Hatred has always existed, but it seems to be increasingly legitimized. Some politicians and media pundits encourage a love for hate, stoking a warfare mentality grounded in ignorance.

You can’t possibly believe in the God I believe in because my belief is personal, beyond description. And vice versa.

Baha’is regard them as “Manifestations of God.” Each Manifestation ushers in a new “dispensation” of religious teachings destined to guide humankind for many centuries. When circumstances warrant, a new Manifestation appears, reiterates God’s unchanging laws, and brings in new laws commensurate with humankind’s ability to implement those laws.

When couple's gaze into each other’s eyes and lovingly repeat, “Listen, dear, they’re playing our song,” that song is not usually Bach’s B Minor Mass. It is for us. It’s been part of our lives since my wife Jolie and I sang it our senior year in college. We married a year later, 60 years ago last Thursday.

For thousands of years humankind’s social development has been shaped by religions that began with extraordinary individuals.

Images of God vary infinitely. No two are identical. Each human mind conceives its own image of God. Even atheists must create an image they can reject. I’d never really considered these things until I taught English in China, where we studied references to Christianity in English literature.