Are these mutually exclusive? And if searching makes one deserving, how come your religion has only one to whom direct revelation was made? I mean God doesn't talk directly to you, does He? And you believe this not because it was directly revealed to you, nor because you searched for the truth independently, but because you have been told by someone that it was revealed to some other person. Correct? I have searched for almost 5 decades, often misguidedly (it seems to me now) but generally (at least more recently) independently (although one can easily be bamboozled by smart words and clever explanations so cannot be entirely sure of independence) and come to an entirely different conclusion about God's existence. In what way am I less deserving of direct revelation? Is it just because "I don't get it"? Am I just too stupid? Would it help me if I could read ancient Hebrew or 19th century Persian? How does hapless human searching make the difference unless one happens to stumble upon "the truth"? And how does that make someone more "deserving" than another?
They are mutually exclusive in the sense that if God communicate to everyone God would not need to send a Messenger, but if God sends a Messenger then God does not have to communicate to anyone else. People can search out the Messenger and (a) find out God exists and (b) get the message God revealed.
The reason my religion and all the others have only one Person to whom direct revelation was made is that a Manifestation of God is not an ordinary person.
A Manifestation of God is human, but
more than a human. He has a human nature is so He can communicate to humans and act as a mediator, but He also has a
universal divine mind, which is beyond the reach of our understanding. We can understand His human side, but not His divine side.
Only the Holy Manifestations of God have a
universal divine mind, heavenly intellectual power, which is beyond nature, embraces things and is cognizant of things, knows them, understands them, is aware of mysteries, realities and divine significations. A portion and share of this power comes to the righteous man through the Holy Manifestations.
No, God does not talk directly to
anyone but rather only communicates to the Manifestations through the Holy Spirit. No, I do not believe Baha’u’llah got a message from God because I was told by someone that He got a message. I believe because I read His Writings. I also read about the life and mission of Baha’u’llah. So essentially, by checking Him out, I verified the veracity of His Claim to “be” a Messenger of God. I also read books about the Baha’i Faith, what it teaches, and the history of the Baha’i Faith.
It is not a matter of you being “less deserving” than a Manifestation of God. It is a matter of how God communicates and to whom. You do not have a
universal divine mind so you would be unable to understand a direct revelation from God.
The question was hypothetical: Does everyone on earth
deserve their own personal message from God or should everyone be required to search out the Messengers? The reason I posted this is because for over three years an atheist I post to on other forums has been insisting that if “a real God” existed, He would communicate directly to everyone on earth rather than use Messengers. (The fact that nobody could even understand God if God communicated to them is a side issue.)
It certainly does not sound like you are stupid... It sounds like you are very sincere and you have done ample searching, having met the requirement of a true seeker. God does not expect any more than that.
Why is it that some people search their whole lifetime and never find what they need to believe in God? It could be because they are looking in the wrong places,at religions that are old and don’t even make sense for the modern day, religions that don’t even have any verifiable evidence to support the claims of their Messengers. Of course I am a bit biased because I am a Baha’i, but IMO it is the only religion that makes any sense to put one’s faith in. I would have been an agnostic or maybe a deist had I never stumbled upon the Baha’i Faith.
I was not even looking for a religion and I had no interest in God when I stumbled upon the Baha’i Faith. Why is it that within two weeks I knew it was the Truth whereas it takes other people years to determine that and some never do? I think it is a mystery, but it is in the Baha’i Writings that God guides certain people.
“Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of God’s Will, than all,except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found dumbfounded and heedless.” Gleanings, p. 11
“So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving of the earth, can shake off its torpor. The allusions made in the Scriptures have been unfolded, and the signs recorded therein have been revealed, and the prophetic cry is continually being raised. And yet all, except such as God was pleased to guide, are bewildered in the drunkenness of their heedlessness!” Gleanings, p. 39
However, it also says that people who make efforts will be guided... The caveat is that we cannot know if we are one of those people who were guided until we actually “become” a Baha’i.
“Whoso maketh efforts for Us,” he shall enjoy the blessings conferred by the words: “In Our Ways shall We assuredly guide him.”” Gleanings, pp. 266-267
Effort is very important so why would it not also apply to “searching” for God?
“The incomparable Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore, depend upon man’s own exertions. The more he striveth, the greater will be his progress.” Gleanings, pp. 81-82
In the following passage it indicates that those who rebel against God will not be guided, which makes sense because God does not override free will to MAKE the rebellious believe in Him.
"Some were guided by the Light of God, gained admittance into the court of His presence, and quaffed, from the hand of resignation, the waters of everlasting life, and were accounted of them that have truly recognized and believed in Him. Others rebelled against Him, and rejected the signs of God, the Most Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” Gleanings, p. 145
So, in the case of this atheist who I referred to in the OP, he would have to make a
free will decision to consider the “possibility” that Baha’u’llah was a Messenger of God and then do some research. If he continues to insist that direct communication to him is the only way he will ever believe in God, then he will never believe in God. God is not going to come chasing after him.
