Resurrection of Christ - What's the evidence for and against a literal resurrection

[Dawnofhope]

adrian009,
It is not possible to be a Christian and not believe the Bible. Jesus said that God’s word is truth, John 17:17. The Bible says that God Inspired the Bible to be written, and that The Holy Spirit guided men as they spoke, 2Timothy 3:16,17, 2Peter 1:20,21. My belief is; if you call God and Jesus, along with The Holy Spirit liers, You have, most likely sinned against The Holy Spirit, and there is NO forgiveness for that, Matthew 12:31,32. Just hope and pray that The Almighty God, understands that you have not thought this idea through, so God, will, most likely forgive anyone, doing this, without understanding what is written.
As for proof that Jesus, and all the others that were resurrected in the past, the Bible says that to prove anything, there must be two or three witnesses, Deuteronomy 19:15. All the Bible writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures are Witnesses of Jesus resurrection, Acts 1:1-3, 1Corinthians 15:3-8. Then read verses 12-23, which tell us that if Jesus was not resurrected, we are hopeless and Christianity is nothing. Romans 5:6-11, tells about our living because Christ was resurrected.
Also this world is to be judged by Jesus, Matthew 25:31-46, Acts 17:30,31.
Jesus died as a corresponding Ransom for us, and Jesus ransomed back to us what Adam and Eve lost, everlasting life in a paradise earth. If Jesus was not resurrected then no one will be resurrected, and when we die we would all stay in the ground, but by Jesus dying for all who put their belief in him as their savior, who actually died for them, they can then be resurrected back to earth. This is what John 3:16, which is called, The Gospels in Miniature, 1John 2:1-6. All God’s promises are based on Jesus being resurrected and living forever, Romans 6:9, Isaiah 9:6,7, Daniel 7:13,14, Luke 1:30-33.
The only way history proves anything is by the written words!!
Many historians say that there is actually more proof of Jesus than there is of Abraham Lincoln.

Thanks for posting, but I think you've missed the mark. Your post is about those who disbelieve in God, Jesus, and the Bible. I believe in the same God, Jesus, and Bible as the Christians do. Like many Christans have different perspectives on the meaning of scripture, so do I.

 

[siti]

On one hand they were recording the words of Jesus that had been passed down through oral traditions, on the other weaving His words into a narrative about the life of their Messiah that had also evolved through oral traditions. By the time the gospels were recorded, the narrative was heavily influenced by Paul's teachings to the gentiles.

So how do you know that the 'prophetic' passages in the gospels are an accurate recollection of what Jesus really said?

 

[siti]

Christ re-established this kingdom; it has been forgotten. Christ conquered the east and the west. This means a spiritual victory, not a material one.
Animals were to live in peace. This means the Chaldeans, the Syrians, the Romans, the Greeks, who were to make peace among themselves, for Christ spread the cause of peace. As the Jews did not understand these things

Right - and yet the same prophecies - in relation to the (obviously symbolic) "restoration of Israel" that Abdu'l Baha here proclaims as having been fulfilled in the establishment of Christianity, are simultaneously held as evidence that of a much later fulfillment in the establishment of the Baha'i faith. That is the entire basis of @adrian009 's argument against a 1st century fulfillment of NT prophecy - that and the notion that the "good news" had not been preached to all nations until the 19th century - which is plainly contradicted in scripture. Like I have now said a number of times - you are just trying to have your cake and ha'penny.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Right - and yet the same prophecies - in relation to the (obviously symbolic) "restoration of Israel" that Abdu'l Baha here proclaims as having been fulfilled in the establishment of Christianity, are simultaneously held as evidence that of a much later fulfillment in the establishment of the Baha'i faith. That is the entire basis of @adrian009 's argument against a 1st century fulfillment of NT prophecy - that and the notion that the "good news" had not been preached to all nations until the 19th century - which is plainly contradicted in scripture. Like I have now said a number of times - you are just trying to have your cake and ha'penny.

That is the Gift of Prophecy. Each verse can be used to prove any of God Manifestations. Seventy and 1 meanings is the Tradition to which each Messenger/ Prophet can expalin, mainly because they, one and all are the fulfillment of them.

They are the First and they are the Last. We make no difference between them. They are One Name they are all Names, they are all we can know about God.

