Professor Hatcher’s work “The Face of God Among Us” (2010) is a highly-structured analysis of the Manifestations of God, based entirely on passages from the authoritative Bahá’í texts. Divided in the four major parts, this work attempts to assay the purpose, the nature, the powers, and the methodology of these Divine Emissaries. This brief presentation will focus on several enigmatic questions related to the nature and powers of the Manifestations, focusing most particularly on what seems to be the epiphany They experience (ostensibly as a signal to begin Their ministry) and on the extent to which They are the authors of Their Own revelation (as opposed to being merely conduits through which God communicates with humankind). Read a summary of his talk
here. John S. Hatcher received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. He is Professor Emeritus in English literature at the University of South Florida in Tampa where he served as Director of Graduate Studies in English and where he specialized in teaching medieval literature and creative writing. Professor Hatcher taught English literature at the university level for 43 years, 39 of which were at the University of South Florida. He has published some thirty books, plus numerous articles, chapters, and poems. He is currently the editor of the
Journal of Baha’i Studies.
