Baha'u'llah did not weigh in on the Bible except to say that it is God's greatest testimony to His creatures. Abdu'l-Baha called it God's Holy Book.
I judge the truthfulness of the Bible based upon my own opinions of what the Bible says.
You are judging the truthfulness of the Bible by what is taught in Christianity, not based on what the Bible says.
I judge the doctrines of Christianity as untrue. I do not judge the teachings of the New Testament as untrue, although I believe that certain verses are untrue.
You agree that you have to deny the certain verses of the New Testament are untrue. You have understated that considerably since there are a lot more than certain verses which you regard as untrue and you need to do that in order to accept the teachings of Baha'u'llah, since those teaching disagree with the New Testament. And in all this you do not count the multitude of passages and verses which you say that you just interpret a different way, but which in reality you are denying the truth of for the sake of saying that they agree with Baha'u'llah.
Why do you keep saying this year after year? Baha'u'llah did not discredit the Bible, he held it in high esteem.
“We have also heard a number of the foolish of the earth assert that the genuine text of the heavenly Gospel doth not exist amongst the Christians, that it hath ascended unto heaven. How grievously they have erred! How oblivious of the fact that such a statement imputeth the gravest injustice and tyranny to a gracious and loving Providence! “How could God, when once the Day-star of the beauty of Jesus had disappeared from the sight of His people, and ascended unto the fourth heaven, cause His holy Book, His most great testimony amongst His creatures, to disappear also?” (The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 89)
It's true, Baha'u'llah does not discredit the Bible, he just denies the truth of it as you also have admitted that you do.
Your quote above from Baha'u'llah says that the gospels in the Bible are true and have not disappeared from Christianity. But Baha'u'llah's teachings contradict what the gospels say and you also deny the truthfulness of much of the gospels. '
IMO this means that Baha'u'llah was not saying what he really believes when he wrote that quote above and you even believing what he wrote when you deny parts of those gospels.
How many times have we discussed these verses?
Jesus was going to heaven to prepare a place for His disciples.
How could Jesus come back to earth and take His disciples to heaven AFTER His disciples were no longer on earth?
John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
When Jesus said “I will come again” He was not referring to coming back to earth again. Jesus said that His work was finished here and He was no more in the world: (John 14:19, John 16:10, John 17:4, John 17:11)
John 14:2-3 is Jesus speaking to His disciples. It is not Jesus promising anyone else He will return to earth. When Jesus said “I will come again” He was not talking about His physical body returning to earth, He was referring to His Spirit coming again, which I believe it did, in another person who I believe was the return of the Christ spirit with a new name (Isaiah 62:2, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 3:12)
Jesus said to the disciples “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” Jesus knew He was going to heaven, and He was telling His disciples that He would prepare a place for them in heaven so they could be with Him in heaven -- that where I am, there ye may be also.
Hypothetically speaking, if Jesus returned to earth now, the disciples could not 'receive Jesus' since the disciples are no longer living on earth.
John 14:3 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the New Testament so it is no wonder the Bible commentaries do not agree on what it means.
Jesus did not say here whether whether His physical body or spirit would come again to, but He does say that "He" would come again, iow not someone else.
Baha'is can't work out how Jesus come come and collect His disciples to be with Him forever, but Baha'is have a different teaching about death and what a human is than the one in Bible. A living human consists of a body and spirit (Genesis 2:7) and a full living human when Jesus returns, is still going to be body and spirit. We see this in other parts of the New Testament where the return of Jesus is pictured (eg 1Thessalonians 4:13-18) I suppose that is just part of the New Testament that you reject because it does not agree with Baha'u'llah.
John 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Jesus meant that His Spirit, the Spirit of God, would come again. He did not mean that His body would come again.
