Some questions in regards to the Baha'i Faith

[PVE1]

Greetings all,
Long time lurker here, first time poster (first time signing up as well). I first became aware of the Baha'i Faith a few months ago during a search to learn about the main religions of the world. At first, I wrote it off as a "false" (for lack of a better term) belief that was created by a man. As I have grown to learn and love most religions though, my interest in the Baha'i Faith finally sparked and has been a flame to me for the past few weeks. The more I read about it, the more I feel it fits who I am during my search of the perfect community to embrace God.

It has been a difficult ride for me to find the one faith that fits me perfect. The two faiths I hold dear to my heart are "Nontrinitarian" Christianity and Buddhism. For a while, I had wished there was a "Monotheistic Buddhism" because that would be perfect for me. However, the closest I can find to this concept is the Baha'i Faith. I'm so interested and want to embrace such a brilliant concept of God, but I have a few questions in regards to it that I hope someone can help me out with. I apologize if these have been asked a thousand times before -

1. The idea of embracing all world religions is brilliant to me, but I do not understand why Baha'i's follow different rules rather than a combination of all of them? Would it be wrong for me to follow Hinduism a little more closely than I would Christianity?

2. Is it ok for Baha'i's to value one Manifestation of God more than another? Personally, I feel no one can even compare to the brilliance of Christ.

3. Is it ok to believe that Bahaullah was not a Manifestation of God to the level of Christ, Buddha or Mohammed? I mean no offense by this, but I (like most people) become skeptic when men make rules unless you can see their ability or have traditions passed such as Christ or Moses. I don't doubt Bahaullah's "power" but I do not feel it deep down as definite.

Thanks so much for helping me out! Best wishes and peace be with all of you.

 

[Boethiah]

Hello, and welcome to the forums! The independent investigation of truth is important to Baha'is (and should be for everyone, no?). Before I begin, I must say that these is no "perfect" community. Each community has its flaws, because humans are inherently flawed. So, the goal should be for an ideal religion and spirituality for you. Perfection will not come most likely.

1. The idea of embracing all world religions is brilliant to me, but I do not understand why Baha'i's follow different rules rather than a combination of all of them? Would it be wrong for me to follow Hinduism a little more closely than I would Christianity?

We embrace all religions in the sense that all religions have been revealed by God. Each religion has been revealed for a specific time period and a specific place. Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah's revelation is the most recent. To be a Baha'is are to read the sacred texts of other religions as well, but Baha'i laws take precedent because we believe they are the most correct. If there is a law from another religion you particularly like no one is stopping you from adhering to it, but it shouldn't interfere with a Baha'i law (this all, of course, applies to a Baha'i).

2. Is it ok for Baha'i's to value one Manifestation of God more than another? Personally, I feel no one can even compare to the brilliance of Christ.

Baha'is believe that each Manifestation is equal. The collective prophets are sometimes referred to as "The Concourse On High". We do not believe any Manifestation is better than another, because they are all of God. We respect and revere each one.

3. Is it ok to believe that Bahaullah was not a Manifestation of God to the level of Christ, Buddha or Mohammed? I mean no offense by this, but I (like most people) become skeptic when men make rules unless you can see their ability or have traditions passed such as Christ or Moses. I don't doubt Bahaullah's "power" but I do not feel it deep down as definite.

As I said, the Manifestations are equal. If you were to investigate the Holy Scripture, your faith in Baha'u'llah might grow. It is impossible to completely wrap one's head around Baha'u'llah. As Baha'is, we follow His revelation from God.

Upon reading and investigating, you may or may not find the Faith is right for you. If so, excellent! If not, excellent as well. The Baha'i Faith is a beautiful religion that should investigated thoroughly. I admire your resolve to seek out answers.

 

[PVE1]

Boethiah,
Many thanks to you for your responses. They have definitely answered some of my questions. The Baha'i Faith is refreshing to me because I feel like there is an emphasis on a loving God. I grew up in the Catholic church and all I ever felt was God loved me but was always angry with me. When I think about the Baha'i Faith, I don't feel that. I feel God genuine loves me. A few more questions, if you will -

1. Do Baha'is celebrated other religious holidays? Such as Christmas, Passover, etc.?

2. My girlfriend is a Christian. Do Baha'is ever attend Christian church?

3. This is kind of a part two to the second question. Are Baha'is allowed in mosques?

4. Are there any "controversies" within the Baha'i Faith (either Bahaullah or the Faith itself) that turn people away? An example of what I mean would be the fact that Joseph Smith of the LDS church was a convict.