Regards Tony

 

[CG Didymus]

Hmmmmm.... Why is that? Admittedly, I cannot say that I would believe in the Pyramid that leads up to the Bab and Baha’u’llah either unless I had discovered the Baha’i Faith first. Mind you, I was not brought up in a religious home and I do not even recall thinking about God before I became a Baha’i. I had never even opened a Bible. In fact, before I came to the Delphi Forums five years ago I did not even know what OT and NT meant. I simply had no interest in religion, not even Baha’i, until about five years ago. Then I got interested in Christianity because I was talking to Christians, and I also needed to know something about the Bible because Baha’u’llah referred to it and claimed to be the return of Christ. It took off from there.

You are correct. That is why I said it is not that important, but it is still important. The members of the UHJ are still humans and they are infallible as individuals. It is only when they are in session that they are infallible. This is problematic to some people but I accept it because Bahaullah wrote it. As such, I just try to understand things I do not understand rather than thinking I know more than the UHJ... that would be really arrogant of me.

I am also most interested in what Bahaullah wrote, but I accept what Abdul-Baha and Shoghi Effendi wrote as part of the “authoritative writings” of the Bahai Faith, since they are the appointed successors: Bahá’u’lláh and His Covenant

You are very observant. The schisms were mostly caused by the writings of those that came after. However, nobody will succeed in dividing the Baha’i Faith because of the Covenant.

What do you mean by night? What do you think will happen?

One reason I believe the day will not be followed by night is because of the Covenant of Baha’u’llah will prevent the schisms we had in former religions...

Another reason it will never be night again is because we are now living in the Promised Age, the Golden Age of humanity, so we will not ever go back to the former age, which was called the Prophetic Age, the age that ended with Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets.

“God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-divided, a long-afflicted humanity. Its present state, indeed even its immediate future, is dark, distressingly dark. Its distant future, however, is radiant, gloriously radiant—so radiant that no eye can visualize it......” The Promised Day is Come, p. 116

No, the universe will not stop with Baha’i because there will be many Messengers of God that will come in the future.

“Repudiating the claim of any religion to be the final revelation of God to man, disclaiming finality for His own Revelation, Bahá’u’lláh inculcates the basic principle of the relativity of religious truth, the continuity of Divine Revelation, the progressiveness of religious experience.” The Promised Day Is Come, p. 108

It is always nice talking with you. I wish I too was retired so I would have more time. I am old enough but not brave enough to take the final leap...

I also have a problem with the "progressive" revelation concept, or "pyramid" that leads to the Baha'i Faith. This question about the resurrection being literal or figurative is right in the middle of that problem. It is easy for Baha'is to say all religions are one and all came from the one true God, if they can reinterpret any beliefs that go contrary to Baha'i beliefs. In the "Great Being" thread we had reincarnation from Hinduism added in along with the resurrection and other things from Christianity.

I see no reason to doubt that the Christian writers believed they were telling of actual events with things like walking on water and healing lepers and raising dead people back to life and that there is a devil and hell. For us today, of course those things sound crazy and probably made up. I could easily believe that the writers added these things in to make Jesus bigger than life, a virtual God/man. But, if they did, nothing about Christianity is true. It is based on fantasy.

Baha'is don't say that, though. Somehow they make everything said in the gospels as true and from God, but written in some symbolic, spiritual language that was mistaken as describing real, historical events. The resurrection then becomes what? The disciples becoming spiritually alive after being spiritually dead after the crucifixion of Jesus? It doesn't make sense in the gospel narrative. Why pretend that Jesus had physically risen, spoke and appeared to people, was touched and ate with them if none of those things happened? And, if his rising was only symbolic? Anyway, glad you're here. You add a lot to the mix that we didn't have without you.

 

[CG Didymus]

I can appreciate that point of view, but the problem I have with this is that it amounts to a rejection of NT theology not an affirmation of it. That is fine - I have no problem with someone rejecting NT theology in favour of a more modern, perhaps more expansive and inclusive theology that also admits a more up-to-date, more scientifically consistent worldview - but then to simultaneously claim "exact fulfillment" of miraculously-revealed prophecies that are contained within the Biblical expression of the very worldview you have so roundly (and rightly) rejected seems just a tad inconsistent. If the NT writers were so badly mistaken about the resurrection that they supposed had actually happened right in front of their own eyes - on what possible basis can we then claim that they were nevertheless invariably spot on in regard to details of the far distant future?

