I’ve recently written this ‘editorial’ for UK Bah?’? Review, a magazine that is published by the UK National Spiritual Assembly as part of its public information outreach. We used to publish three times a year, but have now decided (for reasons of practicality) to make the Review an annual.

Barney’s editorial
I wonder if we humans are going through a collective ?near death experience?.

Our human soul seems to have been ripped from the body of humankind, we are in a dark tunnel of confusion and ? let?s be frank about it ? despair. We don?t know where we?re going.

But there?s a light ahead, a that light bears a promise of something new.

Bah??u?ll?h, Prophet-Founder of the Bah??? Faith, spoke in the 19th century about the rolling up of the old world order and the growth of a new order, based on unity and justice. This vision inspires Bah???s here in the UK and around the world to experiment, to reflect on their experience and to refine what they are doing.

And what are they doing? A glance at the pages of UK Bah??? Review will show some of the themes that get Bah???s going: human rights, social justice, the spiritual and moral education of children and youth, the arts, and ? underlying all Bah??? activity ? building unity.

Bah???s on every continent invite their family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues to join them in prayer and devotion, in learning about their own noble nature through study of the Bah??? teachings, and in providing spiritual education for children and young people.

Simple activities, on the face of it, but powerful.

Why powerful? Because Bah???s believe that these activities are the most effective way of building the new civilization envisioned by Bah??u?ll?h, street by street and neighbourhood by neighbourhood. No coercion, no aggressive marketing or proselytization, but invitation to those we know, love and respect to join us in walking a path of spiritual development and service to our fellow humans.

The new world order envisioned by Bah??u?ll?h is no totalitarian nightmare, but a transformation that takes place as people learn about their relationship to God and their spiritual reality, and as they choose a noble goal for their lives.

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