ronouncements,
that addressed to Queen Victoria(83) and another to the "Rulers of America
and the Presidents of the Republics therein." The former praises the
pioneering achievement represented by the abolition of slavery throughout
the British Empire, and commends the principle of representative
government. The latter, which opens with the announcement of the Day of
God, concludes with a summons, a virtual mandate, that has no parallel in
any of the other messages: "Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice,
and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments
of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise."(84)

RELIGION AS LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Baha'u'llah's severest condemnation is reserved for the barriers which,
throughout history, organized religion has erected between humanity and
the Revelations of God. Dogmas, inspired by popular superstition and
perfected by misspent intelligence, have repeatedly been imposed on a
Divine process whose purpose has at all times been spiritual and moral.
Laws of social interaction, revealed for the purpose of consolidating
community life, have been made the basis for structures of arcane doctrine
and practice which have burdened the masses whose benefit they were
supposed to serve. Even the exercise of intellect, the chief tool
possessed by the human race, has been deliberately hampered, producing an
eventual breakdown in the dialogue between faith and science upon which
civilized life depends.

The consequence of this sorry record is the worldwide disrepute into which
religion has fallen. Worse, organized religion has become itself a most
virulent cause of hatred and warfare among the peoples of the world.
"Religious fanaticism and hatred," Baha'u'llah warned over a century ago,
"are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of
Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating
affliction."(85)

Those whom God will hold responsible for this tragedy, Baha'u'llah says,
are humanity's religious leaders, who have presumed to speak for Him
throughout history. Their attempts to make the Word of God a private
preserve, and its exposition a means for personal aggrandizement, have
been the greatest single handicap against which the advancement of
civilization has struggled. In the pursuit of their ends, many of them
have not hesitated to raise their hands against the Messengers of God
themselves, at their advent:

Leaders