What Comes After Nations?: Once Again, From Religions's Renewal, A New Civilization Emerges.

By Harvey Garver

“WHAT COMES AFTER NATIONS?” is the right question for these turbulent times.

 

Much of this turmoil is a result of the conflict between nations around the world. Nations and nationalism, are the most recent form of governance; however, while their numbers and sovereign powers increased over time, in today’s wor

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harvey Garver
• Release date: Sep 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9780578568409

Harvey Garver

I was raised in a Christian home where I first attended a Methodist Church, later a Presbyterian church where I was baptized, and then, after marrying a Lutheran, I continued my semi-regular church attendance in Lutheran churches. I believed in the oneness of the Christian Church-but it was more like one God, one church (the one I was attending), one hour (on Sunday), and one dollar. There were times when I felt the spiritual side of Christianity, but they were usually limited to a few sermons, communion, and special times when I prayed to God for assistance. While miracles occurred in the Bible, I believed in Jesus Christ for other reasons and my faith in Jesus Christ and God never wavered. However, I had a vague sense that something was missing, and there were "apparent contradictions" between the Old and New Testaments that perplexed me. Notable among those apparent contradictions were the following words from Deuteronomy in the Old Testament and from the Gospel of Matthew in The New Testament: Deuteronomy 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. My perplexities were usually just below my conscious level, but they were all cleared up when I learned about the Baha'i Faith and the concept of "progressive revelation." I truly had an "aha!" moment. It was a revelation to understand that there was a truly simple and logical explanation to the quandary that was lurking in the background of my beliefs. Christian services and sermons encouraged me to be a better person and somewhat vaguely discussed "going to heaven"; but they did little to help me to develop my spirituality. Coming to believe that Baha'u'llah was the latest Manifestation of God to appear on Earth and becoming a Baha'i both broadened and deepened my outlook on religion. I learned that the purpose of religion focuses on the development and advancement of both individuals and civilization as we move toward peace and prosperity for all mankind. And in order to achieve that ordained goal, God periodically sends another Manifestation of Himself to Earth to teach and lead us to that preordained achievement of establishing "God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven." After listening to prominent Baha'is and holding discussions and deliberations, I came to understand that the following three reasons explain why I have always believed in Jesus Christ: • Because of the way that He lived His life • Because of His teachings • Because of the way that He influenced the lives of others And I believe that Baha'u'llah is God's most recent Manifestation and the return of Jesus Christ for the same three reasons: • Because of the way that Baha'u'llah lived His life • Because of Baha'u'llah's teachings • Because of the way that Baha'u'llah influenced the lives of others Every time I learned a little more about progressive revelation, I found myself wanting to dig deeper and deeper into its operation and significance. All these elements entered into my mind as I started this study. I decided to reread Baha'i holy writings, the holy writings of other faiths, and the history of mankind to explore the relationship between religion and the advancement of unity and civilization down through the ages.

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Copyright © 2018 Harvey Garver.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

INTRODUCTION

I was raised in a Christian home where I first attended a Methodist Church, later a Presbyterian church where I was baptized, and then, after marrying a Lutheran, I continued my semi-regular church attendance in Lutheran churches. I believed in the oneness of the Christian Church—but it was more like one God, one church (the one I was attending), one hour (on Sunday), and one dollar. There were times when I felt the spiritual side of Christianity, but they were usually limited to a few sermons, communion, and special times when I prayed to God for assistance. While miracles occurred in the Bible, I believed in Jesus Christ for other reasons and my faith in Jesus Christ and God never wavered.

However, I had a vague sense that something was missing, and there were apparent contradictions between the Old and New Testaments that perplexed me. Notable among those apparent contradictions were the following words from Deuteronomy in the Old Testament and from the Gospel of Matthew in The New Testament:

Deuteronomy 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

My perplexities were usually just below my conscious level, but they were all cleared up when I learned about the Baha’i Faith and the concept of progressive revelation. I truly had an aha! moment. It was a revelation to understand that there was a truly simple and logical explanation to the quandary that was lurking in the background of my beliefs.

