Making the Crooked Straight
Making the crooked straight: a contribution to Bahá'í apologetics is the 2000 English translation of a nonfiction book by lawyer and former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany—Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfigh and Ulrich Gollmer.[1] It was first published as Desinformation Als Methode: Die Bahá'ismus Monographie des Ficicchia in 1995 in German by Georg Olms Verlag GmbH.[2] Making the Crooked Straight is a rebuttal of a highly-influential 1981 publication in German—Der Bahá'ismus — Weltreligion der Zukunft? Geschichte, Lehre, Organisation in kritischer Anfrage[3] that was inimical to the Bahá’í Faith by an ex-Bahá’í, Francesco Ficicchia.[4]:xiii-xiv[5] In Switzerland, Ficicchia had been a member of the Bahá'í community in the early 1970s.[5] In his 5 April 1978 letter to the World Centre, Ficicchia described his "embittered enmity" towards representatives of the Baha'i Faith, saying that he intended to fight them using "all possible means".[1]:33, 109 Ficicchia published the monogram in the form of a series under the auspices of the Evangelische Zentralstelle fiir Weltanschauungs- fragen (EZW)—Protestant Central Office for Questions of Ideology—which was associated with the publishing company, Quell Verlag.[1]:1,780 From 1981 until the publication of the German version of Making the Crooked Straight, accusations raised in Ficicchia's book largely shaped public and academic perception of the Bahá’í Faith in German-speaking Europe, damaging its reputation with a picture of an authoritarian cadre-dominated cult with totalitarian, fascist goals.[2]:778[5] Although Ficicchia had no formal training in religious studies, the book's editor, Michael Mildenberger, said that Ficicchia's publication was the standard work on the Faith.[1]:1
Following the book's publication the Lutheran Church in Germany revised its attitude towards the Faith, which was once again welcomed as an interfaith partner. "Making the Crooked Straight" was reprinted in 2002.
The authors systematically analyse Ficicchia's claims, his sources, his interpretation, and his methodology. They refuted several hundred specific points in detail.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Schaefer, Udo; Towfigh, Nicola; Gollmer, Ulrich (2000). Making the crooked straight: a contribution to Bahá'í apologetics. Oxford: George Ronald. p. 862. ISBN 0853984433. OCLC 1245548222.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schaefer, Udo; Towfigh, Nicola; Gollmer, Ulrich (1995). Desinformation Als Methode: Die Bahá'ismus Monographie des Ficicchia. Hildesheim, Germany: Georg Olms Verlag GmbH. p. 685.
- ↑ Ficicchia, Francesco (1981). Der Bahá'ismus: Weltreligion der Zukunft? Geschichte, Lehre, Organisation in kritischer Anfrage. Stuttgart: Quell Verlag. p. 450.
- ↑ McLean, Jack (2000). "Forward: Making the crooked straight: a contribution to Bahá'í apologetics". Oxford: George Ronald. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 McLean, Jack (2001). "The Refutation of Francesco Ficicchia and the Dangers of Silence". Retrieved May 4, 2023.
