And exactly HOW are these people evidence of God?
What makes you so sure that they *are* messengers?
What evidence convinces you that these people were, in fact, messengers from God?
Yes, your belief has no bearing on whether they were messengers or not. But it would still interesting to know why you concluded that they were, in fact, messengers.
By all accounts I can see, they were humans with ordinary drives, abilities, and perceptions. What convinced you that they were messengers? And then, more specifically, what convinced you they were messengers from a deity?
I went around through the back door. I did not go through the front door. I accepted the Baha'i Faith as a true religion before I ever thought in terms of Baha'u'llah as a Messenger of God. That was over 51 years ago, so it is difficult to remember everything that I was thinking back then. I can only tell you how I think about it now.
Messengers of God were humans with ordinary drives, abilities, and perceptions, but they were more than human because they had a twofold nature, human and divine.
“Unto this subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a twofold nature; the physical, pertaining to the world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born of the substance of God Himself. He hath, moreover, conferred upon Him a double station. The first station, which is related to His innermost reality, representeth Him as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself. To this testifieth the tradition: “Manifold and mysterious is My relationship with God. I am He, Himself, and He is I, Myself, except that I am that I am, and He is that He is.” …. The second station is the human station, exemplified by the following verses: “I am but a man like you.” “Say, praise be to my Lord! Am I more than a man, an apostle?” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 66-67
What makes me think that Baha'u'llah was a Messenger of God is the entirety of the evidence, and once I accepted that Baha'u'llah was a Messenger of God then I believed what He wrote about the other Messengers of God.
Some time ago when asked for evidence I posted the claims of Baha’u’llah and the evidence that supports the claims of Baha’u’llah on this thread:
Questions for knowledgeable Bahai / followers of Baha'u'llah
Below is what Baha’u’llah wrote about the 'evidence' that establishes the truth of His claims. Baha’u’llah enjoined us to look at His own Self (His character), His Revelation (His mission and works, which can be seen in Baha'i history), and His words (His Writings).
“Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. This is, verily, an evidence of His tender mercy unto men. He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them that ponder His Cause in their hearts. He will never deal unjustly with any one, neither will He task a soul beyond its power. He, verily, is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 105-106
His own Self is who He was, His character (His qualities). That can be determined by reading about Him in books such as the following:
The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volumes 1-4
His Revelation is what He accomplished (His Mission on earth/ the history of His Cause)
That can be determined by reading about His mission in books such as the following:
God Passes By (1844-1944)
The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volumes 1-4, which cover the 40 years of His Mission, from 1853-1892.
The words He hath revealed is what He wrote can be found in books that are posted online:
The Works of Bahá'u'lláh
Baha’u’llah did not consider the Bible prophecies or the predictions that He made that came to pass to be evidence that establishes the truth of His claims, but they are evidence to some people.
Baha'u'llah fulfilled the Bible prophecies that refer to the return of Christ and the promised Messiah. Those prophecies and how they were fulfilled are delineated in the following book:
William Sears, Thief in the Night
Baha'u'llah also predicted many events that later came to pass. Some of these predictions and how they came to pass are listed and delineated in this book:
The Challenge of Baha'u'llah
