At that time [the time of Christ] the peoples of the world
were utterly ignorant, fanatical and idolatrous. Only a small group of Jews
professed belief in the oneness of God and they were wretched outcasts. These
holy Christian souls now stood up to promulgate a Cause which was diametrically
opposed and repugnant to the beliefs of the entire human race. The kings of
four out of the world’s five continents inexorably resolved to wipe out the
followers of Christ, and nevertheless in the end most of them set about promoting
the Faith of God with their whole hearts; all the nations of Europe, many of
the peoples of Asia and Africa, and some of the inhabitants of the islands of
the Pacific, were gathered into the shelter of the oneness of God.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