Best wishes and many thanks!

 

[Boethiah]

No problem! I cannot say I can relate, as I was not really raised with much of a religious background, but I have heard individuals stories. I'd be glad to answer some more questions.

1. Do Baha'is celebrated other religious holidays? Such as Christmas, Passover, etc.?

There are several different holidays in the Baha'i Faith, all in the Baha'i calendar. The Baha'i calendar is a solar calendar of 19 months of 19 days each, with 4 intercalary days. These intercalary days are "Ayyam-i-Ha", which can be described as the Baha'i Christmas. Gift giving, joy, preparation for the fast. The following 19 day period is a time where Baha'is fast from sunrise to sunset.

In addition to Ayyam-i-Ha there are various holy days when we honor the core people of the Faith, such as the birth of Baha'u'llah or the Ascension of Baha'u'llah. A more complete list and explanation on the holy days/calendar can be found here. Baha'is also have a "feast" at the beginning of each Baha'i month, which is a community gathering.

2. My girlfriend is a Christian. Do Baha'is ever attend Christian church?

Sure! There isn't a problem with that as long as it does not interfere with a Baha'is adherence to the Faith. But, attending other religious services is totally fine. Abdul Baha (a central figure in the Faith) regularly attended Mosque for prayer. One must be sure to respect the practices though.

3. This is kind of a part two to the second question. Are Baha'is allowed in mosques?

That depends on the mosque one goes to, but I'd imagine most Mosques would be pretty open to other religions coming in. One must be sure to respect their practices though. Baha'is have no restrictions on that though.

4. Are there any "controversies" within the Baha'i Faith (either Bahaullah or the Faith itself) that turn people away? An example of what I mean would be the fact that Joseph Smith of the LDS church was a convict.

There is controversy in any Faith, and the Baha'i Faith is no different. There have been a power struggle here and there to try and disagreements resulting in splinter factions, but these factions haven't really succeeded. There aren't any controversies regarding Baha'u'llah as far as I know, nor Abdul Baha. These splinter factions arose when Shoghi Effendi died. He was the Guardian of the Faith (somewhat like a Pope), but he passed away without leaving an heir to his position. The Universal House of Justice(the governing body of the Faith) took the reigns. Some people claimed to be the next Guardian. Things like this mostly.

Best wishes and many thanks!

Thank you, and you are quite welcome!

 

[arthra]

1. Do Baha'is celebrated other religious holidays? Such as Christmas, Passover, etc.?

As above Baha'is observe Baha'i Holy Days but are free to observe holidays say that their families may be associated with, that is a Baha'i say with a Christian background say with Christian relatives can certainly have "Christmas" with that family.. as long as they do not do something that implies membership such as taking communion in a church as we are not Christians after all but Baha'is and we cannot have a dual membership say as a Baha'i and be a member of a church..same goes for other religions..



2. My girlfriend is a Christian. Do Baha'is ever attend Christian church?

Attending church with some one would be permitted but not doing something as I mentioned above that would imply we belong to a church like taking a communion or being in say a ritual of the religion.

3. This is kind of a part two to the second question. Are Baha'is allowed in mosques?

Baha'is can certainly visit a mosque but should not participate in say Friday prayers as this implies we are part of the Mosque when we are not practising Muslims.

1. The idea of embracing all world religions is brilliant to me, but I do not understand why Baha'i's follow different rules rather than a combination of all of them? Would it be wrong for me to follow Hinduism a little more closely than I would Christianity?

The Baha'i revelation is uniquely suited we believe for this age and therefore has it's own ordinances for this day.. Also Baha'i Faith is an independent world religion.. We are not Hindus or Christians even though we accept say Krishna and Jesus as Manifestations in Their eras and we respect the Holy Books of other religions.