That's silly. Could they trust their lying eyes? No. Could they trust the each other? Yes, to tell a bigger tale. "Oh, I saw an angel." "That's nothing. I saw two angels." "You guys are lame. I saw Jesus and heard God talk from heaven."

But when it comes to prophecy, it was different. They were mere conduits of God revealing to them exactly when and how Baha'u'llah and the Bab were going to appear... obviously.

 

[CG Didymus]

...The responsibiliy to prove the resurrection rests with the Christians that hold this belief. Dead men don't rise from the dead and they certainly don't ascend through the stratosphere. There's nothing from our knowledge of the phenomenal world to suggest that heaven and hell are literally located in the sky or below the earth.The balance of probabilities rests overwhelming with those who reject a literal resurrection.../QUOTE]Where is God and the spirit bodies of people that have died? If you believe in another existence after this life, where is it? Can we see it? Can we prove it?

 

[TransmutingSoul]

In the "Great Being" thread we had reincarnation from Hinduism added in along with the resurrection and other things from Christianity.

It must be made clear that these subjects are discussed offering there is a new science based way of looking at these subjects that show old ways of looking at them may have flaws.

New eyes and new ears is how the Bible suggest we look at and hear these issues.

It is telling us look with other 'Frames of References'.

Regards Tony

 

[Dawnofhope]

So how do you know that the 'prophetic' passages in the gospels are an accurate recollection of what Jesus really said?

Good question. The gospels contain conflicting and contradictory accounts of what Jesus said as well as what He did. How major or minor those contradictions actually are, is a matter of perspective.

Stories are passed along much more through the word of mouth than what is written. It is only natural there will be at least some minor discrephancies in the manner they are recalled and changes when passed from person to person.

Of course the Baha'i writings do not have this problem and so are a much more authentic and reliable account of what the Manifestation of God actually said and meant.

 

[Rough Beast Sloucher]

It must be made clear that these subjects are discussed offering there is a new science based way of looking at these subjects that show old ways of looking at them may have flaws.

New eyes and new ears is how the Bible suggest we look at and hear these issues.

It is telling us look with other 'Frames of References'.

Regards Tony

It is true that one should not be bound by tradition or sectarian mandates when seeking to understand scripture. Nonetheless one must keep in mind that the meaning of a passage is almost certainly what the writer intended the reader to take away. and as such should be fairly obvious if one reads it in context, with at least some knowledge of the times and circumstances. Hidden message theories do not impress me much.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Where is God and the spirit bodies of people that have died? If you believe in another existence after this life, where is it? Can we see it? Can we prove it?

The best proof is the testimony of the Manifestations of God. Science has established there are realms of existence beyond our comprehension and just because we can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. However the phenomenal world is by definition a known quantity. If heaven and hell exist in the phenomenal world we have no evidence to prove it.

 

[siti]

Of course the Baha'i writings do not have this problem

Of course not! And this is relevant to the discussion because...?

 

[Trailblazer]

I also have a problem with the "progressive" revelation concept, or "pyramid" that leads to the Baha'i Faith. This question about the resurrection being literal or figurative is right in the middle of that problem. It is easy for Baha'is to say all religions are one and all came from the one true God, if they can reinterpret any beliefs that go contrary to Baha'i beliefs. In the "Great Being" thread we had reincarnation from Hinduism added in along with the resurrection and other things from Christianity.

First, progressive revelation is not about leading up to the Baha’i Faith and ending there as we believe that more Messengers of God will come in the future, throughout all of eternity. Second, the problem of the resurrection being literal is between Baha’is and Christians as nobody else except Christians believe in a literal resurrection of the physical body of Jesus. If they believed that they would be Christians, but only about 33% of people in the world are Christians and not even all Christians believe that Jesus’ body resurrected.

So I think it is best to look at the concept of progressive revelation on its own merit and ask if it makes sense to you. In brief, the reason we have very different beliefs about God and the afterlife in the non-monotheistic religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism is twofold: (1) those religions were revealed to people in a different age of history before mankind was ready to accept the “one God” concept, and (2) we do not have the original scriptures of those older religions so we cannot know that is what their Prophets ever revealed. Man has since misinterpreted and changed the meanings of what we do have of those scriptures so it is anyone’s best guess what those Prophets actually revealed.

