The origins of the colloquialism “red letter day” are a bit obscure but I remember as a child those holy days, festivals of saints and special events in the religious calendar were marked in red. October 2010 was a red letter month in New Zealand Bahá’í history because we had three publications, all designed for a popular readership, released within days of each other all with experienced authors residing in New Zealand – a rare event and one we hope won’t be too long in repeating.

In Search of Immortality. Geoff Gore’s book should resonate with many Bahá’ís and their associates. He has written on a topic which is a popular theme in Bahá’í literature [1], the meaning and purpose of life, the nature of the soul, mind and spirit, the features of the spiritual journey, the consequences of immortality, the existence of spiritual worlds, life, death and so on. Actually there is not so much writing but an exquisitely assembled compilation or sequence of texts on the themes that interest Geoff. These have been lovingly threaded together with his own observations, headings, and pithy summaries. He lets scriptures, those from the Semitic religions of the past and those of the Bábi-Bahá’í Revelations – the latter which shed so much light upon these topics – primarily speak for themselves. the worlds of light, the pursuit of happiness, dealing with death, the limits of human understanding, existence of a universal power, the various kingdoms of creation, a covenant of love, becoming attached to names, the struggle for existence, body soul relationship, emanation, evolution, power of attraction, spiritual veils, spiritual awakening, spiritual blindness, spiritual capacity, second birth, world of dreams, restlessness of the human spirit, Word of God, among others make their appearance in the first hundred pages. We also find a range of principles scattered throughout the book including: relativity, temporary ownership, discovering truth for oneself, that human happiness is founded on spiritual behaviour, that tests and difficulties are a bounty, that life is a processes and created for happiness. One gets the impression that Geoff has distilled this book from a lifetime of study and reflection on these sacred texts and an attempt to live according to the spiritual world-view he brings to life in this book. Towards the end is the chapter, Life Notes for the Pilgrim, which is his concise take on living the good life. Here we find his advice on choosing one’s goals wisely, aiming for right action seeing the end in the beginning and so forth. Hopefully, this is an entrée to future writing efforts, One wishes for more and we hope this is an entrée to future writing efforts, perhaps to write in ways which can popularise and make accessible more recent scholarship on these and related Baha’i teachings[2]. This book is going to be useful to both Bahá’ís and the spiritually thirsty who are seeking to understand themselves and their mission in this world. Also recommended for public libraries as an accessible introduction to Baha’i spirituality.

Another popular theme in Bahá’í literature is mining the texts of the Bahá’í Writings for insights and understanding about how prophecy promises and predictions connect the various religious Dispensations together [3]. Jamie Banks has added to this body of writing with his new book with the suitably ironic title “We Slept through Armageddon”. The Baha’i Faith is no different than its sister Abrahamic religions: it contains apocalyptic (the “end times”) and messianic elements ( the future “vision of glory”) although these are transmuted to a certain extent in a dynamic process view of forces of integration/disintegration or to a lesser extent reciprocating crises and victories occurring cyclically throughout a Dispensation

Jamie Banks audience is primarily the person unfamiliar with the Baha’i religion, its origins, historical unfolding and its Founders and some of its social teachings are the concern of the first third of the book. Then we are lead into some overarching themes in subsequent chapters: Behold I make all things new, a quotation from the Book of Revelation, tries to show how the general and specific revelation associated with the appearance and Teachings of Baha’u’llah has caused a great renewal in the life of mankind even though most would be unaware of its impetus. Jesus Coming in the Clouds starts to unravel the symbolic and metaphorical nature of prophecy beginning with the Jewish messianic prophecies concerning the return of Elijah as fulfilled with the appearance of Jesus Christ. Here he discusses why prophecies are almost never literally fulfilled.

For some people the most compelling prophecies are those which have a time or numerological element. The “Armageddon that Was” tackles in depth the most well-known prophecies associated with the numbers 1260, 1290, 1335 and 2300. Jamie Banks does an admirable job of sorting out the mathematics. Unveiled Prophecies About Bahá’u’lláh trys to make linkages between the Old Testament prophets – predicting the treading of the high places of the earth and present day Mount Carmel and environs – as well as portents relating to Bahá’u’lláh’s proclamations and rebukes to the world’s readers and the return of Jews to the Holy Land. One of the contrasts between this book and that of Geoff Gore’s is that this is primarily a work of personal exegesis. It very much reflects Jamie Banks’ personal study and analysis, and his own thought through priorities and ordering of ideas.

