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Freewill Revisited

ecco

Veteran Member
“In conclusion of this theme, I feel, it should be stated that the Revelation identified with Bahá’u’lláh abrogates unconditionally all the Dispensations gone before it, upholds uncompromisingly the eternal verities they enshrine, recognizes firmly and absolutely the Divine origin of their Authors, preserves inviolate the sanctity of their authentic Scriptures, disclaims any intention of lowering the status of their Founders or of abating the spiritual ideals they inculcate, clarifies and correlates their functions, reaffirms their common, their unchangeable and fundamental purpose, reconciles their seemingly divergent claims and doctrines, readily and gratefully recognizes their respective contributions to the gradual unfoldment of one Divine Revelation, unhesitatingly acknowledges itself to be but one link in the chain of continually progressive Revelations, supplements their teachings with such laws and ordinances as conform to the imperative needs, and are dictated by the growing receptivity, of a fast evolving and constantly changing society, and proclaims its readiness and ability to fuse and incorporate the contending sects and factions into which they have fallen into a universal Fellowship, functioning within the framework, and in accordance with the precepts, of a divinely conceived, a world-unifying, a world-redeeming Order.” God Passes By, p. 100
Wow. All that in just one short sentence. Care to break it down into what it means to you.​
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Yes, the Baha’i Faith is special in the sense that it is the “current” Truth from God that God wants everyone to follow in this new age....
Most of the world's "real" religions consider Baha’i to be a cult.
Why does it matter what these religions think? The Baha’i Faith was either revealed by God to Baha’u’llah or not. That is the ONLY THING that matters and the only thing that God expects us to determine, and for which we are all responsible... Since we all have the capacity to recognize Baha’u’llah we will all be held accountable.

“...... Suffer not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense veils of your selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto men. It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such a capacity, how could he be called to account for his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst standing in the presence of God, be asked: “Wherefore hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty and turned away from My Self,” and if such a man should reply and say: “Inasmuch as all men have erred, and none hath been found willing to turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal,” such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one except himself.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 143
I think Bahai fits into the commonly accepted definition.
The Baha’i Faith does not “fit” the definition of a cult any more than Judaism, Christianity or Islam fit that definition. There is really no difference between these religions. All have a Prophet Founder and scriptures they follow. The only difference is that the Baha’i Faith is new, but all religions were new shortly after they were first revealed. :rolleyes:
RE: What He was like as a person (His character);
How do you know what his character was? What do you have to go on besides what his early followers want you to believe?
We know because it is in the recorded history of the Faith so people who knew Baha’u’llah wrote about Him.

This article is an overview of Baha’u’llah’s early life and it reflects on his character.
Early Life of Bahá'u'lláh

His character is also addressed in the four volume set entitled “The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh” which covers the 40 years of His Mission, after He realized he was the chosen one in 1853.
Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63
Volume 2: Adrianople 1863-68
Volume 3: Akka, The Early Years 1868-77
Volume 4: Mazra'ih&Bahjí 1877-92


Please tell me why people who wrote about Baha’u’llah would lie about Him. What would be their motive? When a person become a suspect of a crime, the first thing law enforcement does is look for a motive. This is how rational people reason things out. Also, they do not just assume someone is guilty before they have evidence to prove that. So far none of the naysayers have been able to prove that Baha’u’llah was not who He claimed to be.
RE:The predictions He made that have come to pass;
Care to list a few very specific predictions.
In this book is a list of 30 things that Baha’u’llah predicted that actually came to pass: The Challenge of Baha'u'llah
I'm sure that David Koresh met most of your "qualifications".
I hope you are just trying to be funny and not serious. David Koresh

I am sure Koresh did not meet any of the following qualifications that Baha’u’llah met.
He did not have a good character.
He did not have a mission on earth that was successful.
He did not have a history or a Cause that moved forward.
He did not have scriptures.
He did not fulfill any Bible prophecies.
He did not fulfill the prophecies of any other religions.
He did not make any predictions that later came to pass.
He did not establish a religion in his name.
How can truth be abrogated? Thoughts, philosophies, religions, concepts can be abrogated. Truth can not.
I did not say that Truth was abrogated. I said that the older religious dispensations have been abrogated by the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.

