I’d still like to see an answer to this from a Baha’i.But apparently not when it comes to the Baha’i faith. Then proper historical verification becomes somehow unimportant.
Has there ever been an extraordinary event within the Baha’i faith? If so,** please tell me how it was verified historically?**
Merton’s death did not atone for the sins of humanity.Yes, if not for the miracles of Jesus, how is He differentiated from Merton? (by your own logic)
Whatever Pharisees recognized Jesus as Messiah got it right. What a peculiar question.So they got it wrong with recognizing Jesus as Messiah?
Since they conversed when Jesus was Transfigured, I’m pretty sure he knew Jesus was the Messiah.Would Moses have recognized Jesus as the Messiah? I think so. In fact I’m pretty confident.
Because we all have free will, Servant.But the Pharisees had the Semikhah to guide them in these matters. How did they fall so far away from what Moses would have done? “He then laid his hands on him and commissioned him as God had commanded Moses.” (Num 27:15-23)
Because they were fallible.These authorized “entities” were given the power of Moses to discern the truth of Jesus’ claim. Why were they wrong?
We are talking about moral law, Servant. Not dietary restrictions.Jesus ate kosher meat I am sure. He was still part of that culture. There may well be a point in the future when the consumption of ANY animal meat would be considered cruel and sinful.
Not when he was engaging in sexual relations with a multitude of women.I have no doubt that Jesus was sinless in His time and in His culture, as was Baha’u’llah![]()
(King James Bible, John)
(King James Bible, Acts)
(King James Bible, Acts)
(King James Bible, 1 John)
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 199)
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 87)
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 48)
(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 1)
(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 60)It is a big jump from saying that monogamy was the ideal God had in mind, and noting the practical disadvantages of polygamy (I agree on both points), to saying that Abraham and other patriarchs grossly sinned. While polygamous marriage is less than ideal, there may nevertheless be situations in which it is the most ethical choice. One example is most of the marriages of Muhammad: he married widows and older women, and had children only by Khadijah and Maria. Baha’u’llah’s second wife, Fatemeh, was also a widow, and the Nuri family had obligations to her since Baha’u’llah’s father had arranged her first marriage, to a much older man who was an associate of Baha’u’llah’s father.…
It also seems to me interesting that the arrival of the manifestation does not constitute a divine change in any given practice rather the revelation which he receives over time. Does the practice immediately become wrong as soon as the revelation is revealed? IN which case the manifestation himself is secondary to the message he brings in which case he seems to be of little value. thats just my observation.
As for polygamy being a universal wrong, the thing is it was never sanctioned by God. Did not God create them man and woman? Regaurdless if you consider it literal or not the principal is the same and Jesus makes this point in arguing against divorce, that the begining is the ideal God had in mind. Polygamy seems worse by nature as your going to have four wives constantly competing for their husband’s affection and he will be divided and unable to love them all equally. Polygamy is a distortion of God’s creation, so yes in that statement I am fitting Abraham and the other patriarchs into people who sinned grossly.
(Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 514)
(Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 629)
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” (Heb 1:1-2)Steve,
. In a very general sense, let us approach the idea of “progressive revelation” a step at a time.
One of St. Francis’ brothers in his original fold said once that he wished that men had long necks like storks, so that words would become stuck in their throats more often.I read everyone of them. I will admit that my eyes begin to glaze over with the endless quotes of flowery language which one must cut through with a machete in order to find the substance. But I certainly read every word of the actual poster. Is there anything I have missed to which you would like me to respond?
I truly mean no offense, but its kind of like:
Non-Baha’i: “God bless you.”
Baha’i: “May the Day Spring of the Ages enshroud you with his wisdom and may the heaven of your consciousness be filled with the resplendent radiance of He who is without beginning or end.”
Huh? Christ promised that we would be saved through human institutions?As promised by Christ
Regards Tony
Oh, my… If this is truly a Baha’i belief I would exhort all Baha’i not to walk away from their religion, but to run as fast as they can.No actually, if One is a Representative of God, He decides what is and is not sinful.
The term “was” is not applicable, He is the Lord of all of all of human history and is sinless, period. Baha’u’llah, no matter how righteous he may have appeared, was, nevertheless, a sinner, as evidenced by his participation in polygamy.I have no doubt that Jesus was sinless in His time and in His culture, as was Baha’u’llah![]()
Arthra, which of is these quotes is from an independent source not associated with the Baha’i faith?Has there ever been an extraordinary event within the Baha’i faith? If so,** please tell me how it was verified historically?** I’d still like to see an answer to this from a Baha’i.
Hmmm… I was thinking what events recorded in our history would not be extraordinary but let’s see if I can think of any:
At the same time, they seized the Báb and tied him again to the fatal post. This time the execution was effective. Muhammadan justice and ecclesiastical law had asserted themselves. But the crowd, vividly impressed by the spectacle they had witnessed, dispersed slowly, hardly convinced that the Báb was a criminal. After all his crime was only a crime for the legalists and the world is indulgent toward crimes which it does not understand." (M.C. Huart’s “La Religion du Báb,” pp. 3-4.) “An extraordinary thing happened, unique in the annals of the history of humanity: the bullets cut the cords that held the Báb and he fell on his feet without a scratch.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 375.) "By a strange coincidence, the bullet only touched the cords which bound the Báb, they were broken and he felt himself free. Uproar and shouts arose on all sides, no one understanding at first what it was all about." (Ibid., p. 379.)]
