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Those who have misunderstood and feared the Prophet of God have over the ages resorted to persecution. God alone knows the extent of the suffering it has caused, and will cause. Misunderstanding and fear, however, can be overcome, and Baha'u'llah wished to dispel them from the minds of the people of His time so they might attain to the goal for which they were created. Unafraid, He, throughout His ministry, called upon the kings and government leaders under whom He suffered to convoke a meeting where His claims could be investigated. He directed them to invite the religious leaders "so that truth might be distinguished from falsehood" . "Gather the ulamas ", He wrote "and summon Me, that the evidences and proofs may be established." (161:1) For forty years this challenge was proclaimed, and for forty years the clergy, overcome with envy - a sentiment for which there is no cure - strenuously opposed such a gathering. Giving various pretexts to disguise their true motives, time after time, they warned the government of the "dangers" which such a forum would surely entail. To the utter loss of humanity, no such gathering ever took place (161:2) Well is it with him, who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Baha'u'llah. God Passes By, p. 25 (161:3) Baha'u'llah boldly proclaimed the rise and triumph of His Faith and its eventual establishment as the religion of humanity: (161:4) That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 255 (161:5) This process, by which mankind will enter into universal religious fellowship, Baha'u'llah viewed, not as a supplanting of the Faiths of the world with a new one, but rather as the long awaited fulfillment of all of them. Religion, He says, is one evolving story, which has been revealed to humanity progressively, throughout the ages. The Founders of the great religious systems have appeared to different segments of humanity, in different ages, with messages differing according to the maturity of man, and the requirements of the times, but they have, essentially, unfolded the same religion: (161:6) It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 52
(161:7)
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