“In conclusion of this theme, I feel, it should be stated that the Revelation identified with Bahá’u’lláh abrogates unconditionally all the Dispensations gone before it, upholds uncompromisingly the eternal verities they enshrine, recognizes firmly and absolutely the Divine origin of their Authors, preserves inviolate the sanctity of their authentic Scriptures, disclaims any intention of lowering the status of their Founders or of abating the spiritual ideals they inculcate....” God Passes By, p. 100

The Spiritual Truths (eternal verities) of the older religions will never be abrogated. These Truths are the same in every true religion of God, but they need to be renewed in every age because people lose sight of them. Also, humanity needs a new religion in every new age because God has a new message to impart, and the social teachings and laws need to be updated to suit the present times.

“The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 213
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
Absolutely. Are you aware of free will and saying a computer can be programmed to act a certain way and thus is making its own choices independent from how it was coded to do? Its doing what its told based on variables... it can't behave otherwise.

I see human beings in the same light:
Humans can't behave different from how they were coded.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Wow. All that in just one short sentence. Care to break it down into what it means to you.​
It means that the religious dispensations of the past have been abrogated by the Revelation of Baha’u’llah. Nevertheless, the Baha’i Faith upholds the eternal spiritual truths of all the religions of the past and recognizes the Divine origin of their Messengers (Prophets) and the sanctity of their original scriptures.

The Baha’i Faith clarifies and correlates the functions of the older religions and reaffirms their fundamental purpose, which is common to all religions since it is eternal.

The Baha’i Faith explains the different claims and doctrines of the older religions and where claims and doctrine are false that is explained, along with the reasons why they are false.

The Baha’i Faith recognizes the contributions the older religions have made to the advancement of civilization and the spiritual growth of mankind which is owing to the gradual unfolding of Divine Revelation over time.

The Baha’i Faith does not claim to be the only true religion or the last religion. It claims to be only one link in the chain of a continuously unfolding Revelation from God to man through Messengers of God.

It is necessary for religion to meet the vital needs of the times we live in which are dictated by fast evolving and constantly changing society. The Baha’i Faith supplements the teachings and laws of the older religions to conform to the needs of present day society. Baha’u’llah revealed what will be needed during this dispensation, from 1852 moving forward until a new Messenger of God appears, which can happen in no less than 1000 years.

Finally, the Baha’i Faith proclaims that in the future all the religions will be united into one religion and function within the framework revealed by Baha’u’llah under a world-unifying and a world-redeeming New World Order, which will replace the old world order we are now living in. This has been referred to in the Bible as the Kingdom of God in earth.

“This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal.

Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 6-7
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I see human beings in the same light:
Humans can't behave different from how they were coded.
Hi there, look who's back. It's nice to see you again... :)

Human beings have two different codes from which to choose, good or evil, since both those potentials exist within human nature. Free will gives us the ability to choose between good and evil.
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
Hi there, look who's back. It's nice to see you again... :)

Human beings have two different codes from which to choose, good or evil, since both those potentials exist within human nature. Free will gives us the ability to choose between good and evil.

I don't see it that way. There is only one code and you don't get to pick it. It is neither wholly evil nor wholly good. You can't will what you will.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I don't see it that way. There is only one code and you don't get to pick it. It is neither wholly evil nor wholly good. You can't will what you will.
Do you care to explain what you mean?
What is the one code and how do we get it?
Does everyone have the same code or are the codes different?

No, I do not think anyone is wholly good or wholly evil. I was oversimplifying to make my point. Of course there are all manner of gradations in between good and evil.
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
Do you care to explain what you mean?
What is the one code and how do we get it?
Does everyone have the same code or are the codes different?

No, I do not think anyone is wholly good or wholly evil. I was oversimplifying to make my point. Of course there are all manner of gradations in between good and evil.

The code so to say is nothing more than your will. You make choices based on what you want to do, but since you can't choose what you want to do you can't change your code. Your will is created through nature and nurture.

Let's say I chose to eat ice cream. Why did I do it ? Because I wanted to. Could I have chosen differently? Only if I wanted to, but since I can't control what I want to do...

