verywhere.
At such a time as this Baha'u'llah appeared upon the divine horizon, even
as the glory of the sun, and in that gross darkness and hopelessness of
the human world there shone a great light. He founded the oneness of the
world of humanity, declaring that all mankind are as sheep and that God is
the real and true Shepherd. The Shepherd is one, and all people are of His
flock.

The world of humanity is one, and God is equally kind to all. What, then,
is the source of unkindness and hatred in the human world? This real
Shepherd loves all His sheep. He leads them in green pastures. He rears
and protects them. What, then, is the source of enmity and alienation
among humankind? Whence this conflict and strife? The real underlying
cause is lack of religious unity and association, for in each of the great
religions we find superstition, blind imitation of creeds, and theological
formulas adhered to instead of the divine fundamentals, causing difference
and divergence among mankind instead of agreement and fellowship.
Consequently, strife, hatred and warfare have arisen, based upon this
divergence and separation. If we investigate the foundations of the divine
religions, we find them to be one, absolutely changeless and never subject
to transformation. For example, each of the divine religions contains two
kinds of laws or ordinances. One division concerns the world of morality
and ethical institutions. These are the essential ordinances. They instill
and awaken the knowledge and love of God, love for humanity, the virtues
of the world of mankind, the attributes of the divine Kingdom, rebirth and
resurrection from the kingdom of nature. These constitute one kind of
divine law which is common to all and never subject to change. From the
dawn of the Adamic cycle to the present day this fundamental law of God
has continued changeless. This is the foundation of divine religion.

The second division comprises laws and institutions which provide for
human needs and conditions according to exigencies of time and place.
These are accidental, of no essential importance and should never have
been made the cause and source of human contention. For example, during
the time of Moses--upon Him be peace!--according to the exigencies of that
period, divorce was permissible. During the cycle of Christ, inasmuch as
divorce was not in conformity with the time and conditions, Jesus Christ
abrogated it. In the cycle of Moses plurality of wi