Searching for proof of God/Islam - Tell me why I'm wrong

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I can only refer you to the Writings of Baha'u'llah and Abdul-Baha Reading them are what convinced me of the truth. That is the method I used.

I didn't find any mistakes.

"Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth." Baha'u'llah

Look, let’s talk a bit about scripture and the prophets who largely shaped scripture. Christians, of course, accept all of the Jewish prophets, but ascribe their messages to something other than the Jews themselves understand them to have been about. (Surprising, really, that Christians should know so much more about Jewish prophets than Jews themselves, but what do I know?)

Of course, Christians added their own prophets – Jesus, Paul, and I would venture to say the Gospellers. And these Christian prophets fundamentally redefined the religion known until then. The Jews, of course, were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religion for dozens of generations by that time, and religion, as we know, is hard to expunge. And the consequences were often terrible.

Muslims believe the first prophet was also the first human being, Adam (Adem). Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned as such in the Quran but usually in altered form and with different names. For example, the Jewish Elisha is called Alyasa, Job is Ayyub, Jesus is Isa, etc. The Torah given to Moses (Musa) is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David (Dawud) is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil). (For reasons known only to themselves, of course, none of the seven Jewish Prophetesses are mentioned in the Quran as prophets.)

Of course, Islam added its own prophets, notably Mohammed “the Seal of the Prophets,” who fundamentally changed the meaning of everything that had been understood by both Christians and Jews before. And the Christians and Jews were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religions for dozens of generations by that time, and religions, it is well known, are remarkably difficult to erase. And the consequences have been awful for a very long time.

Bahá’ís believe that Throughout the ages, God has sent Divine Messengers known as Manifestations of God—among them Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh – to cultivate humanity’s spiritual, intellectual and moral capacities. Following the coming of a Manifestation of God extraordinary progress occurs in the world. Reaching to the roots of human motivation, His teachings awaken in whole populations capacities to contribute to the advancement of civilization to an extent never before possible.

While Bahá’í belief looks remarkably “Christian,” it is in actuality quite different again, and Christians, Muslims and Jews aren’t generally all that interested in it. And by the way, the consequences haven’t been all that wonderful in places like Iran.

Now, one of the things all these religions share is a belief in an omniscient and omnipotent deity. And if that is the case, they must believe (although they probably are not aware that they believe) that this deity has done all of this – changing His mind repeatedly and causing all the confusion and dreadful consequences that have resulted – either on purpose or without caring about those consequences. (The other choice, of course, is that the deity is not in fact omniscient – quite a bit removed from omniscience, actually – but I don’t think this will be acceptable to believers.)

If those religions all believe what they believe they believe, then this is undeniable, even though none of them will give it any thought, because giving it the thought it deserves would be dreadfully uncomfortable. But I repeat it is logically inescapable, if they really do believe what they think they believe, that the religious strife that has caused untold misery and death to millions upon millions of human beings is the deliberate result of how an omniscient and omnipotent deity chose to express himself to humanity.

I myself find that remarkably difficult to accept. But what do I know?

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Look, let’s talk a bit about scripture and the prophets who largely shaped scripture. Christians, of course, accept all of the Jewish prophets, but ascribe their messages to something other than the Jews themselves understand them to have been about. (Surprising, really, that Christians should know so much more about Jewish prophets than Jews themselves, but what do I know?)

Of course, Christians added their own prophets – Jesus, Paul, and I would venture to say the Gospellers. And these Christian prophets fundamentally redefined the religion known until then. The Jews, of course, were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religion for dozens of generations by that time, and religion, as we know, is hard to expunge. And the consequences were often terrible.

Muslims believe the first prophet was also the first human being, Adam (Adem). Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned as such in the Quran but usually in altered form and with different names. For example, the Jewish Elisha is called Alyasa, Job is Ayyub, Jesus is Isa, etc. The Torah given to Moses (Musa) is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David (Dawud) is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil). (For reasons known only to themselves, of course, none of the seven Jewish Prophetesses are mentioned in the Quran as prophets.)

Of course, Islam added its own prophets, notably Mohammed “the Seal of the Prophets,” who fundamentally changed the meaning of everything that had been understood by both Christians and Jews before. And the Christians and Jews were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religions for dozens of generations by that time, and religions, it is well known, are remarkably difficult to erase. And the consequences have been awful for a very long time.

Bahá’ís believe that Throughout the ages, God has sent Divine Messengers known as Manifestations of God—among them Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh – to cultivate humanity’s spiritual, intellectual and moral capacities. Following the coming of a Manifestation of God extraordinary progress occurs in the world. Reaching to the roots of human motivation, His teachings awaken in whole populations capacities to contribute to the advancement of civilization to an extent never before possible.

While Bahá’í belief looks remarkably “Christian,” it is in actuality quite different again, and Christians, Muslims and Jews aren’t generally all that interested in it. And by the way, the consequences haven’t been all that wonderful in places like Iran.

Now, one of the things all these religions share is a belief in an omniscient and omnipotent deity. And if that is the case, they must believe (although they probably are not aware that they believe) that this deity has done all of this – changing His mind repeatedly and causing all the confusion and dreadful consequences that have resulted – either on purpose or without caring about those consequences. (The other choice, of course, is that the deity is not in fact omniscient – quite a bit removed from omniscience, actually – but I don’t think this will be acceptable to believers.)

If those religions all believe what they believe they believe, then this is undeniable, even though none of them will give it any thought, because giving it the thought it deserves would be dreadfully uncomfortable. But I repeat it is logically inescapable, if they really do believe what they think they believe, that the religious strife that has caused untold misery and death to millions upon millions of human beings is the deliberate result of how an omniscient and omnipotent deity chose to express himself to humanity.

I myself find that remarkably difficult to accept. But what do I know?

The God I believe in is neither omniscient nor omnipotent (in the ways that these terms are typically understood).

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

The God I believe in is neither omniscient nor omnipotent (in the ways that these terms are typically understood).

Well, the god I believe in also does not exist, and thus is maximally powerless and ignorant. Being thus entirely unaware of his own non-existence and powerlessness, he's not at all bothered by it.

But back to prophets and scripture. What if -- just what if -- it's all the honest and diligent effort by well-meaning and intelligent people to understand the inexplicable mysteries of human life: D'où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous in the words of Paul Gaugin. What if we assume (as I think we should) that no human being, despite his best efforts, can ever answer those awesome questions?

Ought we not, in any case, continue to try? That's the core of my "faith." That's what I truly believe -- not anything I've been told, but what I can grasp for myself, if I try hard.

 

[McBell]

The Prophets of God, They are the Ones to make that call and Who I refer to in giving any answer in that subject. I, myself do not decide which is a true religion and which is not.

We only know which religions are true from Baha'u'llah's Revelation.
We are told Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, Babi, Baha'i, Zoroastrian, Christian and Sabean and that before recorded history there were also Prophets but Their names have been lost.

so a religion is not a religion unless a prophet from that religion says the religion is from god?
How does that fit in with your "revealed by god" claim?

 

[loverofhumanity]

so a religion is not a religion unless a prophet from that religion says the religion is from god?
How does that fit in with your "revealed by god" claim?

A Prophet of God as in any Prophet of God is really the only One Who can make such a judgement. We are human and make mistakes but a Prophet of God has true Knowledge so I would trust Their judgement on all matters.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

A Prophet of God as in any Prophet of God is really the only One Who can make such a judgement. We are human and make mistakes but a Prophet of God has true Knowledge so I would trust Their judgement on all matters.

And how, exactly, would you know that what they say is "true Knowledge?" Think David Koresh, or Jim Jones, or Mohammed, or Joseph Smith -- or Helen Shucman.

Surely there is some infallible means of telling the false prophets from the true "Prophets of God." And yet, in all of human history, none has every actually worked for everybody. This ought to surprise you. That it doesn't (surprise you) says something about the provenance of your beliefs -- i.e. that you were not reasoned into them, and thus will not be reasoned out of them.

