Basic Teachings Of Bah(á)'(?) Faith: Evolution, Dissemination And Comparison

In the light of different criteria, Bah(?)'(?) Faith may come under such types asprophet religion, mysterious religion, monotheism, universal religion, newlydeveloping religion, inclusivist religion, etc. This dissertation focused on the thoughthistory of Bah(?)'(?) Faith from the perspective of basic teachings. From the point ofview of universal association, the historical origination, evolution and disseminationare sorted out, the supporting function of the basic teachings is revealed, therelationships between the faith and other religions, theologies or ideologies arediscussed, and the status of the faith is also considered.The faith is rooted in Islamic Arabian culture, exposed to Judaism andChristianity and other religions in the world. The birth of the faith was brought aboutwith the comprehensive influence of the factors in Islamic Arabian Persia concerningsuch as politics, economy, culture etc. In modern times, its growth and disseminationhas been accelerated by the globalization. The relationships with Shayyh(?) sect in theShi'ite branch of Islam and with other sects or religions can be regarded as the internalfactors compared with the above factors though the two aspects are interwoven. Thiswriter has explored the connections of the faith with Islamic philosophy against thebackground of religious Persian traditions.Although the faith can be traced back to traditional religions, especially theShi'ite branch, it is modern religion. The universal ethic thoughts in the faith are inconcord with the rhythm of globalization, which makes it the fastest in growth andthe second-most widely spread religion in the world to Christianity. It is special in itshistorical theodicy in the explanation of the sufferings and the miseries of thefounders of the faith and human beings. Its historical point of view is the combinationof lineal and cyclical history and the harmony of objectivity and humanity. Hence,both Bah(?)'(?) religious history and that of all humanity are organically woven andbrought into the history of progressive revelation. It represents a vast panorama ofhuman civilization with successive Manifestations and indicates the responsibilitynow the whole humanity and each individual is bound to shoulder for the universalpeace and unity.The concretization or summarization of the basic teachings was started from themiddle of the 19^th century and completed by Abdu'l-Bah(?). From then on, people have begun to understand the faith with ease according to the basic teachings which are theembodiment the gist of the religion. Its classics, tablets, historical works,proclamations, research papers and even literary writings or works of art can becomprehended from the basic doctrines. It was the Bab, the first founder of the faith,who blew the trumpet of renovating the traditional religions and establishing a newreligion. His twin founder of the faith Baha'u'llah coded and promulgated a newreligious law. Abdu'l-Bah(?) was nominated as the authoritative expounder of the faith.After his departure, the heroic period in Bah(?)'(?) history came to close. Thisdissertation, under the guidance of the basic principles, explains the most influentialworks chosen from the classical works of the three important Bah(?)'(?) figures. Thebasic teachings had already existed, though, not made explicit in items. It wasAbdu'l-Bah(?) that consciously clarified the creeds.The basic teachings, which are around ten, are like golden thread that runsthrough all the writings of the Bab, Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Bah(?), Shoghi Effendi and theUniversal House of Justice。This paper provides with the backgrounds, thesignificance and consequence of chosen works when interpreting them. In order toprove that the speediness of its spreading and its modernity of its doctrines, this paperportrays a general picture of the dissemination history in the world. In this section, theforerunners or pioneers of the faith are introduced to demonstrate their determinationof seeking the truth.Only after the comparative analysis are carried out can the characteristics of thefaith are more clearly revealed. This writer compares the faith with some importantreligions in terms of the size the population of believers such as Christianity,Hinduism, Confucianism and Buddhism to show its openness, flexibility andmodernity. The comparison of the faith with Marxism is significant to the academiccircles of China which takes the latter as the official ideology. Since both Marxismand Bah(?)'(?) Faith are comprehensive, comparison and contrast can be done fromvarious aspects concerning philosophy, politics, economy, sociology, ethnics oreducation. This writer only chooses three points to consider, that is, human nature,equality between man and women and economy. As a universal religion, Bah(?)'(?) Faithseeks to advocate global spirit or belief. The faith believes that Bah(?)'(?) basic teachingscompletely impenetrate the conception of World Citizenship. This writer alsodiscovers the dissimilarities between Bah(?)'(?) teachings and the minimal ethics putforward by Hans K(u|¨)ng and Leonard Swindler in their declarations. This writer pointsout that the minimal ethics are bottom-up approach while Bah(?)'(?) teachings are top-down approach which is understandable if we associate it with the aggressivehistorical view of the faith. In the present period of human civilization, humanbeings are just like adults who needs the self-conscious and autonomic ethic paradigm.World Citizenship is of this paradigm that is a must and practical step to establish newworld order and realize permanent world peace.