Christian services and sermons encouraged me to be a better person and somewhat vaguely discussed going to heaven; but they did little to help me to develop my spirituality. Coming to believe that Baha’u’llah was the latest Manifestation of God to appear on Earth and becoming a Baha’i both broadened and deepened my outlook on religion. I learned that the purpose of religion focuses on the development and advancement of both individuals and civilization as we move toward peace and prosperity for all humankind. And in order to achieve that ordained goal, God periodically sends another Manifestation of Himself to Earth to teach and lead us to that preordained achievement of establishing "God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven."

After listening to prominent Baha’is and holding discussions and deliberations, I came to understand that the following three reasons explain why I have always believed in Jesus Christ:

• Because of the way that He lived His life

• Because of His teachings

• Because of the way that He influenced the lives of others

And I believe Baha’u’llah is God’s most recent Manifestation and the return of Jesus Christ for the same three reasons:

• Because of the way that Baha’u’llah lived His life

• Because of Baha’u’llah’s teachings

• Because of the way that Baha’u’llah influenced the lives of others

I refer to Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and the other Prophets and Messengers of God as Manifestations of God because each of Them:

• Manifests (reveals) the Words of God to the people that they visit

• Manifests (demonstrates by their deeds) the attributes of God to the people that they visit

• Manifests (demonstrates) the creative power of the Word of God to transform both individuals and society

Every time I learned a little more about progressive revelation, I found myself wanting to dig deeper and deeper into its operation and significance. All these elements entered into my mind as I started this study. I decided to reread Baha’i holy writings, the holy writings of other faiths, and the history of humankind to explore the relationship between religion and the advancement of unity and civilization down through the ages.

Having grown up and matured in Christian churches, I appreciated the importance of Jesus Christ’s teaching for the individual. However, I was relatively ignorant of the importance of Jesus Christ’s teaching for society in general, and as a result, when I started my personal research and investigation, it took me some time and effort to begin to understand and internalize the importance of religion as a means to develop a long line of ever-improving societies that will eventually provide peace and prosperity for everyone.

It was during the latter part of that process that I decided that I would like to write a book that might help other people to understand and appreciate, what for me, was a new purpose of religion. At this point, I feel the need to provide a small caveat. First of all, this is not a definitive defense of the Baha’i Faith. Instead, I view this book more has an essay, albeit a long essay, that tries to explain how and why human and humankind have progressed down through the ages. To meet this objective I have used Baha’i holy writings to interpret and come to a better understanding of important events which I found in history books almost exclusively written by non-Baha’i historians. Obviously, others may disagree with my judgments and the conclusions that I have drawn.

Two final points:

My search for knowledge and a better understanding about where this world is going is not over. I have added an Epilogue, which includes links to a website entitled: whatcomesafternations.com. It is my hope that you will want to continue this discussion in My blog where you can contact me and others with your comments and suggestions.

I hope that you will find the experience of reading this essay as interesting and fascinating as I have had in writing it; and by the way, throughout all the text, all underlining is mine.

Bon voyage!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As a first-time author, there are so many people who I am anxious to acknowledge for their contributions and support that enabled me to write this essay:

First of all, my thanks go to Farkhonde Edwards who introduced me to the Baha’i Faith, becoming my tutor and spiritual mother, even though she is much younger.

My gratitude also goes to Carole Vartanian for her editing of the early drafts of this essay; to Happy and Rason Dobbs, who when I ran into a stumbling block, were always ready and able to help me find a needed Baha’i reference; and finally, to Amy Lee who did her best to teach me about the proper use of comas, colons, semi-colons and the wonderful world of punctuation, where one size does not fit all.

I am especially indebted to Dr. John Hatcher, Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida, for his insightful comments that energized me to rethink my objectives, which in turn led me to rewrite some sections, and make much-needed additions.

I am particularly grateful to Dr. Dewitt Plaitt, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University, for changes and suggestions that helped me to speak to a broader audience, and for suggesting the title of this book.

