Ask me anything about the Baha'i Faith

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Okay, I understand now!
We have lots of written prayers, tablets, and other writings/histories of our faith. We are enjoined to read these in the morning and evening, to study them over and over so that we master them (which isn’t really possible, but that’s the level of devotion).

Daily practices:
95 recitations of “Allah-u-abha,” which means “God is greatest”
washing our feet “once every day in the summer, and once every three days during winter”
Obligatory prayer, the staple of Baha’i prayer life. There are 3 in total (short, medium, long), and we are free to recite whichever one we want to. Each prayer is said at a certain time of day and has certain motions (prostrating, standing, raising hands) that accompany it.
We perform ablutions (washing hands and face) before obligs and before our 95 recitations.
Pray in community with one another and privately (no clergy)
Serve others, or else our faith means nothing.

Occasional things:
Pilgrimage to Akka, Israel, the Holy City. This is where the shrines of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, and 'Abdu’l-Baha are, as well as where the Universal House of Justice (kind of like the Baha’i Vatican).
A month of fasting, which is from 1 March to 20 March, where Baha’is 15 and older don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, like Ramadan. The sick, elderly, and pregnant women are exempt.
Celebrating holidays and Feast days. Feast is the first day of every Badi month (we have our own calendar, 19 months with 19 days each, plus 4 or 5 intercalary days called Ayyam-i-Ha. Days begin at sundown).
 
Baha’u’llah’s coming is foretold in the Bible, Quran, and numerous other scriptures like the Avesta and Mahabharata. I’m compiling a list of Biblical verses.
I believe in Christ, and since Messengers of God are one and the same and are filled with the Holy Spirit, Baha’u’llah is Christ’s equal. He brings the same message of love and unity with new understanding.
I believe because Baha’u’llah has transformed my life
 
You can’t believe in Christ because Christ claimed to be God and baha’is don’t believe in the incarnation of God, you guys just believe that Jesus was a manifestation of God
 
A Baha’i cannot be Baha’i unless they believe in Christ. That is a fact. We believe that He was born of a virgin, taught, was persecuted, and then martyred. Unlike Catholics, we understand the resurrection to be spiritual.
Since this is a huge thing, I’ll tell you that I am compiling Biblical notes for our claims, but that at present they are incomplete.
 
of course you guys believe in Christ but you don’t believe in Him the same way that Catholics believe in Him. We believe He is God incarnate and you guys believe he’s a manifestation of God. You also believe Muhammad and Buddha were manifestations of God.

lol
 
oh I misunderstood. You converted to Catholicism? Catholicism teaches that the Catholic Catechism is the instruction on how to interpret the Bible. One has to understand that the Bible came to us from God through the Catholic Church, so it makes sense to read the Catechism. It will save you lots of time and confusion. It is available online. Here is a good link: CLICK HERE TO READ CATECHISM NOW
 
Somewhere I remember reading, perhaps on CAF, that Baha’is believe the Bab is not the last or ultimate prophet of G-d. Is this true? Are you awaiting another prophet who will reveal further truth?
 
the Bab foretold of the coming of another. “Bab” itself means “gate”. His prophecy was fulfilled through Baha’u’llah, and we believe He has revealed the fullest truth to date.
 
“if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” 1 Cor. 13:14
 
how can you believe in Christ and not believe in the Catholic church?

also every baha’i i’ve ever met only reads KJV bibles. what’s up with that? why not the douay or the RSV
 
Sorry for confusing words, I’m actually a convert from Catholicism. I’m doing a study of the Catechism with a group of Catholics and Baha’is this semestre, and I’ve read a bit of it before that. What a handy book it is!
But I struggle to find certain points in it, namely something beyond Christ telling Peter “Upon you I build my church,” that gives the Church ultimate authority for interpreting scripture. I also am under the impression that you do not believe that the Bible is 100% revelation of God’s word, as in Paul saying things such as “I write this with mine own hand.” Correct me if that isn’t accurate.
So I suppose my question if it isn’t clear is this: is the Church’s interpretation of the Bible infallible, and where does this infallibility come from if so? And if not, then who decides what is Church teaching?
 
I read the New Jerusalem Bible because my family is Catholic, and I hang out with all the RC missionaries. I don’t know why they read only that version?

I do believe that Catholicism has a great deal of beauty and truth, and pretty much all the Catholics I’ve met have been cool people. But there are holes in the faith that I cannot get past. I don’t think it would be good to post them here, because this is a Catholic forum and that seems insensitive and proselytizing.
I believe that Catholics have missed the fullness of God’s message for this day and age, and that they have only the fullest truth of 1000 years ago
 
when did this “great apostasy” happen? how did we lose the fullness of truth?
 
devinrose said:
I also am under the impression that you do not believe that the Bible is 100% revelation of God’s word, as in Paul saying things such as “I write this with mine own hand.” Correct me if that isn’t accurate.
Click to expand...
The Bible comes to us from God thus it is without error; the proper term for this is inerrancy. Thus the Bible is inerrant. However, personal interpretation of the Bible is not infallible; as you can see in Protestantism or Evangelical Chri9stianity, they have thousands of denominations because they have different interpretations of Sacred Scripture. To understand the Bible correctly you need the infallible teachings of the Church. Jesus founded a Church; He didn’t hand out Bibles. The Holy Spirit guides the Church throughout the ages, despite fallible people in side the Church.
 
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devinrose said:
there are holes in the faith that I cannot get past. I don’t think it would be good to post them here, because this is a Catholic forum and that seems insensitive and proselytizing.
Click to expand...
what holes?
 
Thanks for the clarification of the Bible. But nonetheless, we’re back where we started. How do you know that the Church is infallible? If it wasn’t written by Jesus, then we only have the claims of those closest to Him. Which isn’t to say they aren’t reliable, but then their reliability stems from interpretation. It does not say in the Bible who has authority to interpret it as such, so where does the infallible authority come from?

On a side note, is the Catechism infallible? I don’t understand its status fully. And would a practicing Catholic use it, kind of in addition to the Bible or no?
 
i have a feeling you don’t know much about catholicism
 
My bad turn of phrase is holes in the faith. I should have said holes in the church. I could show you my opinions on them, but I still feel that on a public forum for Catholics that would be disrespectful.
 
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