The Wayfarer Film

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Quest Media has released a film about the Baha’i Faith named “The Wayfarer”. You can watch the trailer of the film above and purchase the DVD online.

Perhaps it isn’t fair since I haven’t seen the full film but judging from the trailer, the film looks to be a piece of puffery. I’d rather see a documentary style film of interviews with people like Juan Cole, William Garlinton, Abbas Amanat, Dann May, Keven Brown, William McCants, Sen McGlinn, etc. If you are familiar with the recent history of the Baha’i Faith, you’ll recognize those names. If not, you can find out more about them online.

Such a production might turn out a bit dry but it certainly would be more insightful. It would deal with not just about where the Baha’i Faith has come from and what it is about from but also where it is headed. The problem is that a non-Baha’i would really have to be “plugged in” to do a film like that.

The Wayfarer was done by someone who knew little about the Baha’i Faith and set out to learn the basics by visiting communities around the world. Maybe, just maybe, Jess Firth and Alexander Hedly will do a follow up which deals with the real Baha’i community and its challenges now that they know the basics.

With thanks to Steve Marshall of BahaisOnline

Related posts:

  1. Mona’s Dream Film Update

  • Andrew

    “The equalishness of men and women … the abandonment of some kinds of prejudice, or all kinds, depending on how we choose to define it.”

    Ah, truthiness in advertisaganda. This certainly qualifies for the George Orwell Good Newspeaking Seal of Approval!

    If I purchase the DVD, does it come with free insulin shots? Not that I’m diabetic, but I’d expect to be after watching the entire film.

    Seriously, though, it seems like a sincere effort, in a sincerely misguided kind of way. I’m sure it will be popular with the chloral hydrate set, and will repel the Enemetics of the Faithiness. It’s quite pretty, in an overly-manicured sort of way.

    I think it would be much more interesting if they had asked someone like Marilyn Manson or Dita Von Teese to host it.

  • Andrew

    “The equalishness of men and women … the abandonment of some kinds of prejudice, or all kinds, depending on how we choose to define it.”

    Ah, truthiness in advertisaganda. This certainly qualifies for the George Orwell Good Newspeaking Seal of Approval!

    If I purchase the DVD, does it come with free insulin shots? Not that I’m diabetic, but I’d expect to be after watching the entire film.

    Seriously, though, it seems like a sincere effort, in a sincerely misguided kind of way. I’m sure it will be popular with the chloral hydrate set, and will repel the Enemetics of the Faithiness. It’s quite pretty, in an overly-manicured sort of way.

    I think it would be much more interesting if they had asked someone like Marilyn Manson or Dita Von Teese to host it.

  • http://tahirihlogy.blogspot.com Free-Zepher

    I haven’t seen the whole film. As I said in anothr post the trailer makes “The Wayfarer” seem like paradise is being prepared for the globabl community. I wonder how many will buy it.

    What is interesting is that the standard PR puff n’fluff shows up uniformly in the trailer as the filmmaker continent hops, which is indicative of what the rest of movie portrays.

    I think Jess Firth, the non-bahai filmmaker, has become caught up in the Bahai mindset/behaviour which is drilled into the believer’s minds with or without his knowing it:

    “Don’t say or do anything which will harm the good name and appearance of the Faith, or adminstrative sanctions may come your way. And, if you really love Baha’u'llah and the Covenant you will want to present the Faith in its best light”. With this in mind it is most likely that Firth could NOT have made an ‘objective film’. That ‘objective’ terminology has to be struck from the PR canvas to even have a hint of integrity at the onset.

    I couldn’t believe the camera fled over the principle of the “equality of women and men” at the speed of light. It made me think Firth knew that topic could be a worry. I was reading something Juan Cole wrote once:

    “The Maiden is indeed Baha’u'llah’s Higher Self, and is the most proximate source of his revelatory impulse. So if the male/female yin and yang is present in the Manifestation Himself, it should by analogy be present in the House of Justice, which should have women and men on it so that the full range of human affect and thinking and social patterning can be reflected on it. Otherwise it is not *Universal*. cheers Juan”

    Without seeing the full film I’m giving it a rating of “Bait and Switch” (the top coat shines while Jaws is looking for your soul and cash underneath).

    I guess the question that might be asked, which carries over from Ben’s question from comments about “Baha’is in My Backyard”, is: Is a World Police Force with Jaws capacity really necessary inside or outside the religion in an ‘advancing civilization’?

    I do commend Quest Media for being upfront about their company being funded by capitol ventures other than themselves as this leaves an opening to wonder what the restrictions and agreements are that dictate the outcome of their films.

    Free-Zepher

  • http://tahirihlogy.blogspot.com Free-Zepher

    I haven’t seen the whole film. As I said in anothr post the trailer makes “The Wayfarer” seem like paradise is being prepared for the globabl community. I wonder how many will buy it.

    What is interesting is that the standard PR puff n’fluff shows up uniformly in the trailer as the filmmaker continent hops, which is indicative of what the rest of movie portrays.

    I think Jess Firth, the non-bahai filmmaker, has become caught up in the Bahai mindset/behaviour which is drilled into the believer’s minds with or without his knowing it:

    “Don’t say or do anything which will harm the good name and appearance of the Faith, or adminstrative sanctions may come your way. And, if you really love Baha’u'llah and the Covenant you will want to present the Faith in its best light”. With this in mind it is most likely that Firth could NOT have made an ‘objective film’. That ‘objective’ terminology has to be struck from the PR canvas to even have a hint of integrity at the onset.