 

[loverofhumanity]

And how, exactly, would you know that what they say is "true Knowledge?" Think David Koresh, or Jim Jones, or Mohammed, or Joseph Smith -- or Helen Shucman.

Surely there is some infallible means of telling the false prophets from the true "Prophets of God." And yet, in all of human history, none has every actually worked for everybody. This ought to surprise you. That it doesn't (surprise you) says something about the provenance of your beliefs -- i.e. that you were not reasoned into them, and thus will not be reasoned out of them.

The Word of God.

It is the King of all words and opens the hearts and teaches truth and God to men. It is the master key for unlocking the hearts of men and teaching truth to them.

 

[loverofhumanity]

Look, let’s talk a bit about scripture and the prophets who largely shaped scripture. Christians, of course, accept all of the Jewish prophets, but ascribe their messages to something other than the Jews themselves understand them to have been about. (Surprising, really, that Christians should know so much more about Jewish prophets than Jews themselves, but what do I know?)

Of course, Christians added their own prophets – Jesus, Paul, and I would venture to say the Gospellers. And these Christian prophets fundamentally redefined the religion known until then. The Jews, of course, were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religion for dozens of generations by that time, and religion, as we know, is hard to expunge. And the consequences were often terrible.

Muslims believe the first prophet was also the first human being, Adam (Adem). Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned as such in the Quran but usually in altered form and with different names. For example, the Jewish Elisha is called Alyasa, Job is Ayyub, Jesus is Isa, etc. The Torah given to Moses (Musa) is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David (Dawud) is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil). (For reasons known only to themselves, of course, none of the seven Jewish Prophetesses are mentioned in the Quran as prophets.)

Of course, Islam added its own prophets, notably Mohammed “the Seal of the Prophets,” who fundamentally changed the meaning of everything that had been understood by both Christians and Jews before. And the Christians and Jews were not impressed, but then, why should they be – they’d been living with their religions for dozens of generations by that time, and religions, it is well known, are remarkably difficult to erase. And the consequences have been awful for a very long time.

Bahá’ís believe that Throughout the ages, God has sent Divine Messengers known as Manifestations of God—among them Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh – to cultivate humanity’s spiritual, intellectual and moral capacities. Following the coming of a Manifestation of God extraordinary progress occurs in the world. Reaching to the roots of human motivation, His teachings awaken in whole populations capacities to contribute to the advancement of civilization to an extent never before possible.

While Bahá’í belief looks remarkably “Christian,” it is in actuality quite different again, and Christians, Muslims and Jews aren’t generally all that interested in it. And by the way, the consequences haven’t been all that wonderful in places like Iran.

Now, one of the things all these religions share is a belief in an omniscient and omnipotent deity. And if that is the case, they must believe (although they probably are not aware that they believe) that this deity has done all of this – changing His mind repeatedly and causing all the confusion and dreadful consequences that have resulted – either on purpose or without caring about those consequences. (The other choice, of course, is that the deity is not in fact omniscient – quite a bit removed from omniscience, actually – but I don’t think this will be acceptable to believers.)

If those religions all believe what they believe they believe, then this is undeniable, even though none of them will give it any thought, because giving it the thought it deserves would be dreadfully uncomfortable. But I repeat it is logically inescapable, if they really do believe what they think they believe, that the religious strife that has caused untold misery and death to millions upon millions of human beings is the deliberate result of how an omniscient and omnipotent deity chose to express himself to humanity.

I myself find that remarkably difficult to accept. But what do I know?

I enjoyed reading your post and you make some very true and valid points which I fully agree with.

Firstly, I agree that religion has been a cause of war and bloodshed throughout history and people have every right to turn away from religion because of this but it is not the major cause of war throughout history and abolishing religion will not rid the world of war as some think if we use history as our guide. First here's where I agree fully with you.

"If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act.

Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. " Abdul-Baha


However, the religious wars we have had throughout history have not been primarily caused by religion. These are examples of only some of mans cruelty to man that were not religious wars. Even Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not in the list.

Joseph Stalin - 42,672,000
Mao Zedong - 37,828,000
Adolf Hitler - 20,946,000
Chiang Kai-shek - 10,214,000
Vladimir Lenin - 4,017,000
Hideki Tojo - 3,990,000
Pol Pot - 2,397,0003


In their recently published book, “Encyclopedia of Wars,” authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod document the history of recorded warfare, and from their list of 1763 wars only 123 have been classified to involve a religious cause, accounting for less than 7 percent of all wars and less than 2 percent of all people killed in warfare. While, for example, it is estimated that approximately one to three million people were tragically killed in the Crusades, and perhaps 3,000 in the Inquisition, nearly 35 million soldiers and civilians died in the senseless, and secular, slaughter of World War 1 alone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-alan-lurie/is-religion-the-cause-of-_b_1400766.html

Judging by these facts, God is nowhere to be seen in the majority of wars. This proves to me that it is man not God who is causing war and using any pretext including religion to wage war for political and financial gain.

Eradicating belief in God will not stop the Hitlers and Stalins from appearing.

Understanding that war has been a result of our immaturity will do more in developing the educational modules necessary to help us mature faster towards being a peaceful race.

Baha'u'llah did say there would be attempts to eradicate religion.


Once Varqá asked Bahá'u'lláh, 'How will the Cause of God be universally adopted by mankind?' Bahá'u'lláh said that first, the nations of the world would arm themselves with infernal engines of war, and when fully armed would attack each other like bloodthirsty beasts. As a result, there would be enormous bloodshed throughout the world. Then the wise from all nations would gather together to investigate the cause of such bloodshed. They would come to the conclusion that prejudices were the cause, a major form being religious prejudice. They would therefore try to eliminate religion so as to eliminate prejudice. Later they would realize that man cannot live without religion. Then they would study the teachings of all religions to see which of the religions conformed to the prevailing conditions of the time. It is then that the Cause of God would become universal.

 

[loverofhumanity]

What did Baha'u'llah have to say about Satanism?

Baha'u'llah only acknowledges religions as true if they are revealed by God. Human or man made religion is seen by Him as not true religions but man made.

"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose." - Baha'u'llah

Also, we don't believe in the existence of Satan.

“The reality underlying this question is that the evil spirit, Satan or whatever is interpreted as evil, refers to the lower nature in man”

Excerpt From: Hornby. “Lights of Guidance.” iBooks.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

The Word of God.

It is the King of all words and opens the hearts and teaches truth and God to men. It is the master key for unlocking the hearts of men and teaching truth to them.

This says nothing. There are lots of texts that claim to be "The Word of God," and they contradict one another all over the place, or are written in such a way that the most egregious contradictions can be (and definitely are) read in.

So try to be a little more explicit, please -- precisely which "Word of God" are you referring to?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Firstly, I agree that religion has been a cause of war and bloodshed throughout history and people have every right to turn away from religion because of this but it is not the major cause of war throughout history and abolishing religion will not rid the world of war as some think if we use history as our guide. First here's where I agree fully with you.

However, the religious wars we have had throughout history have not been primarily caused by religion. These are examples of only some of mans cruelty to man that were not religious wars. Even Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not in the list.

Joseph Stalin - 42,672,000
Mao Zedong - 37,828,000
Adolf Hitler - 20,946,000
Chiang Kai-shek - 10,214,000
Vladimir Lenin - 4,017,000
Hideki Tojo - 3,990,000
Pol Pot - 2,397,0003

It is extremely important to understand the notion of fixed ideologies -- which, so long as they are accepted as "revealed, unchallengeable truth," are in every way comparable to religion. Communism (Stalin, Lenin, Mao) is such an ideology, and its "prophet" was Karl Marx, sitting alone in the British Museum writing his revelation. Chiang Kai-shek, as a Chinese Nationalist (for a while allied with Sun Yat-Sen) opposed Communism in China. He lost, by the way. Likewise, National Socialism (Nazism, Hitler) is such an ideology, which coupled with some bizarre beliefs about race, seems pretty "religious" to me.

