Scholarly Studies

This study of Bahá’u’lláh’s Súrih of the Temple is intended to provide the reader with tools to gain insight into the complex symbols and structure that underlie any attempt at interpreting the meaning and purpose of this critical work. To this end, Hatcher unravels the major symbols employed by Bahá’u’lláh, and explains the challenging framework whereby complex matter has been framed by Him into a dialogue between Himself, as He lies imprisoned in the Siyáh-Chál, and the Holy Spirit, personified as the Maid of Heaven.

Religion and Science in the Globalized World explores contemporary trends in religion, science, and globalization from a Bahá’í perspective. It is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to Bahá’í approaches to various aspects of globalization. It includes the following chapters: “Global Constitutionalism” by Graham Hassall; “Globalization—The Tangible Expression of Humanity’s Journey Towards Unity” by Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing; “Building a Just and Sustainable Global Food System: Some Guiding Principles” by Paul Hanley; “How Can We All Get Along?—A Bahá’í Perspective on Globalization” by Harold Rosen; and “Globalization Requires a Bahá’í Foundation” by Hooshmand Badee.

The book’s second part focuses on different issues within the domains of natural and social sciences. The chapters included are as follows: “A Bahá’í View of Human Rights” by Peter Smith; “Prophetic Revelation and Sociocultural Evolution: Some Scientific Perspectives” by Harry P.Massoth and Marilu Jeno; “Plato, Modern Physics, and Bahá’u’lláh” by Vahid Ranjbar; “Iterative Theology: Progressive Revelation as the String Theory of Religious Studies” by Andres Elvira Espinoza; and “The Issue of Self-Identity in Transhumanism and the Bahá’í Writings” by Mikhail Sergeev. The volume ends with two chronologies of articles and books numerous Bahá’í authors wrote on globalization and science from the second half of the twentieth century up to the present day.

This book highlights one element in the trilogy of unity, justice and peace that arguably sits at the core of Bahá’í beliefs, through an analysis of the relevant texts of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. By bringing the texts into sharper focus, rather than privileging the sociological or even the historical, it is hoped that the various ideological components of the concept of peace in the Bahá’í religion will be brought to sharper relief under a different light. The study explores the logical, anthropological and ethical extensions of the key theme of peace as it moved from one stage to another in the development of a young religion heavily invested in the world.

Framed as a contribution to intellectual history, the question ultimately addressed is: what kind of peace, human nature and general morality did the key authors envisage when they made some of their weightiest proclamations on peace?

In the West, epistemological studies from a Bahá’í perspective started in 1978 with the publication of Jack McLean’s essay “The Knowledge of God: An Essay on Bahá’í Epistemology.” Since then, Bahá’í thinkers have addressed different aspects of epistemological research. They discussed the independent search for truth, the standards of knowledge, the problems of certainty and relativity, infallibility, and interpretation, as well as mystical experience. All those topics are explored in-depth in corresponding chapters of the book.

This volume includes contributions by Michael Karlberg, Jean-Marc Lepain, Jack McLean, Julio Savi, Mikhail Sergeev, Todd Smith, Peter Terry, and the late William Hatcher.

A far-reaching account of what is meant by the human spirit, and its relevance to the worldwide efforts being made to meet the challenges that define this historical moment. The unique perspectives contained in the Bahá’í writings are explored alongside the rich diversity of other philosophical, epistemic, and moral traditions that have contributed to our understanding of the nature and needs of the human spirit over the ages.

Prepared by the Research Department, this compilation about the Universal House of Justice comprises extracts from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Writings and Utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the writings and letters of Shoghi Effendi. Also included are excerpts from the Constitution of the Universal House of Justice as well as from the messages of the House of Justice and letters written on its behalf. The extracts compiled here touch on subjects such as the establishment of the House of Justice, its relationship to the institution of the Guardianship, its infallibility and authority, and its functions and responsibilities.

It is particularly befitting that the release of this compilation comes shortly before the one hundredth anniversary of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and of the inauguration of the Administrative Order.

This book draws on the story of the "watchman" told by Bahá’u’lláh in The Seven Valleys to describe the author’s own life journey, seeking meaning in life and at last finding it in the Bahá’í Faith. In parallel, it also presents the science of neurocardiology and how it has reestablished the importance of the heart for mental, emotional and physical well-being. Dr Klebel writes that the underlying unity of a person encompasses both the heart and the brain. The heart expresses itself through feelings, often today referred as "emotional intelligence." We know about the heart’s decisions and conclusions only when they become conscious in the brain.

This book concludes Earl Redman’s trilogy about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as seen through the eyes of the pilgrims and other visitors to ‘Akká and Haifa and those who met Him in Europe and America. While Volume 1 of Visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá covered the years from 1897 to 1911, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels between 1910 and 1913 are described in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst. This volume begins with the Master’s return to Haifa in 1913 and ends with His passing in 1921.

Two hundred years from the birth of the Báb, this volume offers a unique, wide-ranging exploration of the life and legacy of the Báb, the Bábí community of Iran, and the origins of the Bahá'í Faith.