2. Is it ok for Baha'i's to value one Manifestation of God more than another? Personally, I feel no one can even compare to the brilliance of Christ.

As above Baha'is accept all the Manifestations and regard Them as having an equal station.. Baha'u'llah is the Manifestation for this era..just as say your First Grade Teacher had qualifications and met requirements to teach that were similar to what your Sixth Grade Teacher had met.. They are both qualified teachers but each had a specific goal and message for you as a student when you were in their classes.



3. Is it ok to believe that Bahaullah was not a Manifestation of God to the level of Christ, Buddha or Mohammed? I mean no offense by this, but I (like most people) become skeptic when men make rules unless you can see their ability or have traditions passed such as Christ or Moses. I don't doubt Bahaullah's "power" but I do not feel it deep down as definite.

The Manifestations of God essentially have the same role to perfectly reflect the attributes of God and They serve as Mediators between God and man..to reject One is to reject Them all..Here is what Baha'u'llah revealed on the subject:

To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery

The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace, according to His saying, ``His grace hath transcended all things; My grace hath encompassed them all,'' hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable Essence.

These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of ancient glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of Divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial wisdom.

Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the Light that can never fade These Tabernacles of Holiness, these Primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of these Gems of Divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty, and grace, are made manifefest

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 47

 

[dlherrmann]

Each Baha'i is an individual with their individual understandings. I told my oldest daughter that I didn't want her to be a Baha'i like me. She was shocked. I explained that I wanted her to find her own, authentic way of being Baha'i. To imitate me would be to lie.

I will state the subject of your questions then my response.

Follow rules of one religion over another: Because Baha'is accept/respect/revere the founders of all the divinely revealed religions, Baha'u'llah being the latest, then following Baha'u'llah's teachings/rules/etc IS honoring all past traditions. Picking one past tradition over others is a rejection of the others. I personally cannot with good consiounce (please forgive my spellilng) do that.

Baha'u'llah revealed the teachings that humanity specially needs for this time, so His have the priority.

Being as each Manifestation of God is the embodiment of the same Spirit of God, I honor them all by honoring Baha'u'llah. Coming from a very active church background, it felt odd to consider Christ as equal to any others, but the more I have learned from Baha'u'llah I have a greater regard for Christ than ever before. It's just a matter of perspective. Contrary to what it may appear - Baha'is do NOT demote Christ.

Baha'is can observe holy days of other religions - but it is impossible to observe them all and equally, so to honor them all I pay particular attention to the Baha'i holy days and give no preference to the others. Many celebrations of other religions cannot be traced to their Manifestation anyway. Christ did not ordain Christmas and He was likely not born in the winter anyway. Evidence from the Gospels indicate that He was more likely born in spring.

Can Baha'is attend a church? Of course. But to be member? Of course not, one is contradictory to the other: "Christ is going to come (maybe)" vs "Christ has returned." Both cannot be true at the same time. Personally, I regularly pray with the local Quakers, attend Quran class at the local mosque, have gone to the synagogue often enough that I am recognized and have attended a Catholic semi-monastic retreat center, as well as being Chairman of my local Baha'i Assembly and serving on various committees of the Baha'i community.

Are Baha'is allowed in mosques? Depends on the mosque. One time when I was giving a presentation on the Baha'i Faith in our local mosque (the Imam and I have been friends for decades) a Muslim of another country began to challenge me. The Imam reprimanded him rightn then for lack of respect to their guest. The Imam later told me that this person did not even want women in the mosque. The Imam said, that's not the way we do it here.

It is very interesting to attend this mosque. The members come from so many different countries, as well as U.S. born Americans, they have to learn a new way to be Muslim that is different from their home culture. It is a struggle for them, but it is important for them to find a way to be Muslims together. Very interesting.

Are there controvercies in the Baha'i community? Are their disagreements between any two people? 'Abdu'l-Baha says it is better to agree on a wrong thing than to insist on one's own rightness. If you agree on a wrong thing, it will become obvious to all that it is wrong. Sometimes, the fact of agreeing will cause the wrong thing to work - and progress is achieved. Arguing results in no progress. This is a hard lesson for many people to learn, even myself at times.