    I couldn’t believe the camera fled over the principle of the “equality of women and men” at the speed of light. It made me think Firth knew that topic could be a worry. I was reading something Juan Cole wrote once:

    “The Maiden is indeed Baha’u'llah’s Higher Self, and is the most proximate source of his revelatory impulse. So if the male/female yin and yang is present in the Manifestation Himself, it should by analogy be present in the House of Justice, which should have women and men on it so that the full range of human affect and thinking and social patterning can be reflected on it. Otherwise it is not *Universal*. cheers Juan”

    Without seeing the full film I’m giving it a rating of “Bait and Switch” (the top coat shines while Jaws is looking for your soul and cash underneath).

    I guess the question that might be asked, which carries over from Ben’s question from comments about “Baha’is in My Backyard”, is: Is a World Police Force with Jaws capacity really necessary inside or outside the religion in an ‘advancing civilization’?

    I do commend Quest Media for being upfront about their company being funded by capitol ventures other than themselves as this leaves an opening to wonder what the restrictions and agreements are that dictate the outcome of their films.

    Free-Zepher

  • http://frankwinters.wordpress.com/ Frank Winters

    Its incredible to me that a non-Baha’i film maker has made a Baha’i propaganda film!

    I long for some artist/writer/film maker of insight to do a truly objective piece be it film or book about the Baha’i faith. But somehow it is ‘protected’ from truth!

    The images and pacing of the trailer are good. (Its the longest trailer I can remember seeing.) But it is the same old bunk. (I wonder what involvement Baha’i really had with the League of Nations? Where did Firth get that information, I wonder.)

    I guess the film maker took what he was told at face value and did little real investigating. Yet he apparently travel the world and spoke to many Baha’is. But he missed, for example, the CBs that live near Mount Carmel.

    I don’t know if I am able to sit through the whole film — maybe for the images….

    Frank

  • http://frankwinters.wordpress.com/ Frank Winters

    Its incredible to me that a non-Baha’i film maker has made a Baha’i propaganda film!

    I long for some artist/writer/film maker of insight to do a truly objective piece be it film or book about the Baha’i faith. But somehow it is ‘protected’ from truth!

    The images and pacing of the trailer are good. (Its the longest trailer I can remember seeing.) But it is the same old bunk. (I wonder what involvement Baha’i really had with the League of Nations? Where did Firth get that information, I wonder.)

    I guess the film maker took what he was told at face value and did little real investigating. Yet he apparently travel the world and spoke to many Baha’is. But he missed, for example, the CBs that live near Mount Carmel.

    I don’t know if I am able to sit through the whole film — maybe for the images….

    Frank

  • Andrew

    [quote]But he missed, for example, the CBs that live near Mount Carmel.[/quote]

    But he seems to have compensated for this by acquiescing to the expectations of the CBs that live *on* Mount Carmel. ;-)

    This being human is a guest house,
    Every morning a new arrival.
    A joy, a depression, a meanness,
    some momentary awareness comes
    as an unexpected visitor.
    Welcome and entertain them all!
    Even if they are a crowd of sorrows
    who violently sweep your house
    empty of its furniture,
    still treat each guest honorably.
    He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
    The dark thought, the sham, the malice,
    meet them at the door laughing,
    and invite them in.
    Be grateful for whoever comes,
    because each has been sent
    as a guide from beyond.

    –Maulana Rumi

  • Andrew

    [quote]But he missed, for example, the CBs that live near Mount Carmel.[/quote]

    But he seems to have compensated for this by acquiescing to the expectations of the CBs that live *on* Mount Carmel. ;-)

    This being human is a guest house,
    Every morning a new arrival.
    A joy, a depression, a meanness,
    some momentary awareness comes
    as an unexpected visitor.
    Welcome and entertain them all!
    Even if they are a crowd of sorrows
    who violently sweep your house
    empty of its furniture,
    still treat each guest honorably.
    He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
    The dark thought, the sham, the malice,
    meet them at the door laughing,
    and invite them in.
    Be grateful for whoever comes,
    because each has been sent
    as a guide from beyond.

    –Maulana Rumi

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Perhaps it is a matter of time until a film will be made by a non-Baha’i which delves into serious issues in a balanced way. Think of it as a happy medium between Baha’is in my backyard and the Wayfarer.
    But is there a market for such a project?

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Perhaps it is a matter of time until a film will be made by a non-Baha’i which delves into serious issues in a balanced way. Think of it as a happy medium between Baha’is in my backyard and the Wayfarer.
    But is there a market for such a project?

  • Randy Burns

    Baha’is did consider the League of Nations to be of paramount importance. When that was set up it was seen by Baha’is as a direct consequence of Abdu’l-Baha’s travels in the West before the first World War. Baha’is were certainly involved in the League and attended meetings. In that time there were many Baha’is with wealth and status (both intellectually and politically), much more so than now.

    Cheers, Randy

  • Randy Burns

    Baha’is did consider the League of Nations to be of paramount importance. When that was set up it was seen by Baha’is as a direct consequence of Abdu’l-Baha’s travels in the West before the first World War. Baha’is were certainly involved in the League and attended meetings. In that time there were many Baha’is with wealth and status (both intellectually and politically), much more so than now.

