Too much proselytizing and fundraising

Timothy Mulligan posted the following message on the alt.religion.bahai discussion group explaining the reasons why he resigned his membership in the Baha'i Faith and rejected the religion of Baha'ism. One of the most important reasons he mentions is that "the Baha'i Faith is the religious equivalent of AmWay."

Subject: Why I left (expanded version)
From: Timothy Mulligan
Date: Aug 13 1998
URL: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.religion.bahai/msg/abe4a4380bb8bb5a?hl=en

Well, it's been a year since I left the Baha'i Faith after having been a member for only several months. I thought I would commemorate the return of my membership card by recounting why I left.

First, let me say that, with hindsight, I can't imagine why I ever joined the faith. I had sworn off religion, but something in the advance literature (the pamphlets, the introductory books) seemed to superficially allay concerns I had that the multiplicity of religions signaled their invalidity. I thought to myself, "Here at last is a tolerant religion that reconciles the differences. They say they don't proselytize, and they affirm the truth of all the great religions." I had some lingering doubts, especially regarding the inclusion of Buddha, a man who refused to discuss metaphysics and who described Brahman as deluded about his divinity, as a Manifestation of God. Also, the Baha'i exegesis of the New Testament was tortured to say the least. But I jumped in anyway.

When I got to participate in actual feasts as a declared Baha'i, the picture changed. There was almost zero attention paid to the spiritual formation of members, especially new members. The unrelenting focus was on getting new members. The hackneyed phrase "entry by troops" was mindlessly and continuously repeated like a mantra. A goal was set by my state's Bahai's on the number of firesides to be held by Baha'u'llah's birthday. This rapacious attitude turned my stomach, reminding me of Jehovah's Witnesses. I thought the Baha'i Faith was tolerant toward other religions. Didn't this push for conversions imply intolerance?

For this reason, I looked forward to my first attendance at a "deepening." I thought, "Now at last I'll find some spiritual substance." What did I find at the deepening? A videotape of a Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly meeting, where every speaker to a man went on and on about getting new members.

Oh, how could I forget those memorable feasts where a tape recorded message would be played, usually, of course, on the subject either of getting new members or contributing to the Baha'i Funds. I felt like I was one of Charlie's Angels. (Can't you just imagine Bob Henderson, lounging by the pool, sipping a (non-alcoholic) drink and dictating to the tape recorder?)

I thought to myself: Are these people crazy? How in the world can they expect to keep the new members that they do recruit if all that the new members will encounter upon joining is an incessant demand to "teach" and get new members? Oh, and that's another thing. I have to laugh when I think back to what the "advance" literature said about Baha'is not proselytizing. I discovered, alas too late, that there is a particular and peculiar Baha'i definition of "proselytize," which means "to convert by force or threats." Oh, I see. So the happy-talk about not proselytizing meant, "Hey folks! We don't convert by force!" Wow. What an enticement. I found out that instead, Baha'is "teach." That's like saying, "I didn't abort my child. I terminated a pregnancy."

In short, I found that the Baha'i Faith was the religious equivalent of AmWay.

Then of course I found that lots of little omissions had been made in introductory literature. They don't tell you how many wives Baha'u'llah had. Or that he was a midget (see my other post dated today). Okay, that's not fair (although it's true -- didn't you know that you were praying to a midget?). One "teaching" book by Gary Matthews lauds the perspicacity of Baha'u'llah in writing that "every star hath its planets," omitting that he says immediately thereafter "and every planet its creatures." Stuff like that began to burn my ass big time.

Contradictions began to emerge. I compared the "Tablet of the True Seeker" in the Kitab-i-Iqan, which enjoins the independent investigation of truth, with the dire, shrill threats hurled at unbelievers in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and could only shake my head in wonder. There was so much explaining and back-filling in Baha'i propaganda. For example, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah says that men can have two wives. Later, Abdul Baha says that this meant men could only have one wife. Let the mind games begin!

Anyway, it quickly dawned on me that this religion was going nowhere fast. Its stated objective of becoming a world religion and establishing a world Baha'i government is ludicrous. It will never happen. The early Christians expected Jesus (the real Jesus, not Baha'u'llah-as-Jesus) to come back during their lifetimes; they were wrong, and they're still waiting. Now the Bahai's are waiting for entry by troops, the collapse of world civilization, and the triumphant takeover of the world by Bahai's. It's not happening. I don't care how many times Abdul Baha appears. In any case, he's got lots of competition from the Virgin Mary, the Ascended Masters, and little gray aliens.

That brings me to a little metaphysical speculation. I'm sure there have been apparitions of Abdul Baha, as well as amazing synchronicities that Baha'is call "confirmations." But, folks, phenomena like this are reported in all religions and spiritual paths. The world is awash in reports of these types of things. Moreover, there has been a gang of self-proclaimed god-men even in this century, from Reverend Moon to Adi Da, each with their fanatical followers willing to follow the leader all the way to martyrdom. This world, and the spiritual world, is a very complicated and diverse place. In ways that we don't fully understand, human beings can tap into spiritual realities and develop very real psychic powers. In Hinduism, these are called "siddhis," and they've been documented for several thousand years. They are not proof that those possessed of them are worthy of worship. In fact, the spiritual literature warns about the ego-inflation that can result from their exercise. It seems to me that Baha'u'llah didn't heed that warning.

Anyway, I finally decided that I had to return my membership card to Bob Henderson. Bob, if you're reading this, I wish you all the best. I assure you that I will continue to wash my feet every day, not only in the summer, but all year round. And don't forget: ENTRY BY TROOPS! ENTRY BY TROOPS!

Tim Mulligan
tmulli...@central.uh.edu

Former Baha'is and Ex-Baha'i Christians: Selected Testimonials

Bahai-Faith.com -- The Baha'i Faith: An Ex-Baha'i Christian View

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