Baha'u'llah has set out a system for resolving problems, it is called consultation and has specific steps: define the problem and agree on the defination, identify the principles the problem involves, identify and agree on the relevant facts. Here in just the first three preparatory steps a great deal of unity has been established between antagonists. Then each side is to set forth their opinions, lovingly but frankly. Oftentimes a resolution appears as if by majic. It is breathtaking and awesome. This is the Baha'i administrative order at work.

This process is the heart of the administrative order - the local and national Spiritual Assemblies and Universal House of Justice - councils of nine members who guide the Baha'i community.

Most controvercies are the result of ego. Patience and the passage of time are required.

I hope this is helpful. I have also noticed another post that is not completely honest and raises the following point:

Is the Baha'i Faith a cult or sect of Islam? If the Baha'i Faith is a sect of Islam, then Christianity is a sect of Judaism. The relationship is EXACTLY the same. And is largely irrelevant.

Is Baha'i a cult? Even scholars of religion cannot agree on what that term means. It is essentially a word with no meaning.

Do Baha'is have a "strong" administrative order? What is "strong?" Can it order the execution of people? No. Can it punish people? What is punishment? In certain instances it can remove the administrative rights of individuals who flagrantly flaunt the standards of Baha'i behavior. Any organization needs some way to moderate the unacceptable behavior of its members. One would not expect anything less.

Are the reasons women are not members of the House of Justice "unknown?" Certainly not. Baha'u'llah address the "men of the House of Justice" and 'Abdu'l-Baha confirmed that membership to the House is confined to men. He said the reason will one day be as obvious as the noon-day sun. But this does not mean that women are unequal. Women are exempt from the obligation of pilgrimage. They may do so if they wish. For men it is an obligation if they can afford it and it can be accomplished in safety and comfort. Man and women are equal, but not the same. Preference in education is given to girls. Does this sound like women are second class????

Covenant Breaking: this is probably the most misunderstood aspect of the Faith and some people enjoy twisting it around. It is an extreme and rare situation. The term applies only to those very few individuals who have accepted the Baha'i Faith then turned around and attempted to undermine it from the inside. Those individuals are liars and hypocrits. They prove their dishonesty and deceitful nature. After lengthy consultation with them, if they persist, they are expelled to remove their deceitful influence from the community. And this is bad??

"17 sects" Really? Where are they? Some individuals make a lot of noise on the internet, the rest...where are they? Is that number counting the few families who descended from the half brother of 'Abdul-Baha who was jealous of the position given by Baha'u'llah to 'Abdu'l-Baha? If he had been patient, he would have had his turn at leadership, but he was not and fought 'Abdu'l-Baha. He removed himself from the Baha'i community. From what I understand, these few families don't even talk to each other. That's a sect?? Does this count the few who briefly followed Ihrahim Khairalla who wanted to rule the Baha'is of America then got mad when 'Abdu'l-Baha explained that Baha'u'llah's covenant did not allow that? He withdrew himself from the Baha'i community and renounced his allegiance to 'Abdu'l-Baha. He had a few followers for a few years, but they faded away before he died. Does this count the New History Society whose creator did not want it to be part of the Baha'i community? And, after his death, the society renounced all previous association with the Faith. Does it count the followers of the liar who said, and signed a statement, saying that there was no second Guardian, then proclaimed himself to be a "guardian" despite that he fulfilled NONE of the conditions set by 'Abdul-Baha for a Guardian? Unbelievable!!!

The "answers" of this person is merely an attempt to blind others to the fact that never in the history of humanity have so many peope (6-7 million now) from so many backgrounds (2112 groups) come together (and all willingly) to work together for a common goal (really? humans doing this???) that will benefit all of the human race (like, uh... peace on the planet). If such an accomplishment was humanly possible, it would have been done long before now. But it was not humanly possible, it has only been possible due to the power of God operating through the Revelation given through Baha'u'llah.

The more I study the ocean of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah (and I've been at it for over forty years now) the more and more I am in love and awe of it.

I wish you well on your journey.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi, PVE, and welcome to the Baha'i Forum here!