But what about the times we refrain from doing something and end up doing something different ? Like resisting the urge to eat ice cream. Am I denying they exist ? Not at all. What I am saying is that if you resist an urge your actual will was to resist the urge and not the urge itself.

On the flipside, what makes my choices mine is that I willed them. For I am my will.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The code so to say is nothing more than your will. You make choices based on what you want to do, but since you can't choose what you want to do you can't change your code. Your will is created through nature and nurture.

Let's say I chose to eat ice cream. Why did I do it ? Because I wanted to. Could I have chosen differently? Only if I wanted to, but since I can't control what I want to do...

But what about the times we refrain from doing something and end up doing something different ? Like resisting the urge to eat ice cream. Am I denying they exist ? Not at all. What I am saying is that if you resist an urge your actual will was to resist the urge and not the urge itself.

On the flipside, what makes my choices mine is that I willed them. For I am my will.
So, what you are saying is that any choices we make comes from our own will and this is based upon what we want to do ant any given point in time. I can buy that.

The question is, can we change what we want to do or are we stuck just wanting to do the same things over and over and over again? How free are we to make changes in what we want? Should we allow our desires dictate what we do or should we use our minds to analyze what we are doing and come to other ideas about what we might do differently?
 

stvdv

Veteran Member
So, what you are saying is that any choices we make comes from our own will and this is based upon what we want to do ant any given point in time. I can buy that.

The question is, can we change what we want to do or are we stuck just wanting to do the same things over and over and over again? How free are we to make changes in what we want? Should we allow our desires dictate what we do or should we use our minds to analyze what we are doing and come to other ideas about what we might do differently?
The lazy man is worse than a donkey. One should never yield to laziness but strive to attain liberation, seeing that life is ebbing away every moment. Every day one must think of the impermanent body and struggle to conquer the animal nature. He must take recourse to association with good and virtuous people. One should not revel in the filth known as sense-pleasures, even as a worm revels in pus. By good deeds, good will return to you; by bad deeds, bad will return. Nowhere is there any God, fortune or fate. One who ignores his present ability for self-effort for fear of his past bad actions, might as well fear his own two arms, thinking them dangling vipers.

One who thinks that fate or God is directing him, is brainless and the goddess of fortune abandons him. Hence, by self-effort, discrimination, good association and study of the scriptures, acquire wisdom. Then realize that self-effort will end — in the direct realization of the truth. But ignoring, or going against the traditional injunctions, will not work. One should not try to create a gemstone from an ordinary pebble. Those who do not believe in the long practiced and experienced truths of the wise, but depend upon God, luck or destiny, are fools called the "living dead." If lazy dullness, this dreadful source of evil, were not found on this earth, who would ever be illiterate or poor? It is because lazy ones rely, life after life, on God or fortune that this earth is full of people who live like animals, miserable and poverty-stricken.
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
So, what you are saying is that any choices we make comes from our own will and this is based upon what we want to do ant any given point in time. I can buy that.

The question is, can we change what we want to do or are we stuck just wanting to do the same things over and over and over again? How free are we to make changes in what we want? Should we allow our desires dictate what we do or should we use our minds to analyze what we are doing and come to other ideas about what we might do differently?

Our will is fluid. At one time you might want to do something and at another time something else. We can change what we want to do but that depends on us wanting to change it. Choice only happens through wants so it is inescapable.

For instance, let's say you were to do something differently. On what basis would you choose to do that if not because you want to ?
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
The lazy man is worse than a donkey. One should never yield to laziness but strive to attain liberation, seeing that life is ebbing away every moment. Every day one must think of the impermanent body and struggle to conquer the animal nature. He must take recourse to association with good and virtuous people. One should not revel in the filth known as sense-pleasures, even as a worm revels in pus. By good deeds, good will return to you; by bad deeds, bad will return. Nowhere is there any God, fortune or fate. One who ignores his present ability for self-effort for fear of his past bad actions, might as well fear his own two arms, thinking them dangling vipers.