    Cheers, Randy

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    The Bahá’í­ International Community has a long history of involvement with international organizations. At League of Nations headquarters in Geneva, an International Bahá’í­ Bureau, established in 1926, served as a base for Bahá’í­s participating in League activities. In 1945 when the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco, Bahá’í­ representatives were present. In 1948 the Bahá’í­ International Community registered with the UN as an international non-governmental organization (NGO) and in 1970 was granted consultative status (now called “special” consultative status) with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
    Source: bic.org

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    The Bahá’í­ International Community has a long history of involvement with international organizations. At League of Nations headquarters in Geneva, an International Bahá’í­ Bureau, established in 1926, served as a base for Bahá’í­s participating in League activities. In 1945 when the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco, Bahá’í­ representatives were present. In 1948 the Bahá’í­ International Community registered with the UN as an international non-governmental organization (NGO) and in 1970 was granted consultative status (now called “special” consultative status) with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
    Source: bic.org

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]The Bahá’í­ International Community has a long history of involvement with international organizations. [/quote]

    And especially involvement with its darker side, i.e. Maurice Strong

    Quite interesting that both the porous UN arms inspection regime as well as “oil for food” profiteering had direct Bahai participation of one form or another.

    Wahid

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]The Bahá’í­ International Community has a long history of involvement with international organizations. [/quote]

    And especially involvement with its darker side, i.e. Maurice Strong

    Quite interesting that both the porous UN arms inspection regime as well as “oil for food” profiteering had direct Bahai participation of one form or another.

    Wahid

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    is there some connection between Strong and the Baha’i Faith? I couldn’t find any in that article from FOX news.

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    is there some connection between Strong and the Baha’i Faith? I couldn’t find any in that article from FOX news.

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]is there some connection between Strong and the Baha’i Faith? I couldn’t find any in that article from FOX news.[/quote]

    Yes. See below.

    Futurefish 2000: FutureFish in Century 21: The North Pacific Fisheries Handle Coming Trends, Radical Environmentalism and Digital Cyberspace
    By C. D. Bay-Hansen, Charles A. Rondeau
    Published by Trafford Publishing, 2000
    ISBN 1552124118, 9781552124116
    398 pages

    Pg 71- paragraph 1.

    “Mr Strong and his wife are members of the Baha’i faith, pray for a
    one world religion, and dwell on a 160,000 acre spread in southern
    Colorado’s San Louis valley.”

    http://www.terrorism-illuminati.com/book/oneworldreligion.html
    Maurice Strong also sits on the board of directors, and serves as
    director of finance, for the Lindisfarne Center. Lindisfarne was
    founded by New Age philosopher William Irwin Thompson, a former
    professor of humanities from MIT and Syracuse University. Thompson
    said:

    Maurice Strong is also a member of the Bahai World Faith. With Haifa, in Israel, as the site of its international headquarters, the Bahai movement now exercises a strong presence in the United Nations and its One-World Religion agenda. Its involvement in the UN dates back to its founding in 1945. In 1948, the Bahai community was recognized as an international non-governmental organization. In May 1970, they were granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and later with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    The Bahai organization has a working relationship with the World
    Health Organization (WHO), is associated with the UN Environment
    Programme, as well as many other religious, environmental and social
    programs.

    http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:t0JC76borgQJ:www.green-agenda.co…

    The Baha’i and the UN

    While researching for this article I have been very surprised at the
    extent of the involvement of the Baha’i religion in the United
    Nations. However, perhaps it is not so surprising when you realise
    that Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the
    organisation in North America. The Baha’i community has, as a duly
    accredited non-governmental organization, long worked closely with the United Nations, supporting many of its goals and programs, and taking a leadership role in several international gatherings. Its involvement in the United Nations dates back to the founding of the UN in 1945.

    http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:3kxLbHGrg6kJ:www.bahaindex.com/e…
    ” The Earth Charter campaign is a global initiative that involves a
    partnership of individuals and diverse organizations and communities
    working together to ensure a promising future for life on Earth. Its
    key sponsoring organizations include the Earth Council, an
    international non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1992 by Maurice Strong to promote and advance the implementation of the Rio Earth Summit agreements,”

    And here:
    http://news.bahai.org/story/61
    http://www.bcca.org/ief/dadri98c.htm

    http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27314&page=2
    And by using what would ultimately be known as the Soviet system,
    meaning ruled by councils: really NGO’s (Non-governmental
    organizations), which they would promote. They would rule the world.
    And sure enough, these big foundations were the ones behind all the
    educational thrusts. Not just national school systems, but
    international school systems. And they would select what would be
    taught. Now, we know that it’s all down to social indoctrinations for the next ones to be brought up and ready for the system that they will live through. Social Indoctrination. I can remember this little article came out initially in newspapers back in 1990. This was sent to me by a listener. I don’t know what this http://www.taxterny.ca is like, but they’ve got it there. This article about Maurice Strong, the guy I mentioned last night. The tireless, ageless, who runs around the planet doing all the bidding of the World Bankers, and his big mentor, the Rockefeller family (the ones who picked him).

    http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/aug/010820a.html

    http://www.virtualministry.com/Archives/VMArchive2006/VM325/VM325.htm
    FACT – Maurice Strong professes to be an adherent of the Bahai World
    faith and his wife is an open worshipper of Gaia.

    Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century
    [EMAIL PROTECTED]
    http://www.wiseupjournal.com/?p=475

    Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century

    Sunday, August 31st, 2008 – by Terry Melanson
    Wise Up Journal – Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century

    http://www.mail-archive.com/cia-dr…@yahoogroups.com/msg11075.html
    Maurice Strong, Club of Rome member, devout Bahai, founder and first
    Secretary General of UNEP, has been the driving force behind the birth and imposition of Agenda 21. While he chaired the Earth Summit, outside his wife Hanne and 300 followers called the Wisdom-Keepers, continuously beat drums, chanted prayers to Gaia, and trended scared flames in order to “establish and hold the energy field” for the duration of the summit. You can view actual footage of these ceremonies on YouTube.

    http://marginalizedactiondinosaur.net/?p=4841

    Maurice [the worlds most expensive man] Strong in Bejing
    Posted by dinosaur under Warming , commies

    Chairman Mo in Beijing

    Global socialist and environmentalist Maurice ‘Mo’ Strong has been
    hiding out in eco-disaster Beijing for the past few years (in the wake of the Iraq/U.N. oil-for-food fraud) as consultant and visiting
    professor, sharing his grandiose statist vision with China’s
    government and students. Writing in Maclean’s Magazine this week
    Chairman Mo expounds on China. Of a number of commentaries parsing
    Mo’s essay two of my favourites were one by Peter Foster and another
    by blogger ‘John the Mad’.

    Peter Foster does his usual sterling job of reality checking and
    interpretation concluding with an observation that Strong and his
    global vision are high maintenance:

    … it is difficult to see how any reasonable person, presented with the bizarre facts of his business history and political ideology, could not be disturbed by everything that Mr. Strong stands for and has promoted, especially as the public cost has run into the tens, perhaps even hundreds, of billions of dollars.

    Maurice Strong is perhaps the world’s most expensive man. He is
    also the very last person from whom China should be seeking advice if it wants to live in true harmony with the rest of the world.

    http://groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/t…
    Yeah isn’t it, Maybe some of our US bahai posters to TRB can enlighten us more about Maurice Strong, head of the recent United Nations Earth Summit. Was he a big agenda 21 operator in the UN who got up the US republican Party’s noses.

    Do the baha’is in the UN not hide their religious views under an alias
    not affiliated to the bahai administration and the UHJ in
    Haifa?……Reliplur9
    http://groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/t…
    He commends *BAHAISM*, the religion of
    Maurice Strong, head of the recent United Nations Earth Summit, as
    well as Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. He affirms the New Age (spiritual
    evolution) teaching of Teillard De Chardin, the excommunicated
    Catholic archaeologist. He points to what de Chardin said, ‘The fate
    of mankind, as well as of religion, depends upon the emergence of a
    new faith in the future.’ Gore writes, “Armed with such a faith, we
    might find it possible to resanctify the earth, identify it as God’s
    creation, and accept our responsibility to protect and defend it.”

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]is there some connection between Strong and the Baha’i Faith? I couldn’t find any in that article from FOX news.[/quote]

    Yes. See below.

    Futurefish 2000: FutureFish in Century 21: The North Pacific Fisheries Handle Coming Trends, Radical Environmentalism and Digital Cyberspace
    By C. D. Bay-Hansen, Charles A. Rondeau
    Published by Trafford Publishing, 2000
    ISBN 1552124118, 9781552124116
    398 pages

    Pg 71- paragraph 1.

    “Mr Strong and his wife are members of the Baha’i faith, pray for a
    one world religion, and dwell on a 160,000 acre spread in southern
    Colorado’s San Louis valley.”

    http://www.terrorism-illuminati.com/book/oneworldreligion.html
    Maurice Strong also sits on the board of directors, and serves as
    director of finance, for the Lindisfarne Center. Lindisfarne was
    founded by New Age philosopher William Irwin Thompson, a former
    professor of humanities from MIT and Syracuse University. Thompson
    said:

    Maurice Strong is also a member of the Bahai World Faith. With Haifa, in Israel, as the site of its international headquarters, the Bahai movement now exercises a strong presence in the United Nations and its One-World Religion agenda. Its involvement in the UN dates back to its founding in 1945. In 1948, the Bahai community was recognized as an international non-governmental organization. In May 1970, they were granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and later with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    The Bahai organization has a working relationship with the World
    Health Organization (WHO), is associated with the UN Environment
    Programme, as well as many other religious, environmental and social
    programs.

    http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:t0JC76borgQJ:www.green-agenda.co…

    The Baha’i and the UN

    While researching for this article I have been very surprised at the
    extent of the involvement of the Baha’i religion in the United
    Nations. However, perhaps it is not so surprising when you realise
    that Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the
    organisation in North America. The Baha’i community has, as a duly
    accredited non-governmental organization, long worked closely with the United Nations, supporting many of its goals and programs, and taking a leadership role in several international gatherings. Its involvement in the United Nations dates back to the founding of the UN in 1945.

    http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:3kxLbHGrg6kJ:www.bahaindex.com/e…
    ” The Earth Charter campaign is a global initiative that involves a
    partnership of individuals and diverse organizations and communities
    working together to ensure a promising future for life on Earth. Its
    key sponsoring organizations include the Earth Council, an
    international non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1992 by Maurice Strong to promote and advance the implementation of the Rio Earth Summit agreements,”

    And here:
    http://news.bahai.org/story/61
    http://www.bcca.org/ief/dadri98c.htm

    http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27314&page=2
    And by using what would ultimately be known as the Soviet system,
    meaning ruled by councils: really NGO’s (Non-governmental
    organizations), which they would promote. They would rule the world.
    And sure enough, these big foundations were the ones behind all the
    educational thrusts. Not just national school systems, but
    international school systems. And they would select what would be
    taught. Now, we know that it’s all down to social indoctrinations for the next ones to be brought up and ready for the system that they will live through. Social Indoctrination. I can remember this little article came out initially in newspapers back in 1990. This was sent to me by a listener. I don’t know what this http://www.taxterny.ca is like, but they’ve got it there. This article about Maurice Strong, the guy I mentioned last night. The tireless, ageless, who runs around the planet doing all the bidding of the World Bankers, and his big mentor, the Rockefeller family (the ones who picked him).

    http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/aug/010820a.html

    http://www.virtualministry.com/Archives/VMArchive2006/VM325/VM325.htm
    FACT – Maurice Strong professes to be an adherent of the Bahai World
    faith and his wife is an open worshipper of Gaia.

    Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century
    [EMAIL PROTECTED]
    http://www.wiseupjournal.com/?p=475

    Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century

    Sunday, August 31st, 2008 – by Terry Melanson
    Wise Up Journal – Agenda 21 – The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century

    http://www.mail-archive.com/cia-dr…@yahoogroups.com/msg11075.html
    Maurice Strong, Club of Rome member, devout Bahai, founder and first
    Secretary General of UNEP, has been the driving force behind the birth and imposition of Agenda 21. While he chaired the Earth Summit, outside his wife Hanne and 300 followers called the Wisdom-Keepers, continuously beat drums, chanted prayers to Gaia, and trended scared flames in order to “establish and hold the energy field” for the duration of the summit. You can view actual footage of these ceremonies on YouTube.

    http://marginalizedactiondinosaur.net/?p=4841

    Maurice [the worlds most expensive man] Strong in Bejing
    Posted by dinosaur under Warming , commies

    Chairman Mo in Beijing

    Global socialist and environmentalist Maurice ‘Mo’ Strong has been
    hiding out in eco-disaster Beijing for the past few years (in the wake of the Iraq/U.N. oil-for-food fraud) as consultant and visiting
    professor, sharing his grandiose statist vision with China’s
    government and students. Writing in Maclean’s Magazine this week
    Chairman Mo expounds on China. Of a number of commentaries parsing
    Mo’s essay two of my favourites were one by Peter Foster and another
    by blogger ‘John the Mad’.

    Peter Foster does his usual sterling job of reality checking and
    interpretation concluding with an observation that Strong and his
    global vision are high maintenance:

    … it is difficult to see how any reasonable person, presented with the bizarre facts of his business history and political ideology, could not be disturbed by everything that Mr. Strong stands for and has promoted, especially as the public cost has run into the tens, perhaps even hundreds, of billions of dollars.

    Maurice Strong is perhaps the world’s most expensive man. He is
    also the very last person from whom China should be seeking advice if it wants to live in true harmony with the rest of the world.

    http://groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/t…
    Yeah isn’t it, Maybe some of our US bahai posters to TRB can enlighten us more about Maurice Strong, head of the recent United Nations Earth Summit. Was he a big agenda 21 operator in the UN who got up the US republican Party’s noses.

    Do the baha’is in the UN not hide their religious views under an alias
    not affiliated to the bahai administration and the UHJ in
    Haifa?……Reliplur9
    http://groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/t…
    He commends *BAHAISM*, the religion of
    Maurice Strong, head of the recent United Nations Earth Summit, as
    well as Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. He affirms the New Age (spiritual
    evolution) teaching of Teillard De Chardin, the excommunicated
    Catholic archaeologist. He points to what de Chardin said, ‘The fate
    of mankind, as well as of religion, depends upon the emergence of a
    new faith in the future.’ Gore writes, “Armed with such a faith, we
    might find it possible to resanctify the earth, identify it as God’s
    creation, and accept our responsibility to protect and defend it.”

  • Grover

    Wow, that’s pretty amazing stuff.

  • Grover

    Wow, that’s pretty amazing stuff.

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Wahid, thanks for the links. The only one that asserts Strong is a Baha’i is the terrorism-illuminati.com link which is hardly a reputable source, I’m sure you’ll agree. The rest were articles which mentioned Strong as well as the Baha’i Faith but didn’t at all link the two. There was also those which had a person stating that Strong is a Baha’i. Again, someone on a message board saying something, without evidence to back it up, isn’t very convincing. Many of the links you provided didn’t resolve to an active site.
    Do you have any established media sources, say a newspaper, tv, magazine, etc. which says that Strong is a Baha’i? I checked his wikipedia page (although it is a quasi reputable fount) and it mentions nothing about his religion.
    One of the links says: “…Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the organisation in North America”
    This should be easily verifiable. Was Maurice on any elected or appointed institution? if so, which one(s) and when?
    ps David Icke?! Are you kidding me? seriously? you link to David Icke, the guy who believes that lizard men from outerspace rule our world from behind the curtains? c’mon!

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Wahid, thanks for the links. The only one that asserts Strong is a Baha’i is the terrorism-illuminati.com link which is hardly a reputable source, I’m sure you’ll agree. The rest were articles which mentioned Strong as well as the Baha’i Faith but didn’t at all link the two. There was also those which had a person stating that Strong is a Baha’i. Again, someone on a message board saying something, without evidence to back it up, isn’t very convincing. Many of the links you provided didn’t resolve to an active site.
    Do you have any established media sources, say a newspaper, tv, magazine, etc. which says that Strong is a Baha’i? I checked his wikipedia page (although it is a quasi reputable fount) and it mentions nothing about his religion.
    One of the links says: “…Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the organisation in North America”
    This should be easily verifiable. Was Maurice on any elected or appointed institution? if so, which one(s) and when?
    ps David Icke?! Are you kidding me? seriously? you link to David Icke, the guy who believes that lizard men from outerspace rule our world from behind the curtains? c’mon!

  • Andrew

    [quote]“The Wayfarer” is the first international documentary of its kind to objectively investigate this rapidly expanding religion.[/quote]

    I smell a rat.

    There is a prominent Baha’i blog that is heavily promoting this film. I visited this blog (at someone else’s recommendation) last night and saw that someone (a Ranter?) had left a comment questioning whether or not this film would mention the concerns of Baha’i dissidents, unenrolled Baha’is, the treatment of gays and lesbians in the BF, etc. Since the filmmaker (Jess Firth) has also posted comments on this blog, I wondered if he would respond to any of these questions.

    When I returned to the blog site today, I saw that the comments (and questions) had been removed.

    “Objectively investigate?” Another happy-clappy, feel-good publicity scam. Do the promoters of this film really believe that intelligent viewers of this film who might become interested in the BF would not (sooner or later) discover for themselves (one way or another) that the filmmaker has “gilded the lily” and presented only a series of partial truths? If one of the purposes of the BF is no longer “entry by troops” (because it isn’t working), why promote the film? To turn things around? To have the yet-to-be-informed feel positive vibes about the BF? It won’t work.

    [quote]
    A tiger can smile
    A snake will say it loves you
    Lies make us evil

    – Chuck Palahniuk
    [/quote]

  • Andrew

    [quote]“The Wayfarer” is the first international documentary of its kind to objectively investigate this rapidly expanding religion.[/quote]

    I smell a rat.

    There is a prominent Baha’i blog that is heavily promoting this film. I visited this blog (at someone else’s recommendation) last night and saw that someone (a Ranter?) had left a comment questioning whether or not this film would mention the concerns of Baha’i dissidents, unenrolled Baha’is, the treatment of gays and lesbians in the BF, etc. Since the filmmaker (Jess Firth) has also posted comments on this blog, I wondered if he would respond to any of these questions.

    When I returned to the blog site today, I saw that the comments (and questions) had been removed.

    “Objectively investigate?” Another happy-clappy, feel-good publicity scam. Do the promoters of this film really believe that intelligent viewers of this film who might become interested in the BF would not (sooner or later) discover for themselves (one way or another) that the filmmaker has “gilded the lily” and presented only a series of partial truths? If one of the purposes of the BF is no longer “entry by troops” (because it isn’t working), why promote the film? To turn things around? To have the yet-to-be-informed feel positive vibes about the BF? It won’t work.

    [quote]
    A tiger can smile
    A snake will say it loves you
    Lies make us evil

    – Chuck Palahniuk
    [/quote]

  • Anonymous

    Argghhhh…

    I first heard about this trailer from a friend of mine who happens to be a Baha’i. Their enthusiasm intrigued me, so I checked it out, and to my not-so-surprise (I really tried to keep an open mind and put down my skepticism), the whole thing just came off as propaganda to me. It was the same old sales pitch. “All of the religions came from God, but they all have closed door polices. We have an open door policy.”, “Just sharing and caring” type of stuff. Things aren’t as simple as that. Some Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples, may have a “closed door” policy, while others don’t. Some Baha’i communities have an “open door” policy, while others don’t. To do good research, one has to be careful not to make these sweeping generalizations.

    I don’t know if I will watch the actual movie when it comes out.

  • Anonymous

    Argghhhh…

    I first heard about this trailer from a friend of mine who happens to be a Baha’i. Their enthusiasm intrigued me, so I checked it out, and to my not-so-surprise (I really tried to keep an open mind and put down my skepticism), the whole thing just came off as propaganda to me. It was the same old sales pitch. “All of the religions came from God, but they all have closed door polices. We have an open door policy.”, “Just sharing and caring” type of stuff. Things aren’t as simple as that. Some Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples, may have a “closed door” policy, while others don’t. Some Baha’i communities have an “open door” policy, while others don’t. To do good research, one has to be careful not to make these sweeping generalizations.

    I don’t know if I will watch the actual movie when it comes out.

  • P

    You can email the producer of the film (jess@questmediaproductions.co.uk) and mention your concerns. I wrote to him explaining the intolerance of the Bahai community towards gays and lesbians. I’m sure it would be good for him to hear from others. Of course, I haven’t seen the documentary, so he may already have given a balanced view. I just wanted to make sure he is aware of the both the negatives and all the positives that exist in the Bahai community.

  • P

    You can email the producer of the film (jess@questmediaproductions.co.uk) and mention your concerns. I wrote to him explaining the intolerance of the Bahai community towards gays and lesbians. I’m sure it would be good for him to hear from others. Of course, I haven’t seen the documentary, so he may already have given a balanced view. I just wanted to make sure he is aware of the both the negatives and all the positives that exist in the Bahai community.

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Thanks P, I can’t help but think that would make a much more interesting film. Maybe I’m jaded but I just can’t take much more of all this lovey-dovey, sugar candy mountain stuff. As a Baha’i, I already get a full dose from the institutions every time they write a letter.

  • http://www.bahairants.com Baquia

    Thanks P, I can’t help but think that would make a much more interesting film. Maybe I’m jaded but I just can’t take much more of all this lovey-dovey, sugar candy mountain stuff. As a Baha’i, I already get a full dose from the institutions every time they write a letter.

  • P

    No kidding. It’s not about being jaded, it’s about wanting a little bit of reality injected into the Bahai community, instead of constant happy talk. I had the misfortunate of looking at my mom’s copy of the American Bahai (I asked they stop sending it to me a long time ago). It’s still the same except a bit more glossy. No real analysis or discussion- just feel good stuff. And of course all shortcomings are focused on the community not teaching hard enough, not giving $$ enough, not doing enough; but of course never any focus on those in the administration not leading well enough. Oh well, at least we have the virtual world to get a taste of reality. Cheers!

