Bahá'í interest

[Jonsul]

I was just going through the internet today when I noticed a reference to the Bahá'í faith and so I looked it up. I was astonished.
Nearly all of your teaching I myself have believed throughout my life, and taken as messages from god. I believe in religion and science joining and working with each other. I believe in the unification of all man through religion. I also found wisdom in each of the main religions and wondered if God had given prophets to the world instead of just to the Israel region and through the vast cultural differences developed into what we have now. All this I found through myself and god.

So as you can guess I'm very very interested in what is here.
Is there anyone here who can tell me more about Bahá'í. And answer my questions.

First is there an easier way to write Bahá'í?
Right now I'm copy/pasting from the wikipedia entry lol

Second I believe from my Christian history that Jesus was God come to earth.
Is this believed here or is he considered just a prophet?

More to come
Thanks

 

[arthra]

Hi Jonsul!

And welcome to the Baha'i Forum! Yes this is a good place to discuss Baha'i Faith and there are a few of us here who will be very happy to respond to your questions!

You ask:

First is there an easier way to write Bahá'í?
Right now I'm copy/pasting from the wikipedia entry lol

You can write it simply "Baha'i" or Baha'i as few keyboards have accent marks.. It sounds like "Ba-High" and is Arabic for a follower of Baha'u'llah or a follower of Light and Glory. Baha'ullah means "Glory of God" and was the title of Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri (1817-1892) Who was the Founder Prophet of the Baha'i Faith.

Second I believe from my Christian history that Jesus was God come to earth.
Is this believed here or is he considered just a prophet?

I understand your question and know that in the Christian view there are major and lesser prophets and so on... The Baha'i view is different. We believe there are Independent Prophets we call Manifestations of God and that They reflected perfectly the attributes of God to humanity. Their spiritual knowledge was innate, that is, They didn't have to learn it from somebody else.

The Manifestation is the Mediator between God and man...so if you seek God the best way to do that is to turn to Him through His Manifestation.

Jesus Christ was such a Manifestation. So to people at the time Jesus could have been seen as God but we believe what they saw was God in Him or reflected in HIm through Him but the Mirror is not the same as the Sun it reflects we believe. Just as the Sun itself cannot descend to the earth for it would desintegrate it, rather we have the benefits of the Sun .. It's light and warmth as we are at a proper distance.

There are also what we call Dependent Prophets and more or less similar to what Christians call lesser prophets.. These prophets turn for their inspiration to the Independent Prophets or Manifestations for their light and inspiration.

We believe Moses was a Manifestation of God and that the dependent Prophets turned to Him..

Finally Baha'is believe Jesus promised His Return and believe this promise was fulfilled by the Declaration of the Bab on May 23, 1844 ... the very time many Christians were looking for the Return of Christ... There is much more to say on this topic but space here is limited..

See:

http://www.bahai-library.org/introductory/warwick/return.html

- Art

 

[Jonsul]

Thanks for the reply^^

Yeah I don't have accent keys, so I'll just put Baha'i without the accents

Hmmm... that's interesting. Definitely a different way to look at it.
In Christianity viewing Jesus as anything less then god in the body of a man is really taboo, so in a way the purest mirror or manifestation of god. Christians also view Jesus as a separate but same part of god in the trinity; God, the Son, and the Holy spirit together in one they are God. How is this viewed in the Baha'i Faith?


All of it is interesting^^
I'd like to hear more

 

[arthra]

Abdul-Baha explained the doctrine of the Trinity as follows:

The epitome of the discourse is that the Reality of Christ was a clear mirror, and the Sun of Reality--that is to say, the Essence of Oneness, with its infinite perfections and attributes--became visible in the mirror. The meaning is not that the Sun, which is the Essence of the Divinity, became divided and multiplied--for the Sun is one--but it appeared in the mirror. This is why Christ said, "The Father is in the Son," meaning that the Sun is visible and manifest in this mirror.

The Holy Spirit is the Bounty of God which becomes visible and evident in the Reality of Christ.

The Sonship station is the heart of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is the station of the spirit of Christ. Hence it has become certain and proved that the Essence of Divinity is absolutely unique and has no equal, no likeness, no equivalent.
This is the signification of the Three Persons of the Trinity.