In any case, at no time did I claim that religion (or ideology) is the only cause of war. However, I do make this claim -- anyone who believes in a universal, loving and omnipotent God, cannot possibly -- at the same moment and to the same degree -- believe that it is right to kill others in order to force them to believe in the same God. It is equally impossible to believe in God's omnipotence being so limited that it requires human assistance in bringing that omnipotent will to fruition. This is so deeply conflicted as to be borderline insanity.

 

[McBell]

Baha'u'llah only acknowledges religions as true if they are revealed by God.

Make up your mind.
Either they are revealed by god or they are revealed by a prophet.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Make up your mind.
Either they are revealed by god or they are revealed by a prophet.

I believe you'll find that Mestemia means "revealed by God through a prophet." Then they only thing left to know is which prophet(s) God really speaks to, and which ones are making it all up or suffering from one of the many causes of delusions available. Easy-peasy! (And also the reason that there are so many religions and sects within them.)

 

[loverofhumanity]

Make up your mind.
Either they are revealed by god or they are revealed by a prophet.

God reveals His Will through His Prophets. They speak for Him in this world. They are His Representatives on this earth.

 

[loverofhumanity]

It is extremely important to understand the notion of fixed ideologies -- which, so long as they are accepted as "revealed, unchallengeable truth," are in every way comparable to religion. Communism (Stalin, Lenin, Mao) is such an ideology, and its "prophet" was Karl Marx, sitting alone in the British Museum writing his revelation. Chiang Kai-shek, as a Chinese Nationalist (for a while allied with Sun Yat-Sen) opposed Communism in China. He lost, by the way. Likewise, National Socialism (Nazism, Hitler) is such an ideology, which coupled with some bizarre beliefs about race, seems pretty "religious" to me.

In any case, at no time did I claim that religion (or ideology) is the only cause of war. However, I do make this claim -- anyone who believes in a universal, loving and omnipotent God, cannot possibly -- at the same moment and to the same degree -- believe that it is right to kill others in order to force them to believe in the same God. It is equally impossible to believe in God's omnipotence being so limited that it requires human assistance in bringing that omnipotent will to fruition. This is so deeply conflicted as to be borderline insanity.

Of course I fully agree with you that it is evil and barbaric to kill others to force them to believe.

God only offers us His Guidance. It is for us whether we choose to use it or not. God could create world peace in a second but He leaves it for man to make his own decisions and learn which way is best from his own mistakes.

We have been appealed to by God's Prophets to establish world peace but have so far chosen two world wars. God doesn't force us to obey Him.

 

[loverofhumanity]

This says nothing. There are lots of texts that claim to be "The Word of God," and they contradict one another all over the place, or are written in such a way that the most egregious contradictions can be (and definitely are) read in.

So try to be a little more explicit, please -- precisely which "Word of God" are you referring to?

Sure! The further back we go in history the less records become reliable. There are are some Writings which cannot be proven to be authentic by themselves but can be verified by recent Manifestations of God as to which parts are accurate and which are not.

We understand that some Hindu, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian scriptures are authentic as well as the Torah, the Bible, the Quran the Babi Scriptures and the Writings of Baha'u'llah.

Baha'u'llah appeared just over a century ago and wrote with His Own Pen and Seals. As He was the most recent we refer to His Writings for clarification. But there's one more very important thing. Baha'u'llah is not just a Messenger of God we believe, but the Promised One foretold by all the major Faiths. If you read their texts they all expect another Buddha to come or the return of Krishna or Christ or the Lord as in the Quran.

If His claim is true He will be able to unify them all. So which Word of God do you wish to discuss because we have more than one here.