Regarding progressive revelation....

Akivah said: The Torah Laws are Eternal.​

Yes, G-d talks differently to us at different times in our history. When humankind first started out, we needed prophets to speak G-d's words. Now the Age of Prophecy is over and we have our teachings to know how to live properly.​

Trailblazer said: The difference between Judaism and the Baha'i Faith is that we believe that God sends Prophets/Messengers throughout all of eternity, according to the needs of the times. Since the needs of humanity change, God, the All-Knowing Physician, sends new Messengers that address the needs of the current age.​

So what you need to ask yourself is if the teachings from a religion that was revealed by a Prophet over 3000 years ago are all we need for all of eternity. The Baha’i Faith teaches that the spiritual verities that are contained in all the great religions are the same throughout all of eternity. However, we believe that a new message from God that is suited to the times is necessary in every new age; also, the social teachings and always need to change to meet the needs of the present age.

“the Law of God is divided into two parts. One is the fundamental basis which comprises all spiritual things—that is to say, it refers to the spiritual virtues and divine qualities; this does not change nor alter: it is the Holy of Holies, which is the essence of the Law of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh, and which lasts and is established in all the prophetic cycles. It will never be abrogated, for it is spiritual and not material truth; it is faith, knowledge, certitude, justice, piety, righteousness, trustworthiness, love of God, benevolence, purity, detachment, humility, meekness, patience and constancy. It shows mercy to the poor, defends the oppressed, gives to the wretched and uplifts the fallen......

These foundations of the Religion of God, which are spiritual and which are the virtues of humanity, cannot be abrogated; they are irremovable and eternal, and are renewed in the cycle of every Prophet.

The second part of the Religion of God, which refers to the material world, and which comprises fasting, prayer, forms of worship, marriage and divorce, the abolition of slavery, legal processes, transactions, indemnities for murder, violence, theft and injuries—this part of the Law of God, which refers to material things, is modified and altered in each prophetic cycle in accordance with the necessities of the times.” Some Answered Questions, pp. 46-48

In addition to these two parts of the Religion of God, we have the primary mission of each Messenger, which changes from age to age; and it is progressive, each mission building upon the previous one. Jesus focused on a high standard of morality and discipline into man, as the fundamental unit in human society. Muhammad focused on nation building, and Baha’u’llah focused on world unity and the oneness of mankind. Each one of these was a necessary building block that enabled the next one to take place. Mankind’s spiritual evolution develops gradually, proceeding step by step, and that is why the deity reveals religious Truth in various stages over time. That is what Progressive Revelation is all about.

“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

“The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like manner, every time the Prophets of God have illumined the world with the resplendent radiance of the Day Star of Divine knowledge, they have invariably summoned its peoples to embrace the light of God through such means as best befitted the exigencies of the age in which they appeared.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 80

(Continued on next post)

 

[Trailblazer]

I see no reason to doubt that the Christian writers believed they were telling of actual events with things like walking on water and healing lepers and raising dead people back to life and that there is a devil and hell. For us today, of course those things sound crazy and probably made up. I could easily believe that the writers added these things in to make Jesus bigger than life, a virtual God/man. But, if they did, nothing about Christianity is true. It is based on fantasy.

Baha'is don't say that, though. Somehow they make everything said in the gospels as true and from God, but written in some symbolic, spiritual language that was mistaken as describing real, historical events. The resurrection then becomes what? The disciples becoming spiritually alive after being spiritually dead after the crucifixion of Jesus? It doesn't make sense in the gospel narrative. Why pretend that Jesus had physically risen, spoke and appeared to people, was touched and ate with them if none of those things happened? And, if his rising was only symbolic?

