The Hard Way Booklet

President Obama once called income inequality the “defining challenge of our time.”

What does Baha’u’llah have to say about this?  You might be surprised.

This booklet, written in 2009, offers a Baha’i perspective on most of the economic issues that are being talked about today.  It includes the quotations and statistics you will need to discuss the issues knowledgeably. The statistics are a little dated, but I can assure you that they have only gotten worse.

Bahá’u’lláh said we should eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty. For a century Bahá’ís have presented this principle as a moral issue. This booklet explains why the gap between the ultra rich and the rest of us directly caused our current economic difficulties.  It not only explains our current economic situation in clear terms, but also shows how the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh offer a clear path towards a future solution. It includes over two full pages of Bahá’í quotations on economic issues.

Use it for firesides and deepenings. Give it away at fairs and farmer’s markets. Share it with business leaders, economists, students, and anyone worried about the effect of consumerism and the global economy on the world’s ecology.

If you would like to read the whole thing before buying multiple copies, click here to read my blog post.

Here is the introduction:

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For thousands of years, wise men and prophets have warned us that greed, selfishness and arrogance were not good for us and that we should practice generosity, service and humility.

We didn’t believe them.

Moses said “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

We ignored Him.

Jesus said “feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the sick.”

We stuck our fingers in our ears.

Mohammed said “Woe betide every slanderer and defamer, him that layeth up riches and counteth them.”

We kept on counting our money.

All three of them told us not to charge interest on loans.

We conveniently forgot.

Bahá’u’lláh said we should eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty.

We never acknowledged His existence.

We thought that these were moral teachings designed to get us into heaven. We never dreamed that they were economic teachings designed to make the world function more smoothly. After all, what does God know about economics?

Actually, as it turns out, quite a bit.

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This 16 page, 6×10.5″ booklet has color inside and out, including graphs and illustrations in an easy-to-read magazine format.

By Justice St Rain, author of My Baha’i Faith, True Wealth for Troubled Times, and Why Me? – A Spiritual Guide to Growing Through Tests.