"What does the essence of something mean?
1. : the basic nature of a thing : the quality or qualities that make a thing what it is. the essence of love is unselfishness. 2. : a substance physically or chemically separated from another substance (as a plant or drug) and having the special qualities (as odor) of the original substance."
This is the definition I go by:
essence the
intrinsic nature or
indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.
Google’s English dictionary is provided by Oxford Languages. Oxford Languages is the world’s leading dictionary publisher, with over 150 years of experience creating and delivering authoritative dictionaries globally in more than 50 languages.
languages.oup.com
So when I say thaht we can never know the essence of God I mean we can never know the intrinsic nature of God - what God is comprised or how God thinks and operates, etc.
Some do, but I know it's very rare as with Judaism and Christianity.
If Baha'is believe in reincarnation then they are going against the authoritative Baha'i Writings.
Abdu'l-Baha gives a very good argument against reincarnation so there is no need for me to give one.
81: REINCARNATION
Ahh, but in my belief that's part of the growth. Think of how Jesus spoke of not being anxious, not to worry about food or clothes, etc.
Living on this earth is for our spiritual growth and development, but there is no need to come back to this earth for a repeat experience.
An excerpt from the link above:
"Moreover, this material world has not such value or such excellence that man, after having escaped from this cage, will desire a second time to fall into this snare. No, through the Eternal Bounty the worth and true ability of man becomes apparent and visible by traversing the degrees of existence, and not by returning. When the shell is once opened, it will be apparent and evident whether it contains a pearl or worthless matter. When once the plant has grown it will bring forth either thorns or flowers; there is no need for it to grow up again. Besides, advancing and moving in the worlds in a direct order according to the natural law is the cause of existence, and a movement contrary to the system and law of nature is the cause of nonexistence. The return of the soul after death is contrary to the natural movement, and opposed to the divine system.
Therefore, by returning, it is absolutely impossible to obtain existence; it is as if man, after being freed from the womb, should return to it a second time. Consider what a puerile imagination this is which is implied by the belief in reincarnation and transmigration. Believers in it consider the body as a vessel in which the spirit is contained, as water is contained in a cup; this water has been taken from one cup and poured into another. This is child’s play. They do not realize that the spirit is an incorporeal being, and does not enter and come forth, but is only connected with the body as the sun is with the mirror. If it were thus, and the spirit by returning to this material world could pass through the degrees and attain to essential perfection, it would be better if God prolonged the life of the spirit in the material world until it had acquired perfections and graces; it then would not be necessary for it to taste of the cup of death, or to acquire a second life."
Some Answered Questions, pp. 286-287
But the "gate" is narrow, so it takes time and effort to get that skinny. LOL
Besides, how else can one pay the price on the harm they've caused "justly" in a mere 72 +- years, or so?
It does take time and effort but that time and effort does not need to be spent in this world.
“The idea that existence is restricted to this perishable world, and the denial of the existence of divine worlds, originally proceeded from the imaginations of certain believers in reincarnation; but the divine worlds are infinite. If the divine worlds culminated in this material world, creation would be futile: nay, existence would be pure child’s play. The result of these endless beings, which is the noble existence of man, would come and go for a few days in this perishable dwelling, and after receiving punishments and rewards, at last all would become perfect. The divine creation and the infinite existing beings would be perfected and completed, and then the Divinity of the Lord, and the names and qualities of God, on behalf of these spiritual beings, would, as regards their effect, result in laziness and inaction! “Glory to thy Lord, the Lord Who is sanctified from all their descriptions.”
5 “
Some Answered Questions, pp. 287
And I believe in eternity so if a life is cut short, it will begin again, with a brand new future. And as each incarnate grows closer to God, then they'll have less "hell to pay" with each life.
Think of the hope and promise in that!
I see no promise in that but you are welcome to your beliefs as we all are.
Same as I believe, only that spiritual world (Heaven) is here, on the world, in another plain, perhaps, but here -- world without end, Amen.
I do not believe that Heaven is on Earth. I believe Earth is a dark and narrow place compared to the many worlds of God that we will experience after we die.
“O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it. Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner. If once this life should offer a man a sweet cup, a hundred bitter ones will follow; such is the condition of this world. The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it; at some moments, even, he eagerly wisheth for death that he may thereby be freed from these sorrows and afflictions. Thus it is seen that some, under extreme pressure of anguish, have committed suicide.”
Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
However, Abdu'l-Baha also said that there is no real separation between this world and the spiritual world.
“Your questions, however, can be answered only briefly, since there is no time for a detailed reply. The answer to the first question: the souls of the children of the Kingdom, after their separation from the body, ascend unto the realm of everlasting life. But if ye ask as to the place, know ye that the world of existence is a single world, although its stations are various and distinct.”
Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 193
“Those who have passed on through death, have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from ours; their work, the work of the Kingdom, is ours; but it is sanctified from what we call ‘time and place.’ Time with us is measured by the sun. When there is no more sunrise, and no more sunset, that kind of time does not exist for man. Those who have ascended have different attributes from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, pp. 95-96
Not any difference really, except how and where the spiritual world exists. Jesus arose in his Spiritual body that wasn't recognized by some, but were by others, and he walked among material bodies, touchable, and appeared without going through doors.....mystery, uh?
Christians believe that Jesus rose in a physical body but if the stories about the resurrection are true, I believe that Jesus rose in a spiritual body.
I'm still interested in how this continued progress happens in reference to judgement and eternity.
I don't think anyone can answer that question with anything but "I don't know."
The same for an animals body -- decay to enrich earth soil to be returned to life in another configuration. Their personality, the same as man's -- energy return to the universe to be life in another configuration. Do they have a soul? Don't know, but if they do it will return to God and be judged on their scale of justice. They'll be back in God's hands, so to speak.
I don't believe that animals have a soul but I believe they have an animal spirit, and I believe that spirit continues to exist after their bodies die, just as the human soul continues to exist after death. I don't believe that animals will be judged by God because animals are innocent and I don't think they will return to God since they have no capacity to know God as humans do. I have no idea where their spirits will go or what form they will take or if we will be able to see them again.