I do not believe it is an either/or. I mean just because some of what is in the Gospels are just stories does not mean there is no Truth to Christianity. No, we do not believe everything in the Gospels is true. Rather than trying to explain our position on the Bible it is best that I quote from the “authoritative writings” of the Baha’i Faith. There are many more quotes if you click on the link at the bottom:

From Letters Written on Behalf of the Guardian:

...The Bible is not wholly authentic, and in this respect is not to be compared with the Qur'an, and should be wholly subordinated to the authentic writings of Bahá'u'lláh.
(28 July 1936 to a National Spiritual Assembly)

...we cannot be sure how much or how little of the four Gospels are accurate and include the words of Christ and His undiluted teachings, all we can be sure of, as Bahá'ís, is that what has been quoted by Bahá'u'lláh and the Master must be absolutely authentic. As many times passages in the Gospel of St. John are quoted we may assume that it is his Gospel and much of it accurate.
(23 January 1944 to an individual believer)

When 'Abdu'l-Bahá states we believe what is in the Bible, He means in substance. Not that we believe every word of it to be taken literally or that every word is the authentic saying of the Prophet.
(11 February 1944 to an individual believer)

We cannot be sure of the authenticity of any of the phrases in the Old or the New Testament. What we can be sure of is when such references or words are cited or quoted in either the Quran or the Bahá'í writings.
(4 July 1947 to an individual believer)

Except for what has been explained by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, we have no way of knowing what various symbolic allusions in the Bible mean.
(31 January 1955 to an individual believer)

From letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice:

In studying the Bible Bahá'ís must bear two principles in mind. The first is that many passages in Sacred Scriptures are intended to be taken metaphorically, not literally, and some of the paradoxes and apparent contradictions which appear are intended to indicate this. The second is the fact that the text of the early Scriptures, such as the Bible, is not wholly authentic.
(28 May 1984 to an individual believer)

...The Bahá'ís believe that God's Revelation is under His care and protection and that the essence, or essential elements, of what His Manifestations intended to convey has been recorded and preserved in Their Holy Books. However, as the sayings of the ancient Prophets were written down some time later, we cannot categorically state, as we do in the case of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, that the words and phrases attributed to Them are Their exact words.
(9 August 1984 to an individual believer)

The Bible

Anyway, glad you're here. You add a lot to the mix that we didn't have without you.

Thanks and it is nice to meet you. I do not know much about the mix quite yet, and although I am getting to know some of the Baha’is that have been here for a while I do not know what has transpired before I arrived. Before I came here a month ago, for about four years I was the only Baha’i on another forum comprised mostly of nonbelievers and a few Christians, a Buddhist and a Jew. So there was not much variety there as there is here. However, I received many questions and as a result I have a plethora of information I have compiled and saved in Word documents, excerpts from the Baha’i Writings and my explanations that accompanied those. Pretty much any question you might have about the Baha’i Faith I have an answer to, given I have been doing this 24/7 for four years.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Of course not! And this is relevant to the discussion because...?

Its relevant because the Manifestation of God for today can clarify misunderstandings that have developed from a previous religious dispensation.

 

[siti]

Here we go again with the "cake and ha'penny" inconsistent argumentation...

Science has established there are realms of existence beyond our comprehension

However the phenomenal world is by definition a known quantity.

So science establishes the existence of "realms" outside of "the phenomenal world"? I think not. If science says anything at all about heaven or hell or ghosts or spirits...etc. it says unequivocally that these "realms" if they exist at all have nothing at all to do with the phenomenal world. They certainly don't "manifest" themselves by poking their spiritual noses into in the mundane affairs of the phenomenal and start writing voluminous books of divinely inspired wisdom. But notwithstanding the fact that science is really not on your side here, if the denizens of these "realms" outside the "phenomenal world" can cause the writing of miraculously revealed volumes of divine wisdom, why not resurrections?

 

[siti]

Its relevant because the Manifestation of God for today can clarify misunderstandings that have developed from a previous religious dispensation.

Oh I see! You mean by claiming to be the "exact fulfillment" of a book of prophecy that he also insists was so impossibly garbled in transmission down the ages that we can't take any of it seriously any more and we need this "exact fulfillment" himself to correct our understanding of it? You don't think this seems even just a little bit contrived? Just a little bit of a 'cake and ha'penny' having it both ways kind of thing?

 

[TransmutingSoul]

It is true that one should not be bound by tradition or sectarian mandates when seeking to understand scripture. Nonetheless one must keep in mind that the meaning of a passage is almost certainly what the writer intended the reader to take away. and as such should be fairly obvious if one reads it in context, with at least some knowledge of the times and circumstances. Hidden message theories do not impress me much.