You can read more at:

Part Two -- Some Christian Subjects

- Art

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

The Trinity contradicts the Bahái view that God consists of a single, transcendent, unknowable essence. But even a literalistic conception of the Trinity can be related to the Bahái concept of God. For example, one could identify the transcendent, unknowable essence of God as the 'Father part of the Trinity. The Son and the Holy Spirit can be seen as manifestations of the essence and thus are equivalent to Gods attributes. 'Abdul-Bahá, using the analogy of the perfect mirror previously mentioned, endorses this approach:

Now if we say we have seen the Sun in two mirrors – one the Christ and one the Holy Spirit – that is to say, that we have seen three Suns, one in heaven and the other two on the earth, we speak truly. And if we say there is one Sun, and it is pure singleness, and has no partner and equal, we again speak truly. (Some Answered Questions 114)

 

[Jonsul]

I understand it now^^
Thanks

What are your feelings about the Baha'i Faith?
What do you want to achieve?

 

[arthra]

I understand it now^^
Thanks

What are your feelings about the Baha'i Faith?
What do you want to achieve?

Being Baha'is we're rather thrilled by it!

The challenge of Baha'u'llah is to unite the planet and establish peace of earth in fulfillment of the Lord's Prayer... that's the short answer.

Otherwise we seek to abolish prejudice and build a new world order based on the principles of Baha'u'llah:


I. The unity and ultimate unknowableness of God.

II. The oneness of religion. All religions share a common foundation.

III. The oneness of humanity. The peoples of the earth are all equal in the sight of God.

IV. The elimination of all forms of prejudice, including those based on racial, economic, intellectual, religious, sexual, or national factors.

V. Everyone is responsible for investigating the truth for themself. There are no clergy in the Bahá'í Faith.

VI. The establishment of a universal auxiliary language to be learned in addition to one's native tongue.

VII. The fundamental equality of men and women based on the principle of complimentarity.

VIII. Universal education.

IX. The essential harmony of science and religion.

X. The elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth.

XI. The establishment of a world commonwealth.

XII. The protection and encouragement of cultural diversity based on the Bahá'í principle of "unity in diversity."

XIII. A spiritual solution to economic problems.

XIV. The establishment of an international tribunal.


- Art

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Ultimately the Bahai's are trying to unity humanity and abolishing injustice/hatred in the world.... unification of languages and currency are bar 1 of the many aspects we are trying to achieve artha layed out the 12 fundemental teachings of our faith which gives a great over view for seekers such as yourself.

Here are some quotes that you may want to read and reflect upon let me know what you think

The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215)

O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error.

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 263)

 

[Jonsul]

Ultimately the Bahai's are trying to unity humanity and abolishing injustice/hatred in the world.... unification of languages and currency are bar 1 of the many aspects we are trying to achieve artha layed out the 12 fundemental teachings of our faith which gives a great over view for seekers such as yourself.

Here are some quotes that you may want to read and reflect upon let me know what you think

The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215)

O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error.

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 263)

I always find Baha'u'llah's writings so beautiful

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Yes they are indeed amazingly beautiful how is ur investigation going seeker Jonsul

 

[Steinninn]

I'm so lucky we use accent keys in Iceland, so I can write bahá'í and Bahá'u'lláh without problem

For me, as a bahá'í, I fell it is imporant to serve. Every day is a service to God. Wether it's walking to the supermarket, working, teaching, meeting people. If I do all that in the utmost humility and service that I'm happy.

You might be interested in some of the laws in the bahá'í faith. I'll point out a few from the tip of my head, from those that have not yet been listed:
Reading the obligatory prayer once a day (there is a selection of three prayers you can chose from)
Repetition the Greatest Name 95 times a day
Being obedient to the government of one's country
Reading the holy writings in the morning and evening.
No alcohol or drugs
We fast for 19 days each year.
Pilgrimage to Haifa in Israel at least once
Meeting every 19 days to hold a 19 day feast.

Ok, I looked some of these up on Wikipedia. And also found a few more thins that are forbidden that I wanted to list: begging, clergy, confession of sins, gambling.

I hope this helps. There are a lot of rules, but don't get carried away, in reality it's very simple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGz7qPJRhbo