The master key that unlocks the meanings would be Baha'u'llah's Writings as most other Holy Books have passages in them which state that their meanings are sealed until the time of the end.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

God reveals His Will through His Prophets. They speak for Him in this world. They are His Representatives on this earth.

This still leaves the basic and intractable problem: lots of prophets, lots of claim to "revealing God's Will," lots of contradiction between them, no way to know which is right except to decide for yourself. This is a bizarre and ultimately foolish way for anybody to try to get a message out, let alone an omniscient and omnipotent deity.

 

[McBell]

God reveals His Will through His Prophets. They speak for Him in this world. They are His Representatives on this earth.

Fair enough.
However, you seem to have confused the issue.

Do you mean that there must be a prophet intermediary in order for a religion to be a religion?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

This still leaves the basic and intractable problem: lots of prophets, lots of claim to "revealing God's Will," lots of contradiction between them, no way to know which is right except to decide for yourself. This is a bizarre and ultimately foolish way for anybody to try to get a message out, let alone an omniscient and omnipotent deity.

Adding to what I said. , consider it this way. U.S President Barack Obama can make his thoughts known to all Americans (and everybody else in the world) through a televised address. If they're not watching, they can always Google it later, or watch the inevitable Youtube version. They do not have to, but they never-the-less can do so. Of course, Obama has to do this, because he's got no other means of make sure everyone knows that this is what he meant to say.

Now picture this happening another way: Obama, with something important to say to the American people (and the world) elects to impart his entire message -- in private -- to some other party, likely not very well known to anyone. He then instructs this individual to claim that this is Obama's message, his true and real thought, although he will never in future acknowledge it himself, and you are all to accept it as such.

So that's it: Joe Pressagent announces, "President Obama has asked all American's to dye their hair purple." There will be no confirmation. Now, how many Americans, do you suppose, are going to believe it? (I suspect, actually, that quite a few from other, not-so-friendly, nations might well choose to believe it.)

But God does not need television. God, as we are to understand, has the unrestricted capacity to make His desires known to at least one person at a time -- a "prophet" something akin to Joe Pressagent, above. But can we not then also assume with perfect certainty that what God can make known to this prophet, He can simultaneously make known to anybody and everybody that He thinks should be in possession of this message? Why does this never happen, especially given that God Himself must know that the "prophet-delivered" scenario is, and has always been, doomed to the failure of miscommunication and misapprehension?

Can't anybody see the terrible, debilitating limitation that this puts on God's ability to simply make Himself clear and unambiguous? Do you really think so very little of God's abilities and smarts?

 

[loverofhumanity]

This still leaves the basic and intractable problem: lots of prophets, lots of claim to "revealing God's Will," lots of contradiction between them, no way to know which is right except to decide for yourself. This is a bizarre and ultimately foolish way for anybody to try to get a message out, let alone an omniscient and omnipotent deity.

Not exactly. There are prophecies revealed in each religion about the coming of the next Revelation as well as the coming of Baha'u'llah. From Adam to Muhammad was the Prophetic Cycle where promises were made to humanity and if you read all the books about these religions they all have an Apocalypse scenario referring to a time of the end and things like world peace etc But if you read the Writings of Baha'u'llah there is no apocalyptic scenario anymore because we are now in th Cycle of Fulfillment when the world will be united and war will come to an end and humanity is maturing.

There is no contradiction at all. Each Manifestation brought laws and teachings for the age and each subsequent Manifestation brought new teachings for the new age. Christ brought teachings for the individual, Muhammad brought laws for Community and Baha'u'llah brought laws for world unity. See how they perfectly compliment one another? And again Buddha taught things like enlightenment and meditation and Christ taught love and forgiveness and Baha'u'llah teaches to love all mankind. Where's the contradiction? They are all complimentary and really the same Faith but like an embryo progressively developing and maturing. To accept we were once a child and a teenager does not contradict itself. The confusion has arisen because instead of each religion accepting the following religion they rejected it so we ended up with multiple religions instead of one.

"This is the changeless Faith of God eternal in the past, eternal in the future" - Baha'u'llah