One who thinks that fate or God is directing him, is brainless and the goddess of fortune abandons him. Hence, by self-effort, discrimination, good association and study of the scriptures, acquire wisdom. Then realize that self-effort will end — in the direct realization of the truth. But ignoring, or going against the traditional injunctions, will not work. One should not try to create a gemstone from an ordinary pebble. Those who do not believe in the long practiced and experienced truths of the wise, but depend upon God, luck or destiny, are fools called the "living dead." If lazy dullness, this dreadful source of evil, were not found on this earth, who would ever be illiterate or poor? It is because lazy ones rely, life after life, on God or fortune that this earth is full of people who live like animals, miserable and poverty-stricken.

I am afraid it didn't occur to the not so wise author of that quote that self-effort, good association and acquiring wisdom, for instance, are fate.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The lazy man is worse than a donkey. One should never yield to laziness but strive to attain liberation, seeing that life is ebbing away every moment. Every day one must think of the impermanent body and struggle to conquer the animal nature. He must take recourse to association with good and virtuous people. One should not revel in the filth known as sense-pleasures, even as a worm revels in pus. By good deeds, good will return to you; by bad deeds, bad will return. Nowhere is there any God, fortune or fate. One who ignores his present ability for self-effort for fear of his past bad actions, might as well fear his own two arms, thinking them dangling vipers.

One who thinks that fate or God is directing him, is brainless and the goddess of fortune abandons him. Hence, by self-effort, discrimination, good association and study of the scriptures, acquire wisdom. Then realize that self-effort will end — in the direct realization of the truth. But ignoring, or going against the traditional injunctions, will not work. One should not try to create a gemstone from an ordinary pebble. Those who do not believe in the long practiced and experienced truths of the wise, but depend upon God, luck or destiny, are fools called the "living dead." If lazy dullness, this dreadful source of evil, were not found on this earth, who would ever be illiterate or poor? It is because lazy ones rely, life after life, on God or fortune that this earth is full of people who live like animals, miserable and poverty-stricken.

Thanks for those words of wisdom. Unlike most Christians I do not believe that God is making any of my decisions for me. According to Baha'i beliefs we have free will and what we achieve we achieve by virtue of our own efforts. Effort is very important. We are not just supposed to sit around and wait for God to tell us what to do. God might be guiding us but there is no way to know if when or how.

“The incomparable Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore, depend upon man’s own exertions. The more he striveth, the greater will be his progress.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 81-82

“Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God’s mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition.Your own acts testify to this truth…”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 149
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Our will is fluid. At one time you might want to do something and at another time something else. We can change what we want to do but that depends on us wanting to change it. Choice only happens through wants so it is inescapable.

For instance, let's say you were to do something differently. On what basis would you choose to do that if not because you want to ?
In the Baha'i Faith we have a principle called knowledge, volition and action.
So what you are calling wants is our volition or our will...

The way to change what we want is by acquiring new knowledge which could affect our will (what we want to do) and our actions will then change.
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
In the Baha'i Faith we have a principle called knowledge, volition and action.
So what you are calling wants is our volition or our will...

The way to change what we want is by acquiring new knowledge which could affect our will (what we want to do) and our actions will then change.

How do you acquire knowledge?
By chance and/or because you wanted to, right ? Can you choose to acquire knowledge without making use of volition itself ?
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
How do you acquire knowledge?
By chance and/or because you wanted to, right ? Can you choose to acquire knowledge without making use of volition itself ?
Everything we do requires our will, so if we use our will to acquire more knowledge, we can then use our will and act according to the new knowledge we acquired.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member
I am afraid it didn't occur to the not so wise author of that quote that self-effort, good association and acquiring wisdom, for instance, are fate.

That is your opinion. All I know is that the author of this book is a great Saint. I trust His opinion better than I trust your opinion.
 

Vaderecta

Active Member
That is your opinion. All I know is that the author of this book is a great Saint. I trust His opinion better than I trust your opinion.

Should you need the opinion of modern humans you think it best to trust ancient people you identify with as saints. Doctors that would use leeches rather than antibiotics and logicians that would use their ancient worldview as compared to ours. Granted they had some good ideas we should follow up on, but they are not faultless saints. (They never even watched tom & jerry)
 

ecco

Veteran Member
The Baha’i Faith does not “fit” the definition of a cult any more than Judaism, Christianity or Islam fit that definition.

