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A Stroke of Good Luck, and Much More

Ten days ago Jolie was making lunch in the kitchen. Then she wasn’t. “Peter, I need you,” she said from a chair in another room. I found her slumped sideways in the recliner. “I’ve got a splitting headache behind my right eye.”

Is there Life After Death?

Recently I’ve been preparing for the inevitable. Last month, I reached an age at which I can say, “Four score and seven years ago, my mother brought forth on this continent a new baby ...” That was me. I’ve never been 87 before, never dreamed I’d make it this far. I’d wondered whether I’d see the turn of this century! But I did, so what’s next?

The Evil in This World: ‘The Devil Made Me Do It!’

“Satan” in the Baha’i writings symbolizes our inclination to turn from God. Satan’s persona is “a product of human minds and of instinctive human tendencies toward error,” according to ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Pride, ego, the “insistent self,” symbolized by Satan, represent baser human instincts.

Ask a Bahá’í: How Can Bahá’í’s Believe There Is Only One Religion?

Yes, the Bahá’í teaching that “all the religions are one” is a challenging claim. Religions say different things, contradictory things, often in opposition to each other. In fact, in a single religious tradition — such as Christianity — various denominations often say diametrically opposing things on certain issues, such as who was Jesus, how do we attain salvation and should Christians be drinking alcohol.

Ten More Years: ‘An Unbelievable Injustice’ in Iran

Consider the fate of two Baha’i women in Iran who, in November, were sentenced to their second 10-year prison terms after a hiatus of four years. Mahvash Sabet, 69, and Fariba Kamalabadi, 60, were first incarcerated in 2008 and released in 2018. At the time they were part of an informal group of five men and two women who tended to the basic pastoral needs of the Iranian Baha’i community. This was with “full knowledge of the Iranian government,” according to the Baha’I International Community (BIC) in Geneva. The BIC represents the worldwide Baha’i community at the UN and other international forums.

Denominational Distinctions Divide Us

The Bible promises an unending covenant between God and man, God’s commitment never to leave humankind alone. That original covenant is symbolized by the rainbow: “I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” The succession of God’s prophets over millennia fulfills that promise. God’s message is “updated” periodically through “Manifestations of God.” Abraham and Moses appear in the Old Testament, Christ in the New Testament and all within Muhammad’s Quran. Baha’is believe other manifestations include Krishna, Zoroaster and Buddha.

Can We Heal Our Divisive Politics?

In our zero-sum political system, winners take all. It pays to invest in politicians who further our own interests, often at the expense of others. Ironically, our system of governance is among the world’s finest. For a couple of centuries it’s set the gold standard for emerging democracies worldwide. And that’s what’s scary. We can, we must, do better.

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