Neal Chase
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Neal Chase (born January 30, 1966) claims to be the great grandson of 'Abdu'l-Baha being adopted and appointed the successor to Pepe Remey as the current Guardian of the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant, and the one seated on the Davidic throne as the current President of the Second International Baha'i Council established January 9th, 1991 by Dr. Leland Jensen.
Background
Neal Chase was born a male Jew on Sunday, January 30, 1966 in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After becoming a born-again Christian in his teens – accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, Chase made his public declaration as a Baha'i in 1985 at the age of 19 while attending Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Chase’s public declaration of Faith as a Baha’i came after his completion of the Baha’i 7 Firesides Course given by his mentor Dr. Leland Jensen. After teaching, writing and public speaking about the Baha’i Covenant for several years, he moved to Deer Lodge, Montana to investigate the prophecies of the Morrisites who pioneered the valley in hopes to find the return of Jesus there. His research was published in his book “Ezekiel’s Temple in Montana” (1990).
He hosted a weekly call-in talk show on Missoula Cable Access Television (MCAT) every Friday night from 1991-2001 called Baha'i Phone-in Live. The format allowed callers to discuss issues ranging from religion, world events, politics, and special interests. He was invited to speak on the Art Bell radio show "Coast to Coast" in March 1993 after receiving national attention for a press release which accurately predicted date of the Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and also appeared on NBC Television on Michael Moore’s TV Nation concerning future prophecies of attacks against the city of New York. Chase has served as a board member of the Second International Baha'i Council since it's inception on January 9th, 1991. He is believed by the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant to be the 4th Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. As Guardian he is the acting President of the Second International Baha'i Council.
Guardianship Claim
Chase's claim to the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith is linked to his and the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant's belief that the Guardians of the Faith must be Aghsan, or Branches, male descendants of Baha'u'llah. They believe that since 'Abdu'l-Baha had no biological sons, he adopted a son to succeed him on the Throne of David. To his son Mason, ‘Abdu’l-Baha has declared:
- “I have adopted you as my son [aghsan]. You have to appreciate this favor very much indeed. One should see that you are living according to the requirements of this sonship. You should be aware of your responsibilities. My prayers will help you. I always pray for you. ” (‘Abdu’l-Baha to Mason Remey, cf. “The Diaries of Mason Remey”, Folio 2, "A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Reminisces of the Master, 1921", pp. 127-129. New York Public Library Collection)
They claim that according to the British Mandate governing Palestine during the lifetime of 'Abdu'l-Baha, his public and written declarations to Charles Mason Remey of "my dear son" and "my son" constituted a legal adoption between the two and is in complete accord with the laws and traditions governing the country of residence at the time of the adoption as upheld by the British Mandate in the West, and the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
The Law of Adoption
Chase points to the “Law of Adoption” as cited in “The Most Mighty Document” written by Dr. Leland Jensen, whom all the Baha’is Under the Provisions of the Covenant accept to be the establisher of the Baha’i Faith:
THE LAW OF ADOPTION (excerpt from Most Mighty Document full text in PDF)
When ‘Abdu’l-Baha adopted Mason Remey to succeed him to the throne of David as his son, this was legal and binding. According to the laws of the Ottoman Empire of the Middle East that ruled over Palestine before it became the state of Israel, a legal adoption occurred when a man called another his son. Then the British Mandate of the West which succeeded the Ottoman Empire retained the adoption laws of the Ottoman Empire as legal and binding under their rule. Then, for the Israeli government, the law for adoption remained the same. If a man calls another his son and leaves him a token to show inheritance (whether it be a stick or a stone or something), then the adoption is legal and binding. When ‘Abdu’l-Baha proclaimed that Mason was his son (privately, publicly and in letters published in Star of the West Magazine), these were not “vague terms of affection but expressed the precise legal relationship which had been created between them.” Here is cited the law of adoption in the Middle East (from Ottoman times to the present) upheld by the British Mandate of the West and the Israeli Supreme Court on June 22, 1960, long after ‘Abdu’l-Baha adopted Mason to be his son and heir.