  • P

    No kidding. It’s not about being jaded, it’s about wanting a little bit of reality injected into the Bahai community, instead of constant happy talk. I had the misfortunate of looking at my mom’s copy of the American Bahai (I asked they stop sending it to me a long time ago). It’s still the same except a bit more glossy. No real analysis or discussion- just feel good stuff. And of course all shortcomings are focused on the community not teaching hard enough, not giving $$ enough, not doing enough; but of course never any focus on those in the administration not leading well enough. Oh well, at least we have the virtual world to get a taste of reality. Cheers!

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]Wahid, thanks for the links. The only one that asserts Strong is a Baha’i is the terrorism-illuminati.com link which is hardly a reputable source, I’m sure you’ll agree. The rest were articles which mentioned Strong as well as the Baha’i Faith but didn’t at all link the two. There was also those which had a person stating that Strong is a Baha’i. Again, someone on a message board saying something, without evidence to back it up, isn’t very convincing. Many of the links you provided didn’t resolve to an active site.
    Do you have any established media sources, say a newspaper, tv, magazine, etc. which says that Strong is a Baha’i? I checked his wikipedia page (although it is a quasi reputable fount) and it mentions nothing about his religion.
    One of the links says: “…Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the organisation in North America”
    This should be easily verifiable. Was Maurice on any elected or appointed institution? if so, which one(s) and when?
    ps David Icke?! Are you kidding me? seriously? you link to David Icke, the guy who believes that lizard men from outerspace rule our world from behind the curtains? c’mon![/quote]

    C’mon, indeed

    The first quote I through at you was from a published book:

    Futurefish 2000: FutureFish in Century 21: The North Pacific Fisheries Handle Coming Trends, Radical Environmentalism and Digital Cyberspace
    By C. D. Bay-Hansen, Charles A. Rondeau
    Published by Trafford Publishing, 2000
    ISBN 1552124118, 9781552124116
    398 pages

    Pg 71- paragraph 1.

    “Mr Strong and his wife are members of the Baha’i faith, pray for a
    one world religion, and dwell on a 160,000 acre spread in southern
    Colorado’s San Louis valley.”

    -

    The illuminati quote was only the second quote. This one is not from an illuminati site (not that there is something necessarily wrong with such sites):
    http://www.mail-archive.com/cia-dr…@yahoogroups.com/msg11075.html
    Maurice Strong, Club of Rome member, devout Bahai, founder and first
    Secretary General of UNEP, has been the driving force behind the birth and imposition of Agenda 21. While he chaired the Earth Summit, outside his wife Hanne and 300 followers called the Wisdom-Keepers, continuously beat drums, chanted prayers to Gaia, and trended scared flames in order to “establish and hold the energy field” for the duration of the summit. You can view actual footage of these ceremonies on YouTube.”

    I’ve only provided you with a fraction of material online unequivocally claiming this guy as one of your lot. You asked for sources, I gave them to you. You don’t like the sources, that is your problem.

    Wahid

  • http://www.wahidazal.com Wahid Azal

    [quote comment=""]Wahid, thanks for the links. The only one that asserts Strong is a Baha’i is the terrorism-illuminati.com link which is hardly a reputable source, I’m sure you’ll agree. The rest were articles which mentioned Strong as well as the Baha’i Faith but didn’t at all link the two. There was also those which had a person stating that Strong is a Baha’i. Again, someone on a message board saying something, without evidence to back it up, isn’t very convincing. Many of the links you provided didn’t resolve to an active site.
    Do you have any established media sources, say a newspaper, tv, magazine, etc. which says that Strong is a Baha’i? I checked his wikipedia page (although it is a quasi reputable fount) and it mentions nothing about his religion.
    One of the links says: “…Maurice Strong is a devout Baha’i and was the leader of the organisation in North America”
    This should be easily verifiable. Was Maurice on any elected or appointed institution? if so, which one(s) and when?
    ps David Icke?! Are you kidding me? seriously? you link to David Icke, the guy who believes that lizard men from outerspace rule our world from behind the curtains? c’mon![/quote]

    C’mon, indeed

    The first quote I through at you was from a published book:

    Futurefish 2000: FutureFish in Century 21: The North Pacific Fisheries Handle Coming Trends, Radical Environmentalism and Digital Cyberspace
    By C. D. Bay-Hansen, Charles A. Rondeau
    Published by Trafford Publishing, 2000
    ISBN 1552124118, 9781552124116
    398 pages

    Pg 71- paragraph 1.

    “Mr Strong and his wife are members of the Baha’i faith, pray for a
    one world religion, and dwell on a 160,000 acre spread in southern
    Colorado’s San Louis valley.”

    -

    The illuminati quote was only the second quote. This one is not from an illuminati site (not that there is something necessarily wrong with such sites):
    http://www.mail-archive.com/cia-dr…@yahoogroups.com/msg11075.html
    Maurice Strong, Club of Rome member, devout Bahai, founder and first
    Secretary General of UNEP, has been the driving force behind the birth and imposition of Agenda 21. While he chaired the Earth Summit, outside his wife Hanne and 300 followers called the Wisdom-Keepers, continuously beat drums, chanted prayers to Gaia, and trended scared flames in order to “establish and hold the energy field” for the duration of the summit. You can view actual footage of these ceremonies on YouTube.”

    I’ve only provided you with a fraction of material online unequivocally claiming this guy as one of your lot. You asked for sources, I gave them to you. You don’t like the sources, that is your problem.

    Wahid

  • http://www.sonjavank.com/video.htm sonja

    [quote comment=""][quote comment=""]lovey-dovey, sugar candy mountain stuff[/quote]

    yes B, that’s how I see the film. So I don’t think it intentional on his part to make a progaganda film, just that this is his style. Technically it is a better film than “Bahais in my background” but “Bahais in my background” has more going on in terms of depth, research and storyline. That’s what I miss in “The Wayfarer” movie.
    There’s nothing being said in terms of narrative let alone engagement.

    I make more art-type films than documentary type stuff, but seeing the Wayfarer, I thought, yes, someone should make a meaty film. Then it would be food for thought could be a resource for Bahais to use and engage with.

    I’m not around much because I’m working on a new video myself and am travelling (briefly through LA) to do get some footage in Aotearoa.
    B, I’ll get back into contributing in March sometime and will try and dip in now and then. Thanks for this forum.

  • http://www.sonjavank.com/video.htm sonja

    [quote comment=""][quote comment=""]lovey-dovey, sugar candy mountain stuff[/quote]

    yes B, that’s how I see the film. So I don’t think it intentional on his part to make a progaganda film, just that this is his style. Technically it is a better film than “Bahais in my background” but “Bahais in my background” has more going on in terms of depth, research and storyline. That’s what I miss in “The Wayfarer” movie.
    There’s nothing being said in terms of narrative let alone engagement.

    I make more art-type films than documentary type stuff, but seeing the Wayfarer, I thought, yes, someone should make a meaty film. Then it would be food for thought could be a resource for Bahais to use and engage with.

    I’m not around much because I’m working on a new video myself and am travelling (briefly through LA) to do get some footage in Aotearoa.
    B, I’ll get back into contributing in March sometime and will try and dip in now and then. Thanks for this forum.

  • Andrew

    Adrian Worsfold (Pluralist Speaks) has written a cogent blog post that contains some very pertinent observations about evangelical Christianity:

    http://pluralistspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/she-is-but-im-not.html

    I mention it here because I believe it embodies a perspective that Baha’is might benefit from, a perspective that might well have been included in the Wayfarer film, had it wished to do more than simply gild the lily of Baha’i belief for the consumption of the faithful.

    “The Writings may not be coherent enough to point to truth, as much in them should be dismissed, and they are not exclusive either in their containing truths. Also doctrine should assist debate, not be a set of handcuffs or barriers.”

    Oops. I think Pluralist meant the Bible, not the Writings. The Bible is incoherent, the Writings are coherent, without any contradiction or exaggeration. Really. [Insert Program Here] How dare you suggest otherwise. If this reflects the characteristics of incoherence, then may we have more of them! [Insert Program Here] I apologize. [Insert Program Here] You are so spiritual. That is so nice. I love you. I hate you. I love you again. I hate you again. I forgive my enemies. I will never mention this again. I will mention this again. I will never mention this again. I will mention this once more. I will never mention this once more. I will mention this twice more. I will mention this thrice more. [Program Not Responding] Each day of my life is dedicated to God. I am but a humble. Let me remind you of this. Butt a humble. Bloviated to cod. [Program Not Responding] [Free Download Available]

  • Andrew

    Adrian Worsfold (Pluralist Speaks) has written a cogent blog post that contains some very pertinent observations about evangelical Christianity:

    http://pluralistspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/she-is-but-im-not.html

    I mention it here because I believe it embodies a perspective that Baha’is might benefit from, a perspective that might well have been included in the Wayfarer film, had it wished to do more than simply gild the lily of Baha’i belief for the consumption of the faithful.

    “The Writings may not be coherent enough to point to truth, as much in them should be dismissed, and they are not exclusive either in their containing truths. Also doctrine should assist debate, not be a set of handcuffs or barriers.”

    Oops. I think Pluralist meant the Bible, not the Writings. The Bible is incoherent, the Writings are coherent, without any contradiction or exaggeration. Really. [Insert Program Here] How dare you suggest otherwise. If this reflects the characteristics of incoherence, then may we have more of them! [Insert Program Here] I apologize. [Insert Program Here] You are so spiritual. That is so nice. I love you. I hate you. I love you again. I hate you again. I forgive my enemies. I will never mention this again. I will mention this again. I will never mention this again. I will mention this once more. I will never mention this once more. I will mention this twice more. I will mention this thrice more. [Program Not Responding] Each day of my life is dedicated to God. I am but a humble. Let me remind you of this. Butt a humble. Bloviated to cod. [Program Not Responding] [Free Download Available]

  • ptanrioger

    The “real” Baha'i community is different for each individual. If the film depicts what the individuals experienced objectively, then it is one facet of “real.”

  • WayfarerWatcher

    Wow, some negative thoughts about The Wayfarer and it's production. I've seen it and didn't think it was as bad as has been made out. Sure it doesn't dig into the negative/controversial aspects of the religion, and is a bit light-weight. But some interesting coverage of the persecution of Baha'i followers, also footage and interviews with Baha'i and non-Baha'i from around the world. It's target market wouldn't be Baha'i followers. As Jess Firth says in the film, as a non-Baha'i he heard about the religion from a Baha'i friend and made a film about it. He is/was the target market.

  • Billy

    Why would a film about the Baha’i Faith interview dissidents who think the Universal House of Justice should be composed of women and men, when the very Holy Writings of the Faith say otherwise? Those dissidents aren’t following Baha’u'llah and HIs teachings. They are following their own devices. They believe they know better than Baha’u'llah. How does that make them Baha’is anymore than an athiest or a member of another religion?

  • Billy

    I’m sure someone will make a film that appeals to you. I look forward to the day. Such a film will only strengthen the Cause of Bahá’u'lláh, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggests in his comment that when they preach from the pulpits against the Cause, it will only help the Cause.