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The Imperishable Dominion : The Baha'i Faith and the Future of Mankind

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As a chief prosecutor in a District Court in Germany, Dr. Schaefer is confronted daily with social upheaval, the disintegration of our value system and the moral decay of society. He believes that our crisis is due to our loss of purpose in life and the loss of the highest values and agrees with Erich Fromm and Daniel Bell who state that mankind has no future unless it acquires a new religious consciousness. The teachings of all religions claim that man has both his origin and destiny in God; man is a citizen of two worlds - one immanent and the other transcendent. Ethics has always had its basis in religion. Religion defines priorities and translates values into standards of behavior and by educating the younger generation keeps those values alive in the consciousness of society. Without a religious base, moral conduct and values, without which society cannot be stable, are degraded to the point where they are no longer believed and may even be criticized or negated.

That religion is necessary and indispensable to both the individual and society helps us to understand the problem. In terms of the solution, the author believes that man has only one choice; a new world view on solidarity and brotherly commitment that integrates all peoples and all nations into a unified whole. But the great religions, encumbered by claims of being the sole possessor of the truth and burdened by their history of conflict and rivalry, are not capable of creating such a unifying idea. How can they convince the world that it should unify when they themselves are so fragmented and fail to be united even though the common thread of all religions is "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"? Either the established religions must have the renewing power to break out of their rigid forms, return to the simple truths of their founders and overcome skepticism caused largely by the religious leaders themselves or something new must fill the vacuum.

Referring to religious texts, Schaefer tells us about progressive revelation and the unity of religions starting 6000 years ago with Adam. The Qur'an reports that God sent messengers to all peoples and that He made known His will and His truth through them. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ, Muhammed are the central figures of the Adamic cycle. Every single one of these manifestations introduced teachings and commandments that were the ultimate moral standard both for the individual and for the society of the particular culture. All religions are included in the history of religious salvation; all have their origin in God but are different reflections of the same truth. Religion is not static but dynamic. With each revelation a new force is released into the world which transforms and integrates, creating a new kind of person, a new order, a new culture. Every revelation gives mankind a new impulse but it is used up, because religion, like all living things, is subject to deterioration; a new outpouring of the spirit and a renewal of the religion of God are necessary from age to age. Man's receptivity and spiritual comprehensions differ from age to age and divine revelation takes this into account. Just as we cannot accept the full sun all at once, so man could not accept God's complete truth in a single revelation. Every age requires a fresh measure of the light of God; every divine revelation has been sent in a manner befitting the circumstances of the age in which it appeared.

All religions expect a promised one and the concept of a herald who precedes the world savior is also quite common. Many calculated the day of return to be around 1850 and gathered in the Middle East to greet the returning king but there was great disappointment when Christ did not reappear as expected. These Messianic expectations were not only rampant in Christianity but also in Judaism and Islam. In the city of Shiraz in Southern Persia a 25-year-old merchant of the name of Ali Muhammad declared himself the awaited herald, and assumed the spiritual name of the "Bab" meaning the "Gate". This marked the birth of the Bahai Revelation, the pivotal points of which are the belief in a progressive, recurring divine revelation and the unity of all religions. Much opposition was aroused within the established clergy leading to 20,000 martyrs dying in the bloody persecution that followed. Baha'u'llah, the central figure of the Bahai faith, was banished to Baghdad in 1852 because he was a follower of the Bab and in 1863 he revealed himself as the promised One of all religions.

This book certainly gives the reader who is open to the concept of progressive revelation and the unity of religions much food for thought.

I've always wanted to leave a feedback of this book. But, I always fear that I may not give it enough credit that it deserves.

Without exaggeration, I have read this book more than 20 times from 1989 until now (2008). Not because it is difficult to understand; but every time I read it, I learn something new and I could never have enough of it. It has a wealth of information from philosophers such as Socrates, Nietzsche, Kant, Hegel and Marx to religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahai Faith -all in one compact book.

While all these conflicting philosophical ideologies battle with each other, all religions teach the same faith. In the end, the religions leave tremendous influence on the people while the philosophies only remain on books.

Every one that had borrowed this book from me, never returned it -forcing me to buy another copy each time. I wish there was a hardcover of this book.

Udo Schaefer is a visionary and futuristic writer. Only future generations will adequately admire his analysis of our times and his vista that stretch from the ancient times to future generations.

The debate on the role of religion in modern society has been raging for a long time now, and appears to have come to a deadlock between the theistic and atheistic viewpoints. Only new perspectives and fresh ideas can break this deadlock, and I think this book is just the thing to do so. The reading can be a little heavy, and often assumes the reader has a strong background in western thought. However, it is well worth the effort.

The Imperishable Dominion gives an incredible analysis of the present world institutions. And gives great insights for the renewal of our society.