Dear Friends,
I think Comenius' plan for a
democratic world government is the most brilliant plan to reform government, any
and all forms of government, ever devised. This opinion often raises the
hackles of my fellow Baha'is, who in my opinion have mixed their
(mis)understanding of politics in with their religious beliefs. When I say,
"There is no Baha'i peace plan, so there is no problem when I say that
that of Comenius is the best put forth so far," they get all upset. But
consider, the Book of Baha'u'llah's covenant starts off with this unequivocal
declaration:
"ALTHOUGH the Realm of Glory
hath none of the vanities of the world, yet within the treasury of trust and
resignation We have bequeathed to Our heirs an excellent and priceless
Heritage. Earthly treasures We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such
cares as they entail." (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TB/tb-16.html)
Lest there be any misunderstanding
that His message is at all political, Baha'u'llah goes on to declare:
"O ye the loved ones and the
trustees of God! Kings are the manifestations of the power, and the daysprings
of the might and riches, of God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath invested them
with the rulership of the earth and hath singled out the hearts of men as His
Own domain."
So, when it comes to politics, the
duty of a Baha'i is not to put forward some alternative plan to replace any
government, local, national or world, but to stand back and pray. We are
concerned, and love and pray for them, but we do not lift a finger to interfere
in their affairs.
This policy, by the way, is
identical with the Christian position, as laid out by Paul, that "the
powers that be are ordained of God." (Rom 13:1) Comenius himself broke
this teaching and paid a bitter price when most of his unpublished writings
were burned at the order of a Polish king against whom he had spoken out.
Later, in his letter to a peace conference, Comenius invoked this "powers
that be" ordinance, admonishing them not to set royalism against aristocracy
against democracy, but to accept all forms of government as "ordained of
God" and live together without rivalry or subversion. How much blood and treasure would have been saved had politicos paid
attention to this!
When I started on the work that
ended in this book, the questions came in. I blogged the following exchange,
from a blog entry made in 2010
(http://badiblog.blogspot.ca/2010/04/ridvan-ensaf-and-gods-peace-plan_22.html):
Let me close with a frank email
exchange that I recently had with a rather conventionally-minded believer about
the book I am writing. They wrote:
"There is something I saw in
this blog and in others you have written which disturbs me somewhat. You state that the world government proposed
by Comenius "is the most insightful and appealing plan for a world
government ever devised." Where does it leave the plan for world
government which Baha'u'llah gave us now stand in your opinion? It sometimes
seems to me that you have supplanted the Baha'i Faith in your book by idolizing
Comenius..."
JET: Dear ----,
My book, People without Borders
[now, Beyond Borders], will be a work of political science, which as you know,
the Guardian encouraged young Baha'is to study. I am comparing Comenius's
design of a world government with other plans made up by world federalists and
political scientists. I would not
compare the Plan of God to what any man has thought up, if only because nobody
knows how God's inscrutable Plan will play out.
When Baha'is speak of the Plan we do
not refer to any detailed plan for a world government, since we are
non-political. The Guardian was emphatic that we not advocate any scheme for a
world government, nor are we to put forward a political platform. Nor did
Baha'u'llah try to make up any detailed design of a world government, although
He did advocate the attempt -- but he made it clear that it was to be done by
kings and leaders, not by Baha'is. He forbids such meddling by His followers in
the Kitab-i-Ahd.
Besides, since Comenius's plan is
based on Biblical teaching, I'd say that his plan is to a large extent God's
plan, and that he would presumably have submitted to Baha'u'llah had he lived a
few centuries later. I am intentionally not mentioning Baha'i in this book, for
several reasons. I may follow it with a book that does, I certainly have lots
of material.
Thank you for reading along, and
feel free to mention any further problems that occur to you.
Response: "Dear John, Thanks
very much for your clarification. That will certainly help me to understand
your future essays."
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