My thanks to Martha Schweitz, reviewer extraordinaire, in the US Baha’i Review Office, whose patience, comments, suggestions and corrections enhanced the writing of this essay into an even more exciting and enlightening experience

And most of all my thanks go to Carole Garver, my best friend, the most important person in my life, my wife for 32 years.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1     Why and How Civilizations Continually Progress

Chapter 2     Adam and The Age of Prophesy

Chapter 3     Three Religions in the East

Chapter 4     The First 3 Abrahamic Religions

Chapter 5     The Bab: Gateway to The Age of Fulfillment

Chapter 6     Baha’u’llah and the Baha’i Faith

Chapter 7     The Next 1,000 Years

Epilogue

List of Appendices

References

CHAPTER 1

Why and How Civilizations Continually Progress

Were You Thinking That the Era of Sovereign Nations Would Go on Forever?

We have been living in this era of nations and secular governments for so long that you might conclude that nations have always existed and will exist forever with their national sovereignty intact. Not so!

The concept of a nation was born a little over 1,000 years ago, matured in the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming dominate in the 20th century. Going way back in time, a family, consisting of a mother and father and children, was probably the basic building block during our ancestor’s existence in cave man times, then at various times in various places, the breadth of unity expanded as families united into tribes, tribes into villages, thence cities, eventually becoming part of empires, and then nations. All of which raises the question: Were all of those changes just a bunch of random events haphazardly occurring at different times in different places, or was there an evolving process down through the eons that got us to the point where we are today?

Along with our evolving social order, humans also have evolved to the noble creatures that now inhabit all the livable continents here on planet earth. Archaeologists and scientists have found overwhelming evidence that about 3 million years ago in northern Africa, our ancestors stood up and habitually started to walk around on our two hind legs. Archaeologists have given the name Lucy to the bones that remain from that earliest identified hominoid. What is equally amazing is that Lucy was only about four foot tall, which raises the question: What were her ancestors like before she decided to stand up?

An alternate title for this essay might have included not only nations but nationalism. When I use the word nation I am referring to an autonomous region, sovereign within its recognized boundary, which is just a line drawn in the sand by man, inhabited with people who generally have a common culture, language, history, and willingly agree to abide by the laws of the land. And when I use the word nationalism I am thinking of the emotion and sense of loyalty that citizens feel toward their country, which is quite often accompanied by the belief that it is better and more important than other nations. Additionally, throughout this essay, when I use the word civilization, I’m thinking of an organized society with a comparatively high level of cultural and technological development, with an appreciation of art, science, writing, reading, and keeping written records.

In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., one of the founding fathers of the American Navy, after a resounding and victorious battle off the Barbary Coast, coined the following phrase to express his loyalty to the United States: Our country! In her intercourse with other nations, may she always be in the right: but our country, right or wrong. Since then, many have shortened it to; My country, right or wrong, my country.

Nationalism is a two edged sword; on one hand it can bind us together with a sense of unity, but on the other, it can separate us from people in other nations and become a source of dispute and war between nations.

This essay is:

• Not a history book: but you will read about important historical events,

• Not a book about the debate between creationists and evolutionists: but you will read about how and why both humans and humankind have evolved in a manner that you probably have not thought about,

• Not a science book: but you will read about the invention of science and its influence on humankind’s development,

• Not a book on ecumenicalism: but you will read about the relationship among Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroasterism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith.

• Not about collecting a lot of facts in order to prove a theory: for some theories are unprovable,

• Not a book about the past, nor the future: but about now with a better understanding of the past, and a new perspective for the future.

Up until 1844, it was generally recognized that while, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zorasterism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had many similarities and teachings, essentially they were separate and stand-alone religions. I can imagine a room with a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim standing there, each one looking at the other two and thinking that he can get along without the other two religions, and if they were to disappear he would not be any worse off: however, the Baha’i Faith brought a new teaching called Progressive Revelation which gives religion a history.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Trade Towers, this nation was quick to criticize our intelligence community and insisted that they find a way to protect us from terrorism. To their credit, they developed a process, albeit with flaws, to interpret and analyze seemingly unconnected actions to predict possible terrorist threats. While this process has its detractors, a new phrase entered into our national vocabulary: Connecting the dots.

Previously no astute religious scholar or historian had ever analyzed all the information readily available in history books, connected the dots, and identified the similarities and developed a theory about the connectivity of God’s Revealed Religions. In this essay, using Baha’i teachings as a foundation, I have searched through 100s of history books, written by non-Baha’i authors, and found 46 which contained 126 relevant references to collect information that was always there, and connected the dots.

