nd the purpose
of God, which is love and the blending of human hearts, would be
accomplished. According to His teachings if religious belief proves to be
the cause of discord and dissension, its absence would be preferable; for
religion was intended to be the divine remedy and panacea for the ailments
of humanity, the healing balm for the wounds of mankind. If its
misapprehension and defilement have brought about warfare and bloodshed
instead of remedy and cure, the world would be better under irreligious
conditions.

Baha'u'llah especially emphasized international peace. He declared that
all mankind is the one progeny of Adam and members of one great universal
family. If the various races and distinct types of mankind had each
proceeded from a different original paternity--in other words, if we had
two or more Adams for our human fathers--there might be reasonable ground
for difference and divergence in humanity today; but inasmuch as we belong
to one progeny and one family, all names which seek to differentiate and
distinguish mankind as Italian, German, French, Russian and so on are
without significance and sanction. We are all human, all servants of God
and all come from Mr. Adam's family. Why, then, all these fallacious
national and racial distinctions? These boundary lines and artificial
barriers have been created by despots and conquerors who sought to attain
dominion over mankind, thereby engendering patriotic feeling and rousing
selfish devotion to merely local standards of government. As a rule they
themselves enjoyed luxuries in palaces, surrounded by conditions of ease
and affluence, while armies of soldiers, civilians and tillers of the soil
fought and died at their command upon the field of battle, shedding their
innocent blood for a delusion such as "we are Germans," "our enemies are
French," etc., when, in reality, all are humankind, all belong to the one
family and posterity of Adam, the original father. This prejudice or
limited patriotism is prevalent throughout the world, while man is blind
to patriotism in the larger sense which includes all races and native
lands. From every real standpoint there must and should be peace among all
nations.

God created one earth and one mankind to people it. Man has no other
habitation, but man himself has come forth and proclaimed imaginary
boundary lines and territorial restrictions, naming them Germany, France,
Russia, etc. And torrents of precious blood are sp