Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 143
Stewart, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary in New Orleans sums up the matter fairly well when he writes that this book
should be read by virtually all evangelical pastors and anyone who has attended a Gothard
seminar, is considering attending one, or just wants to know more about the ministry of Bill
Gothard.
Rev. Dr. John Dillon
Charles Mason Remey and the Bahá'í Faith
Francis C. Spataro
Tover Publications, The Remey Society. 80-46 234 St., Queens, NY 11427-2116.
2003 40 pages (paperback). $15. ISBN 0-9671656-3-6.
Mr. Spataro‘s account of Remey‘s life borders on adoration. Spataro‘s intensity is, of course,
not shared by the current leadership of the Faith.
The back cover tells the reader that Spataro, a high school teacher, was first introduced to
the Faith by followers of Remey in 1976. For three years he researched the life of Remey
and others who follow what they call the ―Orthodox Bahá'í Faith.‖ He gives an economical
but clear history of the Faith up to the time of his writing, 1987.
For Spataro, the ―apostolic period‖ of the Faith began in 1863 when Mirza Husayn Ali, (1817
– 1892) exiled son of the Persian prime minister, was living in Baghdad. Spataro said he
was recognized by ―Moslems, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians‖ as
Jesus Christ returned to earth. His disciples called him Bahá'u'lláh, the glory of God on
Earth. For Spataro, the apostolic period ended when Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, Bahá'u'lláh's
great-grandson died in 1957 without a will specifying who should be the next guardian of
the Faith.
Spataro compares what happened next to the violation of God‘s covenant that occurred in
early Islam when certain Muslim elders set aside the wishes of Mohammed that his son-in-
law Ali be his successor. In 1963, the institution of guardianship, set up by Bahá'u'lláh's son
was set aside by the ―Hands of the Cause‖ and, according to Spataro, an ―unduly elected‖
―International House of Justice‖ abrogated the guardianship completely.
Remey, appointed by Shoghi Effendi himself in 1951 as the President of the International
Bahá'í Council, led a minority of the membership against the ―Hands of the Cause,‖ who
decided they should simply carry on the Faith without a guardian, utilizing the
democratically elected local, national and international ―Houses of Justice‖ as the final word
on matters not specified in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Spataro condemns all this implying a
will was unnecessary and that Remey was the legitimate and duly designated Sacred Head
or Second Guardian.
Forced into ―exile‖ in the Florentine suburb of Fiesole, Remey lived out his life branded as a
defector, who, after losing lawsuits, was publicly unable to use the term ―Bahá'í. Those who
followed him called the new group, ―The Abha World Faith: the Orthodox World Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.‖ His followers consider The Bahá'ís of Haifa ―usurpers.‖
Spataro is not content to leave the story there. He adds a final chapter as a sort of olive
branch that asserts all ―Bahá'ís‖ agree that Bahá'u'lláh is the ―Lord of the New Day,‖
regardless of their view of the present administration.
Precious few details of Remey‘s early life are given. The book feels like it is a mercilessly
cut-down version of a longer work, skipping sometimes in mid sentence from one thought to
another. The story of Remey‘s conversion in 1899 at age 25 out of the anti-hierarchy Anglo-
Catholic Oxford Movement is astonishingly short of detail. Spataro instead focuses on the
―firmness and devotion to the cause‖ of those who were Remey‘s early instructors.
Stewart, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary in New Orleans sums up the matter fairly well when he writes that this book
should be read by virtually all evangelical pastors and anyone who has attended a Gothard
seminar, is considering attending one, or just wants to know more about the ministry of Bill
Gothard.
Rev. Dr. John Dillon
Charles Mason Remey and the Bahá'í Faith
Francis C. Spataro
Tover Publications, The Remey Society. 80-46 234 St., Queens, NY 11427-2116.
2003 40 pages (paperback). $15. ISBN 0-9671656-3-6.
Mr. Spataro‘s account of Remey‘s life borders on adoration. Spataro‘s intensity is, of course,
not shared by the current leadership of the Faith.
The back cover tells the reader that Spataro, a high school teacher, was first introduced to
the Faith by followers of Remey in 1976. For three years he researched the life of Remey
and others who follow what they call the ―Orthodox Bahá'í Faith.‖ He gives an economical
but clear history of the Faith up to the time of his writing, 1987.
For Spataro, the ―apostolic period‖ of the Faith began in 1863 when Mirza Husayn Ali, (1817
– 1892) exiled son of the Persian prime minister, was living in Baghdad. Spataro said he
was recognized by ―Moslems, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians‖ as
Jesus Christ returned to earth. His disciples called him Bahá'u'lláh, the glory of God on
Earth. For Spataro, the apostolic period ended when Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, Bahá'u'lláh's
great-grandson died in 1957 without a will specifying who should be the next guardian of
the Faith.
Spataro compares what happened next to the violation of God‘s covenant that occurred in
early Islam when certain Muslim elders set aside the wishes of Mohammed that his son-in-
law Ali be his successor. In 1963, the institution of guardianship, set up by Bahá'u'lláh's son
was set aside by the ―Hands of the Cause‖ and, according to Spataro, an ―unduly elected‖
―International House of Justice‖ abrogated the guardianship completely.
Remey, appointed by Shoghi Effendi himself in 1951 as the President of the International
Bahá'í Council, led a minority of the membership against the ―Hands of the Cause,‖ who
decided they should simply carry on the Faith without a guardian, utilizing the
democratically elected local, national and international ―Houses of Justice‖ as the final word
on matters not specified in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Spataro condemns all this implying a
will was unnecessary and that Remey was the legitimate and duly designated Sacred Head
or Second Guardian.
Forced into ―exile‖ in the Florentine suburb of Fiesole, Remey lived out his life branded as a
defector, who, after losing lawsuits, was publicly unable to use the term ―Bahá'í. Those who
followed him called the new group, ―The Abha World Faith: the Orthodox World Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.‖ His followers consider The Bahá'ís of Haifa ―usurpers.‖
Spataro is not content to leave the story there. He adds a final chapter as a sort of olive
branch that asserts all ―Bahá'ís‖ agree that Bahá'u'lláh is the ―Lord of the New Day,‖
regardless of their view of the present administration.
Precious few details of Remey‘s early life are given. The book feels like it is a mercilessly
cut-down version of a longer work, skipping sometimes in mid sentence from one thought to
another. The story of Remey‘s conversion in 1899 at age 25 out of the anti-hierarchy Anglo-
Catholic Oxford Movement is astonishingly short of detail. Spataro instead focuses on the
―firmness and devotion to the cause‖ of those who were Remey‘s early instructors.