Regarding Tahireh also known as Qurratu’l-'Ayn:Code:(Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 514)
The other missionary, the woman to whom I refer, had come to Qazvin. She was without doubt, at the same time, the object of the Bábís highest veneration and one of the most strikingly fascinating manifestations of that religion." (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 136.) “Many who have known her and heard her at different times have stated that, for a person so learned and so well read, the outstanding characteristic of her discourse was an amazing simplicity and still, when she spoke, her audience was deeply stirred and filled with admiration, often in tears.” (Ibid., p. 150.) “Although the Muhammadans and Bábís speak in the highest terms of the beauty of ‘Consolation of the Eyes,’ it is beyond dispute that the intelligence and character of this young woman were even more remarkable than has been related. Having heard, almost daily, learned conversations, it seems that, at an early age, she had taken a deep interest in them; hence it came about that she was perfectly able to follow the subtle arguments of her father, her uncle, her cousin and now her husband, and even to debate with them and frequently to astonish them with the power and keenness of her mind. In Persia, one does not frequently see women engaged in intellectual pursuits but, nevertheless, it does sometimes occur. What is really extraordinary is to find a woman of the ability of Qurratu’l-'Ayn. Not only did she carry her knowledge of Arabic to an unusual degree of perfection, but she became also outstanding in the knowledge of the traditions of Islam and of the varied interpretations of the disputed passages of the Qur’án and of the great writers. In Qazvin, she was rightly considered a prodigy.” (Ibid., p. 137.)]
The above are just a few of the examples I found on a cursory search…there are of course more…Code:(Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 629)![]()
Thanks Sen. My only point is that when a simple question is asked, it seems that we must wade through so much language that it becomes a distraction to the discussion. I do understand that this mode of expression is common in many mid-eastern cultures.
One of my pet bugs is the way the dye from colourful Bahai scriptural language runs into Bahai-speak, like the colour of your white jockeys after being washed with new jeans.
There are good reasons why the Bahai scriptural translations look the way they do. “Day Spring” or “dawning place” for example both translate a technical term from astronomy, the term for the point on the horizon where a heavenly body rises, on a particular day. It’s a scientific analogy for the way the guidance of God appears at different places but is the same guidance. In a translation, where the original text is richly embroidered with terms and images that contain a theological point, the translator will try to preserve all of them, and by being consistent will try to enable an educated reader to see what terms lie behind the English, and therefore what extra points are being made by what looks like a rhetorical adornment.
However (in my view) Bahais should do their best to resist the tendency to start talking like the scripture that we read so often.
It is understandable that those who have no miracles to claim would deem them unnecessary. But there have been purported “miracles” stated in this thread:, i.e. the 750 soldiers and others. You only need to seek “independent verification” if you are going to require it of others, which you have.…but Steve, you still seem to misunderstand. Miracles mean very little in the Baha’i Dispensation. In 3000 posts we have not once mentioned one miracle by Baha’u’llah. So why would we seek “independent verification”
You would be correct in saying that there would be no Catholic faith (extend that to “Christian faith”) without the physical resurrection of Jesus. You see, he was different than other “prophets”. He actually backed up his claims by revealing his divine authority. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” He is the Temple and he did rise again in three days.For Catholics however, it seems that the entire religion has become “reliant” on the historical factuality of Jesus having performed them. There is no Catholic Faith, it seems, if the “physical” resurrection did not occur.
We have a lot of terms not found in the Bible. You will not find the word “Trinity” anywhere in the Bible either, yet it is a fundamental Christian doctrine.Which also begs the question. In 1 Corinthians 15:44,
It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body. If there be a natural body, there is also a spiritual body, as it is written:
why is the term “glorified body” not used, but rather a “spiritual body”?
What is the difference between a glorified body, a spiritual body and a spirit?
But see you claim you accept Jesus as the second person of the Trinity. But you don’t seem to truly understand the Trinity. Not in the way the Church teaches.Dear friend Eddie,
This is totally incorrect, Baha’is ABSOLUTELY accept that Jesus was the Second Person in the Trinity. Can we please move on from this point because we have spent 2000 posts trying to explain why we do agree on this
This is exactly the sorts of things that the Jews said about Jesus![]()
See this is our whole problem. You say you teach Jesus as the second person in the Trinity. That means you would teach that Jesus is indeed God the Son.Yes, if not for the miracles of Jesus, how is He differentiated from Merton? (by your own logic)
I see the difference between Baha’ullah and Merton. I also see the difference between Jesus and Merton.
I do not see a difference between Baha’u’llah and Jesus however…same Light, different lamp.