In addition to the answers from several Baha'is (which I'll supplement a bit below), you've doubtless also seen the posting from Badi, a known enemy of the Faith! I'm sure I don't need to tell you to treat his claims with caution as they're extremely subjective and tend to present things in the most negative way possible.

In particular, I'll point out the falsehood in these statements:

Although they believe in equality between men and women, but their supreme body does not allow membership to women for 'unknown reasons'.

In fact, the reason is quite clear: it's because Baha'u'llah stated in our scriptures that the House of Justice is to be composed of males only.

Why this is we don't know, but we follow His instructions about this.

Detractors will also avoid pointing out that there are other, balancing aspects of this in the Faith: women serve freely in ALL other positions in the Faith, including those (Hands of the Cause of God and Continental Counsellors) offering the renown not awarded to those only serving on elected adminstrative bodies. In particular, ALL women--not just nine or fewer (the size of the House of Justice)--take precedence over all men for receipt of education!

If any Baha'i is critical of this body [the House of Justice\ or any other administrative body or if a Baha'i asks too many questions, regarding the guardianship or the authority of the Supreme Body, he is considered as 'Covenant Breaker' and is shunned and his membership removed. All the baha'is are then advised (ordered) to cut off any / all relations with this guy.

A gross exaggeration!

Baha'is are fully free to express their consciences as well as to express concerns or criticisms to administrative bodies!

It is only in the extremely rare circumstance when someone tries to overthrow the Baha'i administrative system laid out in our scriptures or "take power and authority" for him- or herself that someone can be declared a covenant-breaker; and this only happens after extensive investigation, counselling, and repeated warnings to the individual. Even then, this may only be done by the House of Justice itself (i.e., by our world-level body), never any lower agency. And it's an EXTREMELY rare event: there have been only a very few such individuals sanctioned--probably a dozen or fewer in the past decade! Further, these individuals may be reinstituted as Baha'is if they ceast the activities that caused the problem.

The NSA (National Spiritual Assembly), the national supreme body has always 4-5 Persian Baha'is. Actually Baha'i faith is a Persian religion and the Persian members always have a upper hand.

Simply false!

There are around 180 National Spiritual Assemblies, and I can assure you that the vast majority of these individuals are NOT Persian! Further, the Faith is now a world religion (indeed, the second most widespread in terms of where adherents live, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica); and Persians are treated the same as anyone else, and don't have an "upper hand" merely because they're Persian.

One other present-day objection to the Baha'i Faith, BTW, is the fact that our scriptures state cleary that marriage, while revered and encouaged, is a heterosexual institution and that homosexual activity is forbidden Baha'is. We obey our scriptures about this but never try to impose our laws or views on others.

Finally, while it is true that there have always been individuals attempting to split the Faith (often to set themselves up as "leaders" or arbiters), these groups are EXTREMELY small--typically under a hundred members. Our scriptures promise that no attempt to split the Faith will ultimately succeed, and indeed, most of these groups are already extinct!

I hope this information is helpful for you.

As I trust you already know, there are many Baha'i web sites out there, and good starting points for further investigation are:

-- www.bahai.org

and

-- www.bahai.us

Please feel free to keep the questions coming; we LOVE 'em!

Best regards,

Bruce

 

[BruceDLimber]

Obviously more junk from enemies of the Faith.

Feel free to read it if you like, but please bear in mind the bias of the source.

Bruce

 

[Ariella]

1) Baha'i Faith (cult) is a faction of Babism, that is a sect of Shaikhiyya faith which is again a sect of Islam. So Baha'i faith is actually a sect of sect of sect of Islam. But now it claims to be an independent religion.

It has it foundation in the Shaikhiyya school (not a sect, but a group of sufis). Kazim te leader of this school foretold the coming of the qa'im, the promised one of all time and Mulla Husayn found this person in the Siyyid Alí-Muhammad who gave in one evening a commentar on the surah of Youssuf without research...

2) They have a very strong Administrative System. This system is governed by the 'Supreme Seat' in Haifa, the most holy 'Infallible' body of Baha'i Administration that is headed by 'All Male, 9 Individuals' and their collective decision is believed to be "inspired by God" Himself.

19 men, dear darling. I don't think that you can see these decisions as inspired by God.

6) In a span of 165 years Baha'i faith has been divided into 17 more sects. All are small groups with very few followers but they all claim to be true and label the rest of the baha'is as covenant breakers. The largest sect among baha'is are the Orthodox Baha'is with a large following in America, Canada, Australia, India, Iran and Africa.

I see Mason Remey as a convenant-breaker. Shoghi Effendi was the first and last guardian. Abdu'l-bahá said that in his testament and shoghi effendi laid the foundations for the Administrative orders.

 

[Ariella]

oh no sorry, you were right 9 members.

 

[PVE1]

Greetings all,
First and foremost, I want to give thanks to everyone for their helpful responses.

I have no more questions, rather I have issues understanding certain ideas. I will try to list them and keep them short for everyones benefit.

First and foremost, how could Bahaullah give any sort of "evidence" that he is the Second Coming of Christ? When most people think of the return of Christ, they imagine the skies opening, panic, etc. In this case, it seems passive and almost too smooth. Is there any way we can possibly give credit to what he states outside of just taking his word for it?

I also do not understand how we've already met Judgment Day. No one was judged for their sins nor did the world start over (physically, at least). If the Baha'i Faith depends on the Biblical and Islamic scriptures, how come the Baha'i vision of Judgment Day does not match its predecessors?

Lastly, I understand that the Baha'i Faith branched out from Islam However, from what I can tell, Bahaulla had little knowledge on the Eastern religions. From what I've read so far, the Islam and Christianity references are everywhere, but I have yet to find anything on Buddha or Krishna. Shouldn't he have understood every religion equally if it was a "divine" prophecy?

I hope to understand these, this is such a beautiful religion!

 

[Badi19]

As for the Shaikhiya sect, it was a group of Sufis but now it is a sect (cult). More info is available here and even these Shaikhis (from whom Babism emerged and later Bahaism emerged from Babism) regard Babis and Bahais to be those who are deviated. The official website of Shaikhiyya sect in Arabic & Persian
*edit*

 

[arthra]

PVE1;2113857]Greetings all,
First and foremost, I want to give thanks to everyone for their helpful responses.

I have no more questions, rather I have issues understanding certain ideas. I will try to list them and keep them short for everyones benefit.

First and foremost, how could Bahaullah give any sort of "evidence" that he is the Second Coming of Christ? When most people think of the return of Christ, they imagine the skies opening, panic, etc. In this case, it seems passive and almost too smooth. Is there any way we can possibly give credit to what he states outside of just taking his word for it?

If you're familiar with prophecies you need to understand in our view that they are primarily spiritual and allegorical rather than to be taken literally..so as Baha'is we do not see literal fulfillment such as the skies opening astronomically or the stars falling to the earth..such allusions are metaphorical we believe.. Baha'u'llah explains this in the Kitab-i-Iqan.. The skies opening meaning the spiritual understanding is open and receptive in this day..and the stars falling refer to the fall of clerical institutions in the heavens of the religions.. Historically there were two sects the Shaykhi and Millerites who both anticipated the year 1844 AD and 1260 AH the same year as the fulfillment of prophecies. We believe these were fulfilled when the Bab declared His mission in 1844 in Shiraz and at the Kaaba while on pilgrimage in November 1844.

I also do not understand how we've already met Judgment Day. No one was judged for their sins nor did the world start over (physically, at least). If the Baha'i Faith depends on the Biblical and Islamic scriptures, how come the Baha'i vision of Judgment Day does not match its predecessors?

Once again we see the judgement as not the same as some who anticipate it in literal terms.. There is a new heaven and earth if you understand that people today see the universe in totally different ways from the way our ancestors did. Also the judgement is what men have brought on themselves by not having the spiritual perception to appreciate the challenge of this day to recognize the Manifestation for this age..also the Baha'i Faith depends on the revelation of the Bab and Baha'u'llah rather than Biblical or Islamic "scripture" as you put it.. as both the Bab and Baha'u'llah have explained the inner meanings of the previous Holy Books.