The Baha’i Faith fits the definition of a cult just as Heavens Gate and Branch Davidians fit that definition. It was started by a self appointed leader, it got a following.

We know because it is in the recorded history of the Faith so people who knew Baha’u’llah wrote about Him.
Not all people in recorded history agree. Baha’u’llah was considered apostate by Muslims. To this day Muslims who convert are considered apostate.

Please tell me why people who wrote about Baha’u’llah would lie about Him. What would be their motive? So far none of the naysayers have been able to prove that Baha’u’llah was not who He claimed to be.
To this day people write good things about David Koresh and Jim Jones.

In this book is a list of 30 things that Baha’u’llah predicted that actually came to pass: The Challenge of Baha'u'llah

I asked you to post one credible prediction. Can you do that?

I hope you are just trying to be funny and not serious. David Koresh

I am sure Koresh did not meet any of the following qualifications that Baha’u’llah met.
He did not have a good character.
He did not have a mission on earth that was successful.
He did not have a history or a Cause that moved forward.
He did not have scriptures.

Many people believe David Koresh was of good character. Perhaps his mission was to die a martyr - you don't know
He wrote - "The Decoded Message of the Seven Seals," He could write no more because he was killed.
Jesus did not write anything.


I did not say that Truth was abrogated. I said that the older religious dispensations have been abrogated by the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Spiritual Truths (eternal verities) of the older religions will never be abrogated. These Truths are the same in every true religion of God,
What do you mean by religious dispensations? Are you referring to Moses writings about the Exodus? Are you referring to eating port?
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The Baha’i Faith fits the definition of a cult just as Heavens Gate and Branch Davidians fit that definition. It was started by a self appointed leader, it got a following.
I do not know where you got these ideas but I am here to correct them. Baha’u’llah got His Revelation from God through the Holy Spirit in the same way Moses, Jesus and Muhammad got their revelations. Baha’u’llah was not self appointed. He was appointed by God and everything Baha’u’llah did was for the sake of God. His deeds testify to His words as he sacrificed the worldly prestige and wealth and possessions He could have had for the sake of God.

“Who can ever believe that this Servant of God hath at any time cherished in His heart a desire for any earthly honor or benefit? The Cause associated with His Name is far above the transitory things of this world. Behold Him, an exile, a victim of tyranny, in this Most Great Prison. His enemies have assailed Him on every side, and will continue to do so till the end of His life. Whatever, therefore, He saith unto you is wholly for the sake of God, that haply the peoples of the earth may cleanse their hearts from the stain of evil desire, may rend its veil asunder, and attain unto the knowledge of the one true God—the most exalted station to which any man can aspire.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 85

“Know ye that I am afraid of none except God. In none but Him have I placed My trust; to none will I cleave but Him, and wish for naught except the thing He hath wished for Me. This, indeed, is My heart’s desire, did ye but know it. I have offered up My soul and My body as a sacrifice for God, the Lord of all worlds. Whoso hath known God shall know none but Him, and he that feareth God shall be afraid of no one except Him, though the powers of the whole earth rise up and be arrayed against him. I speak naught except at His bidding, and follow not, through the power of God and His might, except His truth. He, verily, shall recompense the truthful.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 126

“Incline your ears to the counsels which this Servant giveth you for the sake of God. He, verily, asketh no recompense from you and is resigned to what God hath ordained for Him, and is entirely submissive to God’s Will.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 127

Say: God is My witness! I have wished nothing whatever for Myself. What I have wished is the victory of God and the triumph of His Cause. He is Himself a sufficient witness between you and Me. Were ye to cleanse your eyes, ye would readily perceive how My deeds testify to the truth of My words, how My words are a guide to My deeds.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 256-257
Not all people in recorded history agree. Baha’u’llah was considered apostate by Muslims. To this day Muslims who convert are considered apostate.
Why would that matter? Not one single major religion recognizes the religion that comes after them because all religions believe they are the only truth from God, the best and the last. This is not an opinion of a Baha’i, it is a verifiable fact you can research yourself. The Baha’i Faith is the only major religion that does not say we are the beat or the last. We believe only that we are the latest religion from God but we do not believe we will be the last religion. There will be many more religions in the future.
To this day people write good things about David Koresh and Jim Jones.
Do they have seven million followers?
I asked you to post one credible prediction. Can you do that?
I will give you two. Whether they are credible TO YOU is another matter altogether.