- “This idea of equating adopted children with natural children in matters of succession is well expressed in a responsum of Rabbi Jacob Emden which the learned Judge cited in another decision, In re: Succession of the late Yoseph Blum deceased (4) (at pp. 161), as follows: “If he rears the child for the glory of God the child is certainly to be regarded as his child and not only in lineage, but even where the child had parents and is being brought up by the stranger as a meritorious act, if the latter has no children [‘Abdu’l-Baha had no living natural sons] and is bringing up the child to be his son and to succeed him and they address each other as father and son” (response of Yavetz, Part I, section 168). So also with the deceased in the present case: He reared the child as his daughter to succeed him, and she called him “father” and he called her “daughter.” These were not vague terms of affection but expressed the precise legal relationship which had been created between them – at any rate with respect to the matter of succession.” (Selected Judgments from the Israeli Supreme Court, Vol. III, pp. 426-7.)
This was usually confirmed by some token such as a stick or a stone, or something, to make it definite that it was meant that it was a legal adoption. This is called institutive evidence.
- “Institutive evidence is that which is created or adopted as a memorial of a fact and for the purpose of being evidence of the fact. The stone set up for a boundary; the giving of a clod of earth or a twig in livery of seizing as evidence or the transfer of the title [etc]....” (Sagebeer, The Bible in Court, p. 104.)
“The Master gave Mr. Remey what no one else ever received – relics of the Blood and Hair of Baha’u’llah; in the East this act symbolizes Mr. Remey’s adoption as a Son by ‘Abdu’l-Baha and his becoming a member of the Holy Family.” (Questions and Answers about Charles Mason Remey and the Baha’i Faith, by F.C. Spataro.)
Shoghi Effendi recognized ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s adoption of Mason as true and legal. Immediately after the death of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi called Mason to the Holy land in February and March of 1922 giving to him a “package of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s most sacred possession,” which was left to Shoghi Effendi, as the executor of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Will to deliver to Mason Remey as his inheritance: “locks of Baha’u’llah’s hair” (which represents the headship of the International Baha’i Council/Universal House of Justice) and “drops of his coagulated blood” (which represents the bloodline of David and Baha’u’llah). On the outside of the package Shoghi Effendi addressed it to ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s “dear son” whom he later appointed to the headship of the IBC/UHJ. The hair and blood are the tokens of inheritance. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s most prized possession shows the evidence of the legal adoption passed on from father to son – ‘Abdu’l-Baha to Mason. This type of evidence of a token is called “institutive evidence.” (The Most Mighty Document (TMMD), p. iv)
Token of the Hair and the Blood
Chase points to the "Hair and Blood of Baha'u'llah" token given to Remey from Shoghi Effendi upon the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha as a reiteration and confirmation of the legal adoption. On the front of the packet Shoghi Effendi wrote:
- “Coagulated drops of Baha’u’llah’s all-Sacred Blood and Ringlets of His Most Blessed Locks Presented as my most precious possession to ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s ‘dear son’ Mr. Charles Mason Remey, (signed) Shoghi March 1922”
Mason Remey Aghsan Guardian
When Shoghi Effendi set up his International Baha'i Council he appointed Mason Remey as it's President. The Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant believe that this adoption and appointment made Mason Remey the Guardian upon the passing of the first Guardian Shoghi Effendi.
This lineage continued through adoption from Mason Remey to his adopted son Joseph Pepe. Pepe was given Power of Attorney over Remey's affairs, and is believed by the Baha’is Under the Provisions of the Covenant to be his appointed successor.
Mason stated in his writings that "a natural branch of the same family of Baha'u'llah but not of those that broke the Covenant would be grafted back into the Aghsan line". Pepe fulfilled this in his adoption of Neal Chase who, like Baha'u'llah is a Jew, descended from the same family of the Exilarch Bostanai, but of the branch that moved from Persia up into Russia.
Adopted Aghsan son of Pepe
Neal Chase claims a relationship developed over the course of many years through written correspondence with Pepe Remey, which eventually led Pepe Remey to adopt and appoint Chase as his successor. Chase points to a series of letters where Pepe refers to Chase as "my dear boy" and "my son" as evidence that Pepe adopted him in the same manner that 'Abdu'l-Baha adopted his father Mason Remey. In one such letter Pepe asked: "shall I adopt you?". Chase further asserts his claim of appointment with the fact that the Executor of Pepe's estate was enjoined by Pepe's Will to bestow certain artifacts from Pepe's estate in person to Chase, including the "Blood and Hair Locks of Baha'u'llah" that 'Abdu'l-Baha had left for Mason Remey upon His death. This artifact was an inheritance from Mason Remey to his son Pepe and along with a Lapus Lazuli ring that Mason had commissioned were bequeathed to Chase in Pepe's Will.
Testing the People
Chase explains that one of the central roles of the guardian is to test the people, to see if they will go by the Criteria in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha on page 12 (the guardians must be aghsan first and then appointed) for the succession of the guardians or if they will go by something else and separate themselves from the living guardian and thereby remove themselves out from under the protection of the Covenant. Chase believes that the purpose of these tests is to separate out the pure of heart from those that are not. He points to the writings of Dr. Jensen which affirm this belief:
- “It appears that the guardians of the Baha’i faith are trying to out-do each other in finding UNIQUE ways to appoint their successors. These are TESTS to TEST the believers to see if they really do believe….” (Dr. Leland Jensens "Covenant Fireside Class")
- “Mason explained to me that in the unique way that Shoghi Effendi appointed his successor the guardianship was tested. He said the believers would not be put through that test again. He said the next time they wouldn’t know who the guardian is for a while. This is through his unique way of appointing you. It seems that the guardians try to out-do each other in using unique ways in appointing their successors. For me I must be absolutely certain that the one that I support and give my allegiance is the true guardian. I must take no one’s word for this. I must see with my own eyes. Investigate with my own intellect and know with my own heart.” (Dr. Leland Jensen, Letter to Pepe, July 19, 1975, p. 2)
The Deliberate Public Controversy
Chase believes that part of helping the people to pass the test a great public controversy was deliberately created by the leadership in the faith since the passing on of the first Guardian Shoghi Effendi in Nov. 4, 1957. Neal Chase has pointed to ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet entitled “The Wisdom of the Apostles”, in which it states that sometimes it is necessary to enter into a public controversy “in the spirit of the antagonist” in order to draw attention to important points to educate the people.
Chase points to his adoptive father’s role in this public controversy, and in the manner and style Pepe chose to adopt and appoint Neal Chase to be his Aghsan successor as summed up in several personal letters to both Dr. Jensen and his son Chase in Pepe’s own words:
- "The conditions under which he [Mason] lived forced him to make the many steps he took and thus a great confusion (in the minds of those who failed the test) ensued as a result." (Pepe to Dr. Jensen, 24 July 1975)
- "Mason told me that the Guardian of the Faith must be respected and followed and upheld even if he becomes “gaga”…..that was his own _expression." (Pepe to Dr. Jensen, 24 July 1975)
- “Dear Neal Chase: In spite of my many “harsh” words for you—which are “forced efforts” on my part to provoke you into “open conflict” – there has always remained some “carry over” of the initial “agreeability” of our first contact.” “Keep on opposing me—but don’t be so nasty! I like something about you.” (Pepe to Neal, 9/9/91 and 9/23/91)
- "Be surprised what beautiful spiritual expressions will be showered on you. It wasn't my nature to be vulgar." (Pepe to Neal 9/20/91)