Not everything  then is going to be agreeable to the reader. For instance the suggestion that there are “marked similarities” between Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points” and the series of 14 tablets known as the Tablets of the Divine Plan seems a little forced. Wilson’s 14 points, are mostly statements about territorial arrangements and a few principles of world order, whereas the Tablets of the Divine Plan do not themselves directly address peace covenants, freedom of navigation on the high seas, removal of economic barriers, armament reductions, and the adjudication of sovereignty conflicts, let alone a proposal for a “general association” of nations.  The prophecy concerning the 1335 days is also more complex than can be addressed in this book[4] The suggestion that William Miller missed a “subtle hint” about the interpretation of the 2300 days mentioned in the Book of Daniel because the digits for 1844 are encoded in the verse numbering for the verse that mentions the 2300 days and nights (i.e. Daniel 8:14), is somewhat diluted by the fact that the modern day versification of the Bible was an invention of medieval monks  rather than a coded intention of the writer of the Book of Daniel.

A few quibbles aside, much of this genre of book is necessarily personal and idiosyncratic, strongly held beliefs and highly valued discoveries distilled from a long period of research. It is not merely a work of penetrating ancient prophecies however. There are some autobiographical insights here, some hard won understandings perhaps, of the dangers of being too obsessed with religious texts and forgetting the life divine, of the need for a healthy dose of scepticism and being able to suspend judgment where necessary and to see a problem from multiple sides. Overall the book walks a moderate path and avoids rigidity and dogmatic insistence and many times Jamie invites his readers to investigate for themselves. There’s also an appendix called Tips for Removing Biases and Double Standards which teases out Jamie’s methodology and some maxims for dealing with religious texts especially prophetic one’s which can be highly malleable and mutable. There are some nice motifs through the book concerning the angelic Michael and Son of Man traditions and the recurring story of the beloved Joseph which really deserve to be further developed and elaborated, they are integral to an understanding of both the Bab and Baha’u’llah’s prophetic claims as well as the prophetic missions of Jesus and Muhammad.

But one feels deprived at the relative lack of discussion of Qur’anic texts and Islamic traditions which are so rich and detailed (and contradictory) in apocalyptic allusions and traditions concerning the Qa’im (the One Who Ariseth) of the House of the Prophet Muhammad the Return or raj’a of Imam Husayn and for Sunni Muslims the coming of the Mahdi and Jesus Christ at the Resurrection Day. For instance it would have been useful to have a discussion of the tradition of Mufaddal cited by Baha’u’llah in his Book of Certitude. There is more here in this book than I have space to review. It’s packed with many concise ideas, facts and observations. If you have been a prior reader of William Sears, Robert Riggs,  Stephen Beebe, Ruth Moffet Hushidar Motlagh and many others then there will be very likely something of interest to you here in this book.

Change Your Life – One Thought at a Time Our last book is also part of a relatively popular genre of books and in some ways overlaps with Geoff Gore’s: How to live successfully, be fully engaged in the world, overcome adversity, protect one’s health and cultivate well-being and wholeness. There are elements of a spiritual biography here. Patricia Wilcox has tried to sift and share her depth of life experience and wisdom into this book. Known as a person with a generous loving spirit her sharing comes through naturally in this book. At times her rush of thoughts and ideas make it a pageturner. The actual references to the Bahá’í Faith its Teachings and its Founders is surprisingly, if not disconcertingly, sparse. This is primarily a work of practical spiritual psychology that is anchored in the notion of “Golden Rule” which is somehow the ethical basis for right conduct of the individual and their relations with others. It is not entirely clear what the Golden Rule is, a meta-religion perhaps, but as Patricia says “The Golden Rule provides a basis for an all-embracing spiritual education that is independent of just one scriptural source. No one religion has that exclusive moral mandate and no single holy book or Prophet is the sole source of spiritual values. They are all powerful educators conveying the same essential message, one that is universal, above and beyond perceptions of difference or otherness.” And, moreover, “The best guarantee of a successful future for both individuals and the planet as a whole is to engage in a process of spiritual education based on the Golden Rule and expressed in the acquisition and practice of virtues” This emphasis on teachable or trainable ethical principles, independent of specific religions, is probably a reflection of the Virtues Project™ which permeates and informs the book.

In many ways this book is a collection of many golden rules, maxims and prescriptions organised thematically around nine stages – the Process of Becoming, Thought, Success, Choice, Change, Effort, Learning, Service and Unity. These stages encompass disciplined thinking, illuminated perceptions and right choices and the reflective use of will as well as right actions ethically compatible with the Golden Rule. “Characteristics of Enlightened Souls” lists 22 well thought through capabilities or functions of the enlightened soul. Such a noble vision implies change transformation and evolution and that is the over arching theme of this book. There is a fair amount of practical advice ranging from how to sustain spiritual growth through effective time management prayer, study, meditation, self-examination, personal vision statements, personal goal planning and setting, prioritising needs, active giving and sharing. As the book progresses it is no longer absorbed with the individual, the focus shifts to the stage of unity in which the individual in society or community becomes the focus. Discussion moves on to finding our own role in the global family, the idea of a critical mass or tipping point, and the notion of becoming a grass roots change agent. The power generated from working in cooperative groups is explored. Patricia draws from her own life experiences to illustrate different activities which she has undertaken to foster change to promote unity in diversity and social and global transformation. I have observed over the years that most people want concrete usable advice on how to live their lives as fully and as integral or balanced as possible, how to communicate with their children and associates, how to be healthy, stress free and to manage adversity and so forth . This book contains a useful framework for living the good life, confronting our mortality, realizing our reality is our thought, making mature grounded choices, responding to and initiating change without down-playing the importance of overcoming inertia, the need for effort and how challenges and life tests and failures serve to unlock potential. Ideal for the spiritually inclined wary of organized religion.

[1] See for example recently John Hatcher, Understanding Death: The Most Important Event of Your Life, Wilmette, Baha’i Publishing, 2009, Corrine Randall, The Eternal Soul, Bristol, Intellect, 2009 and Mehrdad Massoudi, Reflections on Dying, Our Last Thought(s) and Living a Spiritual Life, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 50(2), 2010, 197-223.
[2] Particularly, the recent magisterial works by Julio Savi (Towards the Summit of Reality, An introduction to Bahá’u’lláh’s Seven Valleys and Four Valleys, George Ronald, 2008) and Nader Saiedi (Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, Wilfred Laurier Press, 2008) and for example Moojan Momen (‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary on the Qur’ánic Verses Concerning the Overthrow of the Byzantines The Stages of the Soul, Lights of Irfan, 2, 99-108,) Jean-Marc Lepain The Tablet of All Food: The Hierarchy of the Spiritual Worlds and the Metaphoric Nature of Physical Reality, (translated by Peter Terry), Baha’i Studies Review, 2010, 16,43-60.
[3] See for example recently Nabil Hanna, Promises Fulfilled: Christianity, Islam and the Baha’i Faith, Wilmette, Baha’i Publishing, 2010; Don Dainty, As it Was in the Days of Noah: So Unfolds the Surprising Fulfilment of Biblical Foresights of the ‘Return’, n.p. [Canada], 2009; John Abe, Beyond Malignant Materialism: Revelations of a Glorious New Apocalypse, http://beyondmalignantmaterialism.net/
[4] In the March 21st 1917 issue of the US Baha’i magazine, Star of the West (Vol 8 No.1 p.8), the editors prematurely announced “ This Bahai year, which corresponds to 1917 of the Christian era, we believe marks the beginning of the ”blessed days” foreseen by Daniel (Chap.  XL, verse 12)  With the world at war it is, no doubt, a year fraught with great events.  According to dispatches published in the daily press, armies are approaching Palestine from the south and from the north.  The prophecies concerning that blessed spot are being fullfilled.  All eyes are upon the Holy Land.” Three years later, in  the Vol. 11 No. 1 issue the editors make a retraction: “ Through a misunderstanding the Bahais of the Occident believed that the “blessed days,” foreseen by Daniel (Chap. 12, verse 12) began in the year 73 of the Bahai dispensation, which corresponds to the year 1917 of the Christian calendar, or 100 years after the birth of BAHAOLLAH, but this error on our part has been corrected by Abdul Baha in a recent Tablet to Faraz’Allah Zaki El Curd as follows:  “As to the question thou hast asked in connection with the verse in Daniel’s book, namely: ‘Blessed is he who comet to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.’ This year should be taken as a solar year and not a lunar one, for in accordance with this calculation one century will have elapsed from the rising of the Sun of Truth, when the teachings of God will have been firmly established, when the lights will have flooded all the regions in the East as well as the West. On that day will the believing souls rejoice. ‘ This indicates that there are over thirty years more of storm and sunshine, of difficulty and happiness before the beginning of the blessed millennial summer time of the Kingdom of God on earth.  Let us appreciate the value of the springtime.”

The conventional Baha’i view is that the 1335 days prophecy correlates with the centenary of the Declaration of Baha’u'llah in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad occurring in 1963. The 1335 days prophecy, and the method of reckoning  is problematic and contested in Baha’i and polemical Baha’i literature with bizarre accusations of text tampering and censorship by opponents of the Baha’i Religion (i.e Francis Beckwith, Baha’i, Minnesota, Bethany House, 1985  see also the documents here http://bahai-library.com/articles/bahai.christian.html) and incorrect information which was circulated in a widely translated book Baha’u'llah and the New Era. The identification of 1917 as the inception of the Great Peace was an idea circulated erroneously by Ibrahim Khayrullah the Syrian convert  who promulgated the religion in America in its earliest days. In the 1952 British third edition a corrigenda was pasted to the appropriate page (see image above)