e many betrayals of trust
from which human confidence has suffered should, in the course of time,
undermine the foundations of belief itself. So it is that Baha'u'llah
repeatedly urges His readers to think deeply about the lesson taught by
such repeated failures: "Ponder for a moment, and reflect upon that which
has been the cause of such denial...."(21) "What could have been the
reason for such denial and avoidance...?"(22) "What could have caused such
contention...?"(23) "Reflect, what could have been the motive...?"(24)

More detrimental still to religious understanding has been theological
presumption. A persistent feature of religion's sectarian past has been
the dominant role played by clergy. In the absence of scriptural texts
that established unarguable institutional authority, clerical elites
succeeded in arrogating to themselves exclusive control over
interpretation of the Divine intent. However diverse the motives, the
tragic effects have been to impede the current of inspiration, discourage
independent intellectual activity, focus attention on the minutiae of
rituals and too often engender hatred and prejudice towards those
following a different sectarian path from that of self-appointed spiritual
leaders. While nothing could prevent the creative power of Divine
intervention from continuing its work of progressively raising
consciousness, the scope of what could be achieved, in any age, became
increasingly limited by such artificially contrived obstacles.

Over time, theology succeeded in constructing in the heart of each one of
the great faiths an authority parallel with, and even inimical in spirit
to, the revealed teachings on which the tradition was based. Jesus'
familiar parable of the landowner who sowed seed in his field addresses
both the issue and its implications for the present time: "But while men
slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his
way."(25) When his servants proposed to uproot them, the landowner
replied, "Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the
wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time
of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my
barn."(26) Throughout its pages, the Qur'an reserves its severest
condemnation for the spiritual harm caused by this competing hegemony:
"Say: The things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden