First off, I am going to strike down the the thought that change in religion is sudden. Blasphemy!!!
So, something that is always present for a change is a charismatic leader. This was mentioned in class and has been seen throughout history. What's interesting about an emerging religion is that conflict is always present. Something that i have noticed is that something becomes stronger when people are forced to choose between it and something else. Baha'u'llah's followers had to choose between him and Azal when the time came. If forced to choose something that big, the gut feelings come out and people become strongly tied to the path they pick.
Since i brought it up initially, i have to refer to happy feet. when Memphis told Mumble that he had to choose whether to renounce his ways or be banished, Mumble left and he even more strongly decided to follow his own ideas. also, Los Amigos came with him their faith in him grew.
Mumble's journey greatly parallels Baha'u'llah's exiles and journeys. People were forced to make a choice to stay with the norm or follow something new. They were exiled and then they had to journey to a place where they could believe what they wanted. I just keep thinking of Mumble's journey across the storm lands in the arctic when we read about the cold winters and how the travelers often found their feet frozen.
The Baha'is formed through the combination of all of the above. It was a lengthy process of conflicts and issues but Baha'u'llah was true to his morals and ideas. He fought his way to pursue an idea. Due to his leadership, instead of just inciting a religion, he made himself and icon which represents the religion. Thus, through him, a the new religion was born.
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A charismatic leader wishing to be the center of attention would never do. People sought out Baha'u'llah because he was approachable and he was sincere and loving to many. Mumble was similarly approachable as you say. And that religion is some 10 million spread among most of the countries of the planet.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to say Baha'is generally don't like showing his picture like this. We only view it in rare circumstances. Displaying it like this is... painful. Additionally anyone who knows about this particular picture is going to be more pained. It was published in a bad excuse for a book full of calumny and half-truths. You might consider changing to a picture of his shrine.
Preposterous!!! Change in religion can be sudden. The creation of a new religion can also be sudden. It may take a long time to create an established following. But, change is sudden, my friend. Shock value can provide to a group of people the proof and assurance of change, just like when the woman removed her veil to show her face. A guy cut his throat! But, with their old Islamic tradition shattered, a foundation for a new religion was able to be built upon. CHANGE!!!
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