- "Unfortunately, my Italian sentiments got the best of me and I allowed myself to get carried away in my retaliatory responses." (Pepe to Dr. Leland Jensen 2/9/92)
Giving away the Test
Chase claims that Pepe, while guarding the faith, form those with impure hearts, deliberately gave away the Test in private letters to Chase and others repeatedly affirming and admitting that he was in fact the Guardian and only possible successor to Mason Remey and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. As one example of this Chase cites a letter from Pepe where Pepe writes:
- "Mason was confident that in time the masses of Believers would come to the conclusion that they needed and wanted a Guardian. Had they done so during his lifetime, I should not have objected to being his successor. Mason would have delighted in the conclusion regarding the Afnan and Aghsan branches and if it is true that Mason was, in fact, the adopted Aghsan son of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and if that fact were to be generally accepted, then I should not be able to refuse being his only possible successor.... The fact will always remain that if the Baha'i Faith must have a Guardian to progress, then only Mason Remey could have fulfilled that role, and Mason Remey intended me as his successor…"''(Pepe, 25 July 1991)
UN Awards UHJ.NET to Chase
Currently Chase is undergoing attacks for his beliefs in many harassing law suits intending to stop him using legal means from teaching the Baha’i faith according to his beliefs. A recent case that was won in his favor concerned the United Nations awarded the domain name UHJ.NET to Chase and his fellow loyal remembers of the Second International Baha'i Council, that the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant accept as the True Universal House of Justice of Baha’u’llah, that is the sole and Supreme Authority in the faith after the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 – with the aghsan Guardian – Chase – as its current living president. The United Nations panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) made this landmark decision awarding UHJ.NET to Chase and the Baha’is Under the Provisions of the Covenant in June 18, 2005.
- Sources:
Baha'i Covenant-breakers Thwarted in Domain Dispute
Contributions, Publications, and Notability
PUBLICATIONS
Neal Chase is the author of several published books, of note are:
- Lazarus the Sick World (1987) by Neal Chase
- Ezekiel’s Temple in Montana (1990) by Neal Chase
- e-Book: King of Terror (2003) Foreword and Afterword
He has also been published in
- Harper’s Magazine (February 1995)
- The Anthology, The End of the World (1997) by Lewis H. Lapham
Anthology, Includes:
- Epic of Gilgamesh, Moses Genesis, Plato, Virgil, Isaiah, Mark, Josephus, Pliny, John, Augustine, Joachim de Fiore, Da Vinci, Columbus, Nostradamus, Shakespeare, George Washington, Mary Shelley, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Jack London, Freud, H.L. Menkin, Primo Levi, and Neal Chase
MEDIA Radio and Television:
- He has been guest on the Art Bell Radio Show in 1994,
- He appeared on Michael Moore’s TV Nation, aired on NBC and BBC
- He has appeared on KUFM Public Radio in Montana
- And for 9 years hosted the television program Baha’i Phone-Live on MCAT from 1992-2001
Newspapers:
- “Killing People to Get Elected” (1992) by Neal Chase, Published in the Phoenix Liberator
- Articles about him and his work:
- The Missoulian (January 29, 1991) “Baha’i: Deer Lodge Sanctuary)” Front page.
- The Montana Standard (Feb. 9, 1991) “Ezekiel’s Temple in Montana!”
- The Missoula Independent (July 17-24, 1997) “Millennial Fever” Front page.
- The Missoulian (Sept. 20, 2001) “9-11: A Time to Weep”
ACADEMIC STUDIES: Chase and his work is also the subject of several academic studies concerning the Sociology of Religion and the History of the Baha’i faith. Two of these are:
- Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements (1997) by Tom Robbins
- Expecting Armageddon (2000) edited by Jon R Stone
Other references:
- Mason Remey and his Followers - 2002 edition
- Beliefnet Discussion
- World Wide Wager
- Is George Bush the Third Anti-Christ
- Brief History of the Apocolypse
Source of Letters
Personal Letters of Pepe Remey
See Also
Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant