson, continued Hitchcock, "Patriarchy so indelibly stains the language . . . there is no way of rehabilitating masculine 'metaphors' for God, like 'Father,' or pronouns like 'He.' Therefore it is essential, in order to achieve true egalitarianism and justice for women, that entirely new metaphors must be created; and God must now be called 'She Who Is':
"'She Who Is: linguistically this is possible; theologically it is legitimate, existentially and religiously it is necessary if speech about God is to shake off the shackles of idolatry and be a blessing for women. In the present sexist situation where structures and language, praxis and personal attitudes convey an ontology of inferiority to women, naming toward God in this way is a gleam of light on the road to genuine community. . . Politically, this symbol challenges every structure and attitude that assigns superiority to ruling men on the basis of their supposed greater godlikeness. If the mystery of God is no longer spoken about exclusively or even primarily in terms of the dominating male, a forceful linchpin holding up structures of patriarchal rule is removed'."
• Rochester's Carolyn Bornhauser, a practitioner and teacher of "sacred circle dance" offered a workshop on "Moving on the Labyrinth: Finding our Wisdom."
Bornhauser, according to information on the Minnesota Women's Press Internet site, "sees a natural connection between body movement and prayer based, in part, on her personal view of God.
"'For me God is everywhere, God dwells in all of creation,' Bornhauser said. 'God is the creative force of the Universe and the creative force in us. When we're moving in the sacred dance, I think we're most in touch with that creative force. When I consciously express myself and express my soul through movement and my mind and body and soul are all engaged, that certainly is an expression of prayer for me,' Bornhauser said.
• Jean Deaniels spoke on "Moving Into the Heart," a "guided walk that includes activities designed to focus attention on a specific topic, as well as to process the results."
• Brother Wayne Teasdale discussed "Nature Mysticism as the Heart of Sustainability," "an integrative look at the path of mysticism as an inward, outward, and upward journey."
• Cletus Wessels, O.P., spoke on "The Human Story in Three Acts," "a developmental journey through humanity's story from childhood through the emerging stage of 'adulthood'."
• Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, the World Trade Organization's representative to the United Nations, based in Geneva, gave a presentation on "Spirituality and Global Sustainability."
The UN's New Role: Raising Consciousness
An Internet search on Sfeir-Younis indicates that he is a major figure in the process to promote a religion that is compatible with the evolving world economic order.
In an October 21, 1999 appearance before the UN's Spiritual Forum, Sfeir-Younis, then with the World Bank, delivered a speech titled, "The Spiritual Work of the United Nations: Building a Planetary Consciousness," in which he confessed that he is "totally convinced that until and unless there is a total reconciliation between economics and spirituality, there will not be peace in the world; there will not be a state of human welfare which would be really acceptable to us all."
After reciting a litany of unsolved problems, including environmental degradation, low wages, inadequate health services for women and excessive population growth, he noted that the major problem facing the world is a low state of consciousness on the part of too many people — a problem that needs to be fixed.
"Thus, judging from the results, it seems that the level of social consciousness dominating the world today is not very high. But at the root of the problem, or the principal determinant of this social level of consciousness, is individual consciousness. And it is here where most of our attention needs to be paid. . .
"If I go around the room and I ask: What type of economic development would you like to have? You will certainly say, for example, an economic development pattern that increases the material welfare of people, a world void of hunger and malnutrition, one that is gender equal, one that protects our children, and so on.
"Some of you may also say that development must make people happy. Happiness may be a central instrument to measure where we are going with development. That development should result in everlasting peace. Another group may suggest that development must also lead to enlightenment.
"There is no doubt in my mind that all of the above are necessary. That all of the above are needed and should form part and parcel of our everyday activities in development," he said.
Then why, he wondered, after pouring so many billions upon billions of dollars into development, has there not been a corresponding shift in social consciousness that results in various forms of progress.
"The only answer to this question is related to the level of individual and social consciousness. The lower the levels of consciousness, the less the ability we, individually or collectively, have to maintain the holistic values, the unity values, of development as we move to development implementation. . .
"The real issue here," he said, "is about the level of consciousness of the person who has the money. Does he or she have the right level of individual and social consciousness to make the right decision with the money he or she possesses?. . .
"Maybe the next millennium will be the time when we all look for the inner world to find the right solutions. Too much money spent in putting together the best telescope. We need to invest on the best inner-scope.
"In my view, the UN is an essential and indispensable institution in the world today," he continued, emphasizing that its most important role in the present and the future is helping to "transform" people's consciousness.
"This is a matter of operating with and within the framework of universal consciousness or planetary consciousness," he commented. "This is not an easy task, as it requires major inner transformations. It requires major group transformations. It requires major global transformation. The framework that will allow us to make these transformations a reality is what I have been calling the 'paradigm of consciousness' — an all-encompassing paradigm whose point of departure is human consciousness; whose points of departure are all the human dimensions of the development process. This is the real paradigm of unity. . .
He went on: "How do we get to this new paradigm?
"How do we make use of this paradigm in defining and assessing the work programs of those organizations we are all concerned about? Is there a sequence we may follow to get where we want to go?
"In my experience it seems that there is some sort of a sequence one would need to recognize, if an appropriate answer will be found for those questions. Four components of this sequence may be worth mentioning: First, we must increase awareness, and your group forms an essential pillar in this respect.
"Second, we need to focus on our value and belief systems and evaluate how they influence our decisions at all levels.
"Third, we have to change the language of development so that it is congruent with the new paradigm; this is particularly important in the realm of financial, economic, and social policies.
"Fourth, we need to seek a major change in behavior.
"It is here where the connection with spirituality must be made.
"It is here where the connection with spiritual values must be made.
"It is here where the connection with the idea of a spiritual forum must be made. . . .
"Let me move into the question of values. Planetary consciousness rests on universality in the being and in the acting. If we have value systems that are not universal, then we will not attain the aim we are all seeking. Universality means that nobody and nothing is excluded. Thus, value systems that are in themselves exclusive rather than inclusive should be scrutinized thoroughly! . . .
"Only a spiritual value system is universal; nobody and nothing is excluded in the path toward Supreme Consciousness . . . Thus a spiritual value system must also be evolutionary, as it must embody the fundamental foundations of Natural Law and the Constitution of the Universe. We, the human race, are part of this organized order. We are part of this evolution."
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