The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume Judgment and Salvation The soul animates the body and grows and develops only through the individual’s relationship with God, as mediated by His Messengers The relationship is fostered through prayer, knowledge of the scriptures revealed by these Teachers, love for God, moral selfdiscipline, and service to humanity This process is what gives meaning to life.22 If the soul fails to develop, one remains distant from God Bahá’u’lláh repeatedly stressed that only revealed religion can save us from our imperfections This is the salvation that religion brings It does not save us from the stain of some “original sin,” nor does it protect us from some external evil force or devil Rather, it delivers us from captivity to our own lower nature, a captivity that breeds private despair and threatens social destruction, and religion shows us the path to a deep and satisfying happiness Special Doctrine Treatment of Animals: Bahá’u’lláh has commanded kindness to animals and has specifically condemned burdening an animal with more than it can bear Because animals not have the power of speech, Abdu’l-Bahá states that they are to be treated with even more consideration than are people: “…ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǣ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ”23 The Cause and Purpose of Suffering: During our lives we inevitably have periods of time when things are not going well Whether it is caused by death, poverty, disease, or the actions of others, suffering is an inevitable consequence of our lives on this earth There are periods when nothing seems to go right and every path to happiness is blocked with insurmounta le arriers 51