Exploring my documents file, I came across this letter I wrote years ago to a Jehovah's Witness.
Dear Sir,
During your recent visit, I am
afraid the answer I gave to your question was not very well presented. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify.
Your question was simply this: “Who do you believe has dominion over the
world?” Without hesitation, I answered
“God”. You then said that “God” was a
good answer, but you referred me to a passage in the Bible which indicates that
Satan has dominion over the world. As you
seemingly put me in the position of believing something that contradicts the
Word of God, I was naturally defensive, especially considering how you were
standing at my front door at a time you chose, wearing a suit and tie and
having prepared yourself to use the Bible to prove to me that I was incorrect
in my beliefs, while I, on the other hand stood before you
unshaven, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and fearing that my
cat would dart out the open door into traffic. I believe you had both the
mental and physical advantage over me, and so in the interest of fairness I
decided to write to you and explain my belief in the realm of ideas, being stripped
from physical appearances.
As a Baha’i, I believe that God, the Creator, has dominion over all things visible and invisible, and has no partner or equal nor has He ceded authority of any part of His creation.
And so what of the Bible passage that says unequivocally that Satan has dominion of the world?
Baha’is believe that we have two natures: spiritual, and
physical. Satan is the personification
of our animal, or lesser nature, which prompts us to avarice, greed, jealousy,
envy and the like. Being born into the
physical world we each have this physical nature, and as we learn from the Word
of God, we are to overcome the promptings of this aspect of our reality on
Earth through the spiritual guidance given to us by God’s Manifestations. When the Bible says that Satan has dominion
over the world, it refers to the inescapable physical matrix into which
we are born and struggle with every day.
Baha’is believe the Bible is the Word of God given unto men
two thousand years ago. Passages such as
the one you questioned me with were written to convey spiritual truths in a manner appropriate for the times.
There is a passage that states that in the Last Days, the
Books would be opened. As a Baha’i, I
believe these are those days, and Baha’u’llah has opened them.
Thank you for your time—I hope you visit me again some day. There are many things to talk about!
Sincerely,