Strong's Greek: 1473. ἐγώ (egó) -- I, me
Again, Jesus did not say here whether he could come back bodily or as a spirit BUT He does say that it would be Him, Jesus, and not someone else, and Jesus did say that He would come again to those disciples He was talking to. (who of course would be dead but would be resurrected by Jesus)
https://biblehub.com/greek/1473.htm
Jesus never promised to return to earth, not once in the New Testament. Jesus said His work was finished here and He was no more in the world. That means that the return of Christ has to be another Person.
Your mental gymnastics with the verses you misinterpret so you can hand onto the belief that Jesus is coming back contradict Jesus' plain statements that He was no more in the world.
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.
John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
You already know that Jesus said the "He" (nobody else) would be coming back. Plenty of other parts of the New Testament also show us that it is Jesus who would actually be coming back and that every eye would see Him (Rev 1:7,8) and that He would judge everybody and raise them
from the grave etc. These are things that Baha'u'llah did not do and could not do of course because he is a false Christ, so he had to redefine "resurrection" and "judgement" and even say that it did not/would not happen at the end of the age, but that resurrection is our death and the judgement happens then and not at the end of the age.
Jesus identified Himself as the Son of Man in various places in the New Testament (eg Luke 9:22) and there is no reason to think that when He talks about the Son of Man coming to judge people at the end of the age, that He is not referring to Himself, especially since the gospels tell us that it is the Son who raises the dead and will judge them. (John 5:21-30) (Eg Matthew 25:31-46) More of the true gospel that Baha'u'llah said is valid but which is actually denied by him and Baha'is.
So anyway all these things are what you have to deny in order to say that when Jesus was talking about his impending death and going to heaven where he would not be with them in the flesh and seen by them, that He meant that He would never return to earth to collect His disciples and judge all people and rule as the King etc But all these things are told us plainly by Jesus and other parts of the New Testament so is there any possibility that the passages you cite are not meant to say that Jesus would never return to earth to collect His disciples and judge and rule etc.? There certainly are reasons to say that in the passages where Jesus said that He would return to earth (including the Son of Man passages) and where the other parts of the New Testament say the same thing.
But also right in the midst of the passages you cite there is reason to say that he did not mean that He would never return.
Jesus said to His disciples the following words.
John 16:16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
You can read the whole passage to see what Jesus was talking about. BUT what I am talking about is the language used by Jesus. Jesus said "In a little while
you will see me no more......" and by that He did not mean that they would never see Him again and we know that by His next statement.
We can tell what Jesus meant if we believe all of what He said. In John 16:16 He did not mean that they would never see Him again and also in the other times when He said "...the world would see me no more" that also does not mean that they would never see Him again, because He in the gospels and also the other parts of the New Testament tell us that the world would see Him again.
So all those verses you give that you claim mean that He will never come again do not actually say that and do not literally mean that they would not see Him again ever.
No, Christianity and Paul teach that and as such it is a false belief. Good luck with it though.
Jesus is the savior.
God is the creator and judge of humanity and the Lord forever.
It does not make sense to say that Christianity and Paul teach something and so it is a false belief. That does show where you are coming from however and that you are not really trying to make a logical argument. Your arguments are, Baha'u'llah says it so I believe it and so the Bible and Christianity are wrong when they disagree with Baha'u'llah. But of course you will use Paul to try to prove Baha'i correct if you think what Paul said does do that. (which it does not)
God is our savior through Jesus, but Baha'i teaches that this dispensation is over and that the gospel message is not in operation any longer.
Jesus said that the Father will judge nobody but has given all judgement to the Son (Jesus) who will judge everyone according to the what the Father wants. Other parts of the gospel and New Testament tell us that this will happen after Jesus has raised the dead back to life (after they have heard His voice and come out of their grave) (see John 5:21-30) I guess this is just part of the gospel which Baha'u'llah says is the true gospel but which you have to deny because it disagrees with Baha'u'llah/Baha'i teaching.
ehrmanblog.org
I am attached by the Spirit of Christ to the Body of Christ, which is the Church, but there is a lot more than the resurrection body of Jesus which Baha'u'llah got wrong, including not actually being Jesus.
www.theguardian.com