Excerpts from the Tablet to Napoleon III:

“O King! The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they who seek to establish the truth of My Cause through the things they possess, and who make mention of God in My Name. And yet, when I came unto them in My glory, they turned aside. They, indeed, are of the fallen. This is, truly, that which the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) hath announced, when He came with truth unto you, He with Whom the Jewish doctors disputed, till at last they perpetrated what hath made the Holy Spirit to lament, and the tears of them that have near access to God to flow…....

For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought. Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred. Commotions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) in this, the Straight Path. Hath thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It shall not endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee, whilst thou art of the heedless. It behoveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out: ‘Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!’
Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, pp. 18-20

That Tablet was written in 1869 when Napoleon was at the height of His glory. In 1870, Napoleon III fell in battle:

In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies and with inferior military forces. The French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan.
Napoleon III - Wikipedia

EVERYTHING that Baha’u’llah prophesied came to pass. All those who rejected His Tablets fell from power just as He had warned them would happen. Those who persecuted Him and exiled and banished Him met with an ever sorrier fate. This is all history so it cannot be refuted. The only monarch He addressed that did not fall from power was Queen Victoria, because she did not reject Baha’u’llah:

Queen Victoria, upon reading the Tablet revealed for her by Baha'u'llah, remarked: "If this is of God, it will endure; if not, it can do no harm." (pdc 65) (18:49)
From: 2nd Coming of Christ by David Yamartino

Baha’u’llah also prophesied WWI and WWII in His Tablet to Kaiser Wilhelm I

“O KING of Berlin! Give ear unto the Voice calling from this manifest Temple: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Everlasting, the Peerless, the Ancient of Days. Take heed lest pride debar thee from recognizing the Dayspring of Divine Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by a veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth below. Thus counselleth thee the Pen of the Most High. He, verily, is the Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do thou remember the one whose power transcended thy power (Napoleon III), and whose station excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep. He it was who cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We made known unto him what the hosts of tyranny had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace assailed him from all sides, and he went down to dust in great loss. Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning them who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled over men. The All-Merciful brought them down from their palaces to their graves.Be warned, be of them who reflect… O banks of the Rhine! We have seen you covered with gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of Berlin, though she be today in conspicuous glory."
Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh, p, 39
Many people believe David Koresh was of good character. Perhaps his mission was to die a martyr - you don't know
He wrote - "The Decoded Message of the Seven Seals," He could write no more because he was killed.
Jesus did not write anything.
We shall know them by their character and their deeds. David Koresh does not sound like a good character or good deeds to me.

By contrast, Jesus was the best of characters. The fact that Jesus did not write anything is moot. It is what Jesus DID on His mission for God and humanity that mattered.

“But in the day of the Manifestation the people with insight see that all the conditions of the Manifestation are miracles, for They are superior to all others, and this alone is an absolute miracle. Recollect that Christ, solitary and alone, without a helper or protector, without armies and legions, and under the greatest oppression, uplifted the standard of God before all the people of the world, and withstood them, and finally conquered all, although outwardly He was crucified. Now this is a veritable miracle which can never be denied. There is no need of any other proof of the truth of Christ."
Some Answered Questions, p. 101
What do you mean by religious dispensations? Are you referring to Moses writings about the Exodus? Are you referring to eating pork?
A dispensation refers to a period of time in history.

“In Bahá'í usage, a dispensation is the period of time during which the revelation of a particular Manifestation of God is assumed to apply. From the time of Abraham until the time of Moses can, therefore, be termed the Dispensation of Abraham. The promulgation of the laws of Moses opened a new Dispensation, sometimes termed the Mosaic Dispensation. The use of these terms is not necessarily worldwide in its ramifications. For example, discussion of the Abrahamic Dispensation can only have real meaning in so far as it refers to those parts of the world which were touched by the life and revelation of Abraham.”
Dispensation - Bahaikipedia, an encyclopedia about the Bahá’í Faith
 
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