did anyone see your dead leader rise to heaven ? its more likely he was seen being lowered into a grave. thus far it remains there .
In case you've never read Abdul Baha's explanation of the "true" meaning of the
resurrection of Jesus, here it is...
We explain, therefore, the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in the following way: After the martyrdom of Christ, the Apostles were perplexed and dismayed. The reality of Christ, which consists in His teachings, His bounties, His perfections, and His spiritual power, was hidden and concealed for two or three days after His martyrdom, and had no outward appearance or manifestation—indeed, it was as though it were entirely lost. For those who truly believed were few in number, and even those few were perplexed and dismayed. The Cause of Christ was thus as a lifeless body. After three days the Apostles became firm and steadfast, arose to aid the Cause of Christ, resolved to promote the divine teachings and practise their Lord’s admonitions, and endeavoured to serve Him. Then did the reality of Christ become resplendent, His grace shine forth, His religion find new life, and His teachings and admonitions become manifest and visible. In other words, the Cause of Christ, which was like unto a lifeless body, was quickened to life and surrounded by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
7Such is the meaning of the resurrection of Christ, and this was a true resurrection. But as the clergy did not grasp the meaning of the Gospels and did not comprehend this mystery, it was claimed that religion was opposed to science and science was incompatible with religion, for among other things the ascension of Christ in a physical body to the material heavens is contrary to the mathematical sciences. But when the truth of this matter is clarified and this symbol is explained, it is in no way contradicted by science but rather affirmed by both science and reason.
And it's not like I believe the story of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, but I do believe that the gospel writers are claiming that Jesus came back to life... that he had a flesh and bone body.
That contradicts the Baha'i claim that Jesus died and stayed dead, and it was only his spirit that ascended. That leaves them to explain the appearances of Jesus. What I usually hear from them is that it was a vision.
For Christians, the resurrection helps them in coming to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God and maybe even part of a Godhead.
For Baha'is, saying that Jesus died makes him no greater than their prophet, Baha'u'llah. He, along with Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, Krishna and some others are all together in the spiritual world of God. Baha'is say they are all manifestations of God, perfectly polished mirrors that reflect God's light... all equal and all took their turn at coming to Earth to guide humans to a higher level.
Quite a bit different than what is taught in the NT. Which means they have to explain away more than just the resurrection. And they do. Satan and hell are gone. Casting out demons? Gone. Raising of Lazarus? Gone. But they do believe in the virgin birth. So, they don't reject everything.
But for them, it's not like they are rejecting it. It's they give those things a "spiritual", symbolic interpretation. So, for a Baha'i, Christians have made a huge mistake in taking all these literally and coming to the wrong conclusions and doing things like making Jesus the only way and even a God.
