[MattR644]

Originally Posted by Ozymandias

I'm gonna guess that the previous leader on the island had recently died and Alpert thought that young John was the reincarnation of said leader. I think he wanted him to pick the comic book (which mentioned "Hidden Land" or something of that nature), to symbolize the island.

The book is interesting too. Some stuff I read on another site:

Now the Book of Laws or Kitab-i-Aqbas is the most important text to the Baha'i faith, which a few people have pointed out. You can read a synopsis of it here: Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Page 165

What I find more interesting is the religion itself, which I knew little about. Here are a few notes from religionfacts.com (quotes from that site as well):

-Every religion is equally important because each was founded by a messenger from the same God. "Progressive Revelation" basically means that God has slowly over time made himself known in different ways to different people in whatever ways were appropriate for that time - thus, different religions were formed.

-There was no original sin and Satan does not exist. People who become evil have done so of their own free will.

-Humanity will never understand God. We only know little pieces from what God's manifestations have told us (Jesus, Buddha, etc.).

-The worst "sin" (though they don't use that term) is PRIDE. "The prideful person feels in absolute control of his life and the circumstances surrounding it and he seeks power and dominance over others because such power helps him maintain this illusion of superiority."

-About the afterlife:
"Thus Bahá'ís do not regard heaven and hell as literal places but as different states of being during one's spiritual journey toward or away from God.

Bahá'ís understand the spiritual world to be a timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some physically remote or removed place.

But beyond this, the exact nature of the afterlife remains a mystery. Bahá'u'lláh wrote, "The nature of the soul after death can never be described." "


In general, the religion focuses on world peace and teaches that all of humanity's problems are due to spiritual problems. Every so often, a new manifestation of God is chosen to deliver more information to us. They also believe that science and religion are harmonious.