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Rtd Compol Barr. Lawrence Alobi who is an adherent of Baha’I religion explains Baha’i belief to some news men in his office. Excerpts:

May we meet you sir?

I am Lawrence Alobi, Former CP FCT, CP Fed Operations, and practicing lawyer. I am Baha’i by religion that is my faith.

The Baha’i faith is the newest divine religion in the world today. You said God created mankind in the world out of love,  explain sir.

The purpose of God in creating man is for man to know God and attain his presence.

In doing that God sent His Messengers to manifest God to man. No creature can see God. You see God through his manifestations. These manifestation people call it Prophets, Messengers of God, Messiahs, Jesus the Christ, Moses, Abraham, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, the Bath, Bahaullah; All of this to the glory of God.

God is God of mercy. He is a God that shows compassion to his creatures. He will always give us guardian; divine guardians to enable us to know him and attain his presence. So in this age, in every age God sends a messenger to reveal God to mankind. To reveal to mankind the ways and means by which man can live peacefully in this world, and be close to God and how mankind can prepare eternal life.

On earth, we are here on transit. It is temporary; the next place we are going to live eternally is in the next world. And we have to prepare for it here.

As the child in the womb prepares for this world in the mother’s womb he develops the legs, the hands, it doesn’t walk in the womb, it has eyes it doesn’t see in the womb.

But it is developing physical organs in the womb for the physical world. He uses all the physical organs in the physical world. We have to prepare our spiritual capacity in this physical world to have blissful sojourn back to our creator where we are going to live eternally.

What does Baha’i say on living?

The way we live our lives here on earth determines how our souls will live when we leave this world. We Baha’i believe that what is called hell is when you are far from God, you are in hell. And when you are close to God you are in heaven. When you are close to God, you obey his laws, you live a spiritual live and you are a spiritual minded person. You have positive mind.

Do those things that are good in the sight of God. Do those things that will promote the wellbeing of mankind. God created man to contribute towards his creation.

Bahaullah said man was created to contribute to effervescent organization. What are you doing to contribute to the betterment of the world? Promote peace, unity and so forth.

What are we doing, why are there so many crisis in the world? Mankind has deviated from the things of God today. Take for instance, why must Christian and Muslims be fighting? Even Christians fight among themselves. Religion has been commercialized; it has become an instrument of war. It is not supposed to be so. Religion is supposed to be an instrument for peace, harmony amongst people, build bridges, promote love, and promote peace and unity;    for the betterment of humanity.

What are the principles of the religion?

Bahaullah has given us principles, divine principles that can be applied to make the world a better place. For instance you must be transparent in attitude, you must be trustworthy, you must show a good character, and you must have the fear of God and fear of shame. Not that God is a monster, the fear not to offend your creator. The fear of shame, that nothing will bring shame for you before God. Things that will bring shame to your family, shame to your name, shame to your community, shame to your country. The fear of God and fear of shame will guide us to what is called self-discipline. Whatever you do, think of the consequence that God is all seeing God, All knowing God and revealing God. Whatever we do, God is seeing us. In every human endeavor God places a tape recorder that records whatever we do – our shadow. If I lift my hand the shadow will lift its hand. If I stand, the shadow will stand. At the end, the footage of my shadow will be printed before me. I will see all I had done when on earth. The man does not know that.

We think that life is all about money and power. Life is about spiritual; life is about developing spiritual capacity and being close to your God and whatever you can do to add value to the life of humanity. Not just money. Look at the way people are acquiring money – beastly and criminal attitude. They will steal money they cannot even use; people are suffering.

So Baha’i faith, Bahaullah had laid the principle which we can use to establish world peace and world unity.

One: that whether what you call it is Allah, you call it Chukwu, you call it Olorun, it is one God that created the heaven and earth. We are all creatures of one God. The same thing with Adam and Eve, Abraham, we came from one stock.

Two: that mankind is one, that mankind whether you are black or red or blue, it is the environment that changes the color.

You cannot look at the blood and say this is the blood of white man or black man.

Whether Chinese or whatever, they only  have different blood group, you cannot see a normal human being that has two heads, four hands, Mankind is one.

What is your perception of religion?

Religion is one; Religion is divine light that shines on mankind. Like when you were in school, you were going through infantry one, you were taught ABCD. From there you began to spell P-O-T pot. And from there you moved on higher. You read law, journalism, engineering; you can see that ABCD is foundation for your learning.

And each teacher that taught you in any of those classes taught you based on your need and capacity to comprehend. They cannot take things for university and teach a child of five years. That is why Christ told the disciples in the book of Matthew, I have many things to tell you but you cannot bear them now. But because you never matured, until the comforter comes he will tell you the whole truth. And this comforter is Bahaullah. We believe that Bahaullah is the second coming of Christ. Christ once said, I will come like a thief in the night. Bahaullah said that God is one, mankind is one, and religion is one: That all religion came from one source, from God.

Without religion man will be like the beast. The scripture tells us about the fore runners. Thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill and when you kill you will be killed also.

Bahaullah says science and religion must be in harmony. That science discovers the truth and religion reveals the truth.

Science and religion must go hand in hand; science and religion are like two wings of a bird. Scientific knowledge and spiritual knowledge will make man to grow.

Man is material and spiritual being. The material nature  controls the material need, you need house, food to eat etc. but the spiritual needs are those things that will touch the soul that will make you to use your material need well because if you live without spiritual need, you will be corrupt. If you don’t have spiritual knowledge, you become beastly.

So when man allows material nature to dominate his life, he becomes corrupt, he becomes beastly, he becomes unfriendly, antagonistic, just what you can gain not what you can sacrifice.

You have to marry your spiritual knowledge and your material knowledge; you will then have a balance growth.

What is the position of gender in Baha’i?

Bahaullah says that men and women should be given equal opportunity that man and woman are like two wings of a bird. Train a woman and train a man. Don’t train only the man and leave the woman. God created everything in pairs.

Bahaullah says that we should obey constituted authority. That is why as Baha’i we must obey the authority wherever we are.

Thanks for the information.

You are welcome.