Understanding the Grand Design

The Baha’i Faith is a world religion whose purpose

is to unite the diverse peoples of the world into

one universal cause and one common Faith. ¹

From my perspective as a Baha’i, I have come to understand that Progressive Revelation is the grand design, the grand strategy, the divinely ordained process, that from the beginning that hath no beginning, has as its purpose, the guiding and training of humans to enable us to develop God’s Kingdom on Earth. Humans will continue, for ever and ever, to develop our spirituality, both here on earth and in the spiritual domains; however, in the collective sense, the development of God’s Kingdom on Earth represents the ultimate and highest level of society here on planet earth.

In its essence, Progressive Revelation is the Divinely Ordained Process that God uses to educate and guide humans, so that with our free will, we will choose to follow God’s Will. Each Manifestation of God (Moses, Jesus, and Others) brings a two part message, the first, eternal and unchanging, reminds us that God loves us and asks that we love and worship Him, the second, tailored to fit the times and conditions of the people, guides us to advance our personal development, the cause of unity, and the advance of civilization.

Each revelation is progressive and God’s Manifestations can be likened to teachers in schools. While a teacher in second grade may teach arithmetic so that the students can learn to add, subtract, mulitiply, and divide, that does not mean that the teacher does not know about trigonometry and geometry, but that the teacher knows that if those advanced subjects were brought up it would only lead to confusion and bewilderment; a later teacher will guide them to learn those advanced subjects when they have grown and have the ability to comprehend them. So too, down through the ages, each of God’s Manifestions have revealed more of God’s Will, tailored to fit the conditions of people and yet advancing the cause of God.

We Baha’is are followers of Baha’u’llah, a title meaning the Glory of God, whom we believe is the Promised One of All Ages. We believe that He fulfills the prophecies of the revealed religions that speak of a time when peace, harmony, and prosperity will be established for all peoples on earth.

That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error.²

We Baha’is believe that God is unknowable in His Essence and that He is the Ordainer and Creator of all things including the heavens and the earth with all of its minerals, vegetation, animals, and humans. Baha’u’llah reveals to us that we were created out of God’s love:

O SON OF MAN! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love me that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life. ³

Even though God is beyond our understanding, He demonstrates His love through His Ancient and Eternal Covenant with humankind. In His Covenant, God stated that He would never leave humankind alone and that He would send a Prophet or Teacher with unerring guidance to lead the people so that we might come closer to Him. As our part of the Covenant we are counseled to recognize and follow the guidance given to us by His divine Teachers.

Whenever we stray too far from His Teachings, God sends a Manifestation of Himself to guide us to return and once again follow His Will and Teachings. Thus, when we respond to these Manifestations, we are responding to the call of God. These Manifestations first appeared long before recorded history to guide humankind to advance the Cause of God and to live a life according to the Will of God.⁴

Our forefathers lived in the Adamic Age or Age of Prophecy which started with Adam. During the Adamic Age, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad are the most familiar Manifestations in the Western World, and Krishna, Buddha, and Zoroaster, are the most familiar Manifestations in the Eastern World. The Age of Prophesy came to its conclusion with Muhammad, who was the Seal (or End) of the Prophets.⁵,⁶

Muhammad’s dispensation ended in 1844 when the Bab (the Gate) announced the beginning of His Dispensation and the beginning of the Age of Fulfillment (the time when prophesies will be fulfilled). His role was to prepare the way for Baha’u’llah, who fulfilled prophesies of the previous Manifestations and guides us to the next, last, and final stage in the development of civilization; that being an age of worldwide peace, harmony, and prosperity for all of humankind. ⁷

Baha’u’llah brought the message that "… The purpose of the religion of God is the education of humanity and the unity and fellowship of mankind".⁸ It is this ever-expanding unity and fellowship that has provided the basis for the advancement of civilization down through the ages. Broader and broader levels of unity have developed and go hand-in-hand with the progression of more advanced civilizations. The first and smallest level of unity was probably in the Paleolithic Age (a.k.a. The Stone Age) when a caveman, a woman, and a child first came together to form a family. The next probable advancement came when a few families bonded together to form a tribe, thence a few tribes came together in a village, thence small cities, thence an empire, thence nations, and now the time for unity at the worldwide level has appeared before our eyes.

