Last week, Buford O. Furrow Jr. told police that his shootings in Los Angeles were ``a wake-up call to America to kill Jews.'' Last month, in a bloody rampage through the Midwest, Benjamin Smith took aim at blacks, Asians _ and Jews. Two weeks earlier, arsonists torched three synagogues around Sacramento, Calif., leaving behind leaflets that blamed Jews for the war in Kosovo.
This is, I'm afraid, just the tip of the iceberg. Are these, and the many other similar incidents, consistent with the teachings of the major world religions? Many of the peddlers of hate would have one believe that they are. On this I would have to disagree.
The Baha'i Faith teaches of the Oneness of Mankind. One of the prayers revealed by `Abdu'l-Baha states:
O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.
O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.
O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.
O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.
O God! Establish the Most Great Peace. Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together. O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.
This idea is not restricted to the Baha'i Faith, though. Seder Eliyyahu Rabbah wrote in the Midrash:
I call heaven and earth to witness: whether Jew or Gentile, whether man or worman, whether servant or freeman, they are all equal in this: that the Holy Spirit rests upon them in accordance with their deeds!
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