The World of the Bahá'í Faith
Comprehensive, current, and authoritative, The World of the Bahá'í Faith, a Routledge Worlds book and ebook is an outstanding reference for all levels of Bahá'í studies. This 650-page volume, with sections written by over two dozen authors, is edited by Robert H. Stockman, Director of the Wilmette Institute for the Study of the Bahá’í Faith, and an instructor at Indiana University South Bend.
Local author/translator/speaker Steven Phelps, with a PhD in physics, is included, with entries on “The Writings of the Bahá'u'lláh” and “The Harmony of Science and Religion.”
In “Overview : the Central Figures, the Institutions of the Bahá'í Faith, and the Covenant” Shahin Vafai introduces the stupendous claim of “The Báb”, meaning “the Gate” in Arabic.
“In the 1840s, the Báb, a merchant in His twenties, advanced the twofold claim of being the Mouthpiece of God on earth and the Herald of One greater than Himself. As to the former claim, He asserted that He was a Prophet or ‘Manifestation of God,’ like Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and other Founders of the world’s great religions.”
Vafai continues with a brief overview of the life and Divine Mission of Bahá'u'llah (‘the Glory of God’). Bahá'u'llah was tortured, imprisoned, and exiled from His native land for 40 years because of being a follower of the Báb. He received His own revelation of God’s Will for Himself as a Manifestation of God, and despite all, steadfastly wrote the Bahá'í scriptures that are the foundation of the Faith. About eight million Bahá'ís, in over 100,000 localities, now follow these Writings as their guidance for their personal life and their service to the betterment of the world.
The book is available in the Washington County library system, as well as on Amazon.