Lastly, I understand that the Baha'i Faith branched out from Islam However, from what I can tell, Bahaulla had little knowledge on the Eastern religions. From what I've read so far, the Islam and Christianity references are everywhere, but I have yet to find anything on Buddha or Krishna. Shouldn't he have understood every religion equally if it was a "divine" prophecy?

Abdul-Baha the eldest Son of Baha'u'llah and the Appointed Interpretor of His Father's revelation made reference to both Buddha and Krishna and Baha'is accept Them as Manifestations of God. See:

http://bahai-library.com/compilations/buddha.krishna.html

Also there's a book available entitled "Buddha Amitabha has appeared" by Jamshid Fozdar that has reference to the prophecies fulfilled.. There are today many Baha'is with Hindu and Buddhist backgrounds in India, Nepal, Mongolia, Vietnam that accept Baha'u'llah as the fulfillment of the prophecies of their past religions..

 

[atruth]

First and foremost, how could Bahaullah give any sort of "evidence" that he is the Second Coming of Christ? When most people think of the return of Christ, they imagine the skies opening, panic, etc. In this case, it seems passive and almost too smooth. Is there any way we can possibly give credit to what he states outside of just taking his word for it?

This is a fundamental problem that reoccurs with the advent of any Divine Person. Humanity spends centuries begging God to send the promised One and yet when that Messiah appears they reject Him. Even to the point of torturing, murdering, exiling, or ostracizing Him (among other forms of disrespect).

Such was the case with Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and virtually all others in religious history.

So how can we now believe Baha'u'llah? Well, how is it that early Christians came to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah? Clearly Jesus was no conquerer, He wasn't a freedom fighter. Not in the sense that the Jewish people of the time expected.

If we recall the story of Noah, He made several promises that were not fulfilled in the name of God! And yet some remained firm.

This is the meaning of "judgement". If we new all the answers and were perfectly virtuous then we wouldn't need Baha'u'llah. And yet God "from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try, His servants..".

So what is the honest seeker to do?

Well, what God asks of us is that we put our trust in Him, that we pray, that we strive to be better people: kinder, purer, more generous, more trustworthy. That perchance, with this daily striving and with a clear open minded investigation of truth He may guide us to the truth.

Only with an open heart that is not influenced by the "words and doings of mortal men". Can we hope to find answers to such questions.

Note: you may notice similarities between what Baha'u'llah describes regarding the search for truth and other Faiths such as Budhism and Cristianity. Baha'is believe it so because of their common source.

So one can better understand Baha'u'llah's claims in such light. This is a spiritual process. The proof is "clear as the noon day sun" but you need to have "eyes to see and ears to hear" (as Daniel says in the Bible). However, if looking for a formulaic scientific proof that is harder to achieve.

Lastly, I understand that the Baha'i Faith branched out from Islam However, from what I can tell, Bahaulla had little knowledge on the Eastern religions. From what I've read so far, the Islam and Christianity references are everywhere, but I have yet to find anything on Buddha or Krishna. Shouldn't he have understood every religion equally if it was a "divine" prophecy?

I hope to understand these, this is such a beautiful religion!

I give you an answer from an official Baha'i source on this:

"As there were no followers of the Báb or Bahá'u'lláh derived from the religions of the Far East in Their days, this may be the reason that They did not address any Tablets directly to these people. Also we must remember that every religion springs from some root, and just as Christianity sprang from Judaism, our own religion sprang from Islám, and that is why so many of the teachings deduce their proofs from Islám."
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi - 5 March 1957)

Baha'u'llah spoke to a mostly Eastern audience.

We may say that Baha'u'llah did not know of these religions.. but does a Math teacher know about grammar or physics or history? Just because a teacher comes with a particular message, doesn't mean that he's ignorant on other subjects.

Baha'is believe Baha'u'llah spoke the message of God necessary for this time. Baha'u'llah's Writings cover subjects relevant to the most recent religions of our time. Certainly there are more ancient ones as well, even lost religions. But His mission was to impart a NEW message and a NEW range of teachings, not dwell on thousands of years of religous history.

I wish you the best..

 

[BruceDLimber]

You should also note that the Baha'i scriptures DO address eastern religions in the writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, whom Baha'u'llah appointed to be His successor and interpreter!

Peace,

Bruce