This clearly is only a very brief introduction to the Baha’i Faith and Progressive Revelation. For more information, I suggest a short fifteen minute side trip to Appendix II; in addition, there are many excellent introductions to the Baha’i faith, two of which are listed in the references for this chapter.⁹,¹⁰

The Baha’i world view is audacious, comprehensive, and detailed. In the following statement Baha’u’llah asserts:

The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God’s holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife. The religion of God and His divine law are the most potent instruments and the surest of all means for the dawning of the light of unity amongst men. The progress of the world, the development of nations, the tranquility of peoples, and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances of God.¹¹

My approach to deepen my understanding of this Baha’i teaching included investigating what historians have discovered and written about the times surrounding the arrival of six of God’s Manifestations. One of the key tenets of Baha’i teachings is that humans do not grow materially, intellectually, and morally based only on our own intellect and physical strength. We are in need of a Divine Teacher who provides new knowledge for our growth.

…in the kingdoms of earth and heaven there must needs be manifested a Being, an Essence Who shall act as a Manifestation and Vehicle for the transmission of the grace of the Divinity Itself, the Sovereign Lord of all. Through the Teachings of this Day Star of Truth every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hath been endowed. It is for this very purpose that in every age and dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men, and have evinced such power as is born of God and such might as only the Eternal can reveal.¹²

The same applies to the collective when we consider humankind as a whole. The movement toward civilizations has not been a linear and steady process but instead marked by abrupt and periodic revolutionary changes that advance humankind to ever-broadening levels of unity and material well-being. I believe that the most important advances came about when Manifestations of God revealed to humankind, the Word of God with all of its creative power and energy.

I started my investigation with the religions most familiar in the East (Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism), followed by those religions most familiar in the West (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), and finished with Baha’u’llah’s vision and teachings for worldwide unity, peace, and prosperity for all humankind. In each case I followed the same general procedure of first reviewing the world before the arrival of God’s Manifestation, then summarizing His teachings, and finally, finishing with a review of how the world changed afterwards.

I have purposefully used the phrase establishing God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven as a reference to the Lord’s Prayer. ¹³ I had recited the Lord’s Prayer in numbers uncountable and never really came close to understanding its meaning. It was my experience in Christian congregations that few members talked about the return of Jesus Christ; and the ones who talked about it were usually those who chose a literal interpretation of the many prophesies that Jesus Christ made about His return. I found it difficult to believe and understand that such events like stars falling on the earth would literally occur;¹⁴ after all, our sun is a rather small star that is a blazing inferno powered by a nuclear furnace; how can we literally believe that numerous stars will fall on our puny earth?

It was only after I became a Baha’i that I began to understand the beauty and magnificence of Jesus Christ’s teachings and prophecies; and it turned out that the traditions of God’s other religions contain similar and numerous references to the end of time and the coming of peace, prosperity, and harmony.

Progressive Revelation: A Key to Understanding the Baha’i Faith

Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it.¹⁵

No matter how often I contemplate this quote made by Baha’u’llah in the 1800s, I find that it takes a leap of my faith to try to understand its magnificence and true significance. Why are these great days? In these early days of the 21st century, there are so many examples of humanity’s inability to live in peace in an increasingly dangerous world. When you think about seemingly random terrorist acts around the world, the increasing threat of nuclear terror by rogue nations, the impending environmental disaster brought on by global climate change, the corruption and greed at the highest levels of previously powerful and respected institutions and governments, it would seem to be more logical to believe that humankind is in the process of committing collective suicide.

And these events in the 21st century sometimes seem to pale when compared to 20th century events, which brought us human-made disasters such as World War I, with eight million killed including almost an entire generation of young European men, the economic foundation of Europe destroyed, and then World War II with sixty to eighty million killed, including eight million in the Jewish Holocaust and over 150,000 vaporized in the blink of an eye at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is reasonable for a sane person to