I would agree with most of what you have offered, except personally I love to explore what else a passage or even a word may say. God's Word is only limited by our own selves.

I always appreciate Christ said that he talked in parables. That would have to ne so we could explore what is Truth in what He offered, this is what gives food to oir soul, nourishment to grow.

This is of course another subject, a couple of quotes;

"..The Books of Bahá’u’lláh number more than one hundred … in every word a book of meanings..." (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 154)

"...Bahá’u’lláh also gave in detail, in response to the questioner, several meanings pertaining to the word ’sun’, adding that this word has so many other meanings that if ten secretaries were to record His explanations for a period of one or two years, He would still not exhaust its significance." (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh v 1, p. 29-33)

I see this capacity in this material world with our imagination. No matter what we Imagine as the greatest thing, we can always build on these thoughts and our own attempts at Literature and Science Fiction attest to this ever evolving capacity.

Regards Tony

 

[Trailblazer]

adrian009 said: Its relevant because the Manifestation of God for today can clarify misunderstandings that have developed from a previous religious dispensation.

Situ said: Oh I see! You mean by claiming to be the "exact fulfillment" of a book of prophecy that he also insists was so impossibly garbled in transmission down the ages that we can't take any of it seriously any more and we need this "exact fulfillment" himself to correct our understanding of it? You don't think this seems even just a little bit contrived? Just a little bit of a 'cake and ha'penny' having it both ways kind of thing?

What you just threw out is a red herring.

A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue.[1] It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences towards a false conclusion. A red herring might be intentionally used, such as in mystery fiction or as part of rhetorical strategies (e.g. in politics), or it could be inadvertently used during argumentation.
Red herring - Wikipedia

The fact that the Bible is garbled is completely irrelevant.

Baha’u’llah was either who He claimed to be or not. That is the only salient question.

The Bible prophecies fulfilled by Baha’u’llah are only "part" of the evidence. The evidence that demonstrates that Baha’u’llah was a Manifestation of God is as follows:

• What He was like as a person (His character);
• What He did during His mission on earth;
• The history of His Cause, from the time He appeared moving forward;
• The scriptures that were attributed to Him or scriptures that He wrote;
• What others have written about Him;
• The Bible prophecies that He fulfilled by His coming,
• The prophecies of other religions that He fulfilled by His coming;
• The predictions He made that have come to pass
• The religion that He established (followers), what they have done and are doing now.

The Bible prophecies that were fulfilled by Baha’u’llah are only needed for Christians, or those who are not Christian and seem to believe that Christianity is SO important, for some unknown reason.

Only 33% of the world population is Christians. Clearly, the world does not revolve around Christianity, nor does God.

“Each of the world's major religions contains Messianic prophecies.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Zoroastrian religion and even the Native American religions all foretell the coming of a Promised One. Each of the Founders of these great religions either promised to personally return himself, to send another like himself or in some instances.... the Founder promised to do both.......

For centuries, people from all over the world have been hoping and praying that they will be the generation which will witness the appearance of their Promised One. Not many have considered the possibility that these prophecies from the various religions might actually all be foretelling the exact same event.

Members of the Baha'i Faith believe that in the middle of the last century these prophecies actually were fulfilled and that the Promised One truly did appear.

Baha'u'llah, the Prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith, claims to be the Promised One whose coming was explicitly foretold, not only in the Old and the New Testaments.... but also in the prophecies of the Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Islamic and other religions.

If Baha'u'llah truly is the Promised One then His appearance is one of the greatest events of human history. Are Baha'u'llah's claim true? How can we know for certain? Just take a look at some of the proofs and prophecies... and then decide for yourself.”
Prophecy Fulfilled Webpage

 

[siti]

What you just threw out is a red herring.

Again with color-coding! Nice.

FYI - this is a thread about whether or not the Biblical accounts of the resurrection of Christ was (intended to be understood as) a literal event at the beginning of the Christian 'dispensation' or a symbolic foreshadowing of something more profoundly spiritual that would happen much later in the time of Baha'u'llah in connection the establishment of the Baha'i 'dispensation'.

With that in mind, your minimizing of the importance of Christianity and inclusion of other religions that don't have anything to do with the resurrection of Christ are herrings of a much redder hue than mine - and they smell fishier too!