From Baha’i to the Bible

The Personal Testimony of Karen Ellis Clarke

Church attendance was very important in our home. We went to church at least three times each week. I attended Christian camps, sang in the choir, and was involved in a missions group at church. My family history included a great, great aunt, and two of her brothers who had served as missionaries to China. With such a rich Christian heritage, most people would think that would automatically choose to travel the straight and narrow way, but this was definitely not the case.

When I was nine, my mother told me it was time for me to “walk the aisle” in church. My older sister and brother had done this, and now it was my turn. I was baptized shortly thereafter and joined the church, but I did not know Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.

In high school, I went on a particular date that ended up as a pot party. At that time the students who did drugs were the minority. But before I knew it, I had joined that crowd. We gradually went from pot and alcohol to harder drugs. All the while, our rock ‘n roll music served to accompany our wicked lifestyle. As time progressed, my rebellion against my parents only increased! 

Once, after receiving a visit from some investigators, my parents seriously discussed sending me away to a school for “problem teenagers.” My life had become a living nightmare for them. My sister suggested that I should see a psychiatrist, and that was the path they chose. During one of my visits, the psychiatrist noticed the peace sign I was wearing around my neck, and he asked if I had peace. I said, “Yes,” but in fact, I had no peace at all. He told my mother that I this was just a stage, and that should be allowed to do whatever I wanted.At that time, I sincerely though I was free, yet in reality I was in deep bondage.

For my twelfth grade year, I went to the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem. The first day there, my roommate lit up a cigarette and said, “Ah, freedom at last!” She too was glad to be away from her parents, and through her influence, I went from bad to worse. The wild parties on the weekends only left me feeling more and more depressed. I knew I needed something, but I just didn’t know what.

I had rebelled against Christianity, mainly because it was the religion of my parents. Another friend of mine invited me to a meeting of the Baha’i Faith. This Easter religion is cult whose leader is called Baha’u’llah. I was glad when I found out I could join the group without having to admit I was a sinner who was on my way to Hell. I signed a card saying I would live my life by the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Thus I became religious. I helped a blind lady cross the road, I would fast and pray in the woods, and I thought all of this would surely please God. I had become a good girl, yet inwardly, I was still empty.

After art school, I attended a state university in Richmond, Virginia. My involvement in the Baha’i Faith continued for two and a half years. There, while I was in college, I received a letter from a close friend who wrote to say, “I know you are going to think this is crazy, but I have become a Christian.” I was shocked! How could this be? This was the same person who had led me into the Baha’i Faith. She and I used to mock the old hymns. In fact, Christianity was our favorite joke. This news left me whirling in confusion, and I made a point, the next time I was on a college break, to speak to her. In our conversation she said, “If I’m right, and you’re wrong, then you will be left behind.” Her words troubled me deeply,and I began to think about where I would spend eternity.

At Christmas, she gave me a book that was specifically written to challenge young people in my situation. At first, I was offended that she had given me a Christian book, but out of curiosity, I read it three times. Finally, I was beginning to understand what it meant to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

One night, after I had stopped going to the Baha’i meetings, my roommate hugged my neck, crying, and begged me to return. I had been responsible for winning her over to the Baha’i Faith. I told her if I checked out any religion, it was going to be Christianity. I was starting to think my parents were right. I began attending church again for the first time in years. Whenever I went, my need for Christ was clearly preached. I heard that I was a sinner, who was, “dead in trespasses and sins” Ephesians 2:1. I would sit in the back of the church hoping to avoid the people. I wanted to be the last one to arrive, and the first one to leave. Christians scared me, and I didn’t want them to get too close. They seemed far too friendly, and shaking hands after the service only encouraged me to get out of there…fast!

My search for answers led me to the Bible. I came across the words, “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” Matthew 7:15. It was as if I had a magnifying glass when I saw this verse. I knew I was guilty of worshiping a false prophet. The more I read, the more I realized I was going to hell. In my confusion, I began praying to Baha’u’llah and to Jesus Christ. They both claimed to be the sent One from God. I prayed that they would show me who the true Messiah really was. One day, while working on an art project, I looked a cross that was not an intended part of the painting. All of these events helped me to realize Christ had actually died in my place, and Baha’u’llah had not! Jesus showed me through His Word that He is “the way, the truth and the life” John 14:6.

So in 1974, in a high rise dorm in Richmond, Virginia, I got on my knees and asked God to forgive me for worshiping a false prophet. I asked Jesus to come into my life and to change it. To my shock, I experienced peace for the very first time! Shortly after that I was baptized in obedience to God’s Word, and again, I was flooded with joy.

If you are trapped in a life of drugs and alcohol, there is hope. If you are trapped in a religious life, there is hope. If you are a regular church goer who does not know Jesus as Saviour and Lord, there is hope for you as well. It is found in the One who gave His life, to die in your place!

Christ shed His blood and died on the cross for you. “…Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” Hebrews 9:22. He rose from the dead, and just like He changed my life, He can change your life too. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” II Corinthians 5:17. Turn to Jesus in prayer.

“Lord, I am a sinner deserving of Hell. Yet I know you alone fully paid for my sin. This moment I turn all I have trusted to save me, to you, Jesus, who died and rose again for me. I rest in you now, as my only Saviour. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me.”

Did you genuinely trust in Christ? Then He saved you. He has given you abundant life today and the promise of eternal life in Heaven! Contact us and tell us of your salvation!

Karen Ellis Clarke

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