Pollwr

Having started my journey of Faith investigating the Christian Faith and the Bahá'í Faith and falling very much in love with Jesus then somehow finding my way to recognise that same Light in Bahá'ú'llah and coming to follow the Bahá'í Faith, I do especially value the unity of religion. This being a time when, living in the sociciety I do, Christmas and its cellebrations are all around me, I was looking for references of Jesus and found this, that I had not read before but I think it is beautiful.

Another unity is the spiritual unity which emanates from the breaths of the Holy Spirit. This is greater than the unity of mankind. Human unity or solidarity may be likened to the body whereas unity from the breaths of the Holy Spirit is the spirit animating the body. This is a perfect unity. It creates such a condition in mankind that each one will make sacrifices for the other and the utmost desire will be to forfeit life and all that pertains to it in behalf of another's good. This is the unity which existed among the disciples of His Holiness Jesus Christ and bound together the prophets and holy souls of the past. It is the unity which through the influence of the divine spirit is permeating the Bahá'ís so that each offers his life for the other and strives with all sincerity to attain his good-pleasure. This is the unity which caused twenty thousand people in Iran to give their lives in love and devotion to it. It made the Báb the target of a thousand arrows and caused Bahá'u'lláh to suffer exile and imprisonment forty years. This unity is the very spirit of the body of the world. It is impossible for the body of the world to become quickened with life without its vivification. His Holiness Jesus Christ -- may my life be a sacrifice to Him! -- promulgated this unity among mankind. Every soul who believed in Jesus Christ became revivified and resuscitated through this spirit, attained to the zenith of eternal glory, realized the life everlasting, experienced the second birth and rose to the acme of good fortune.

"In the Word of God there is still another unity, the oneness of the Manifestations of God, His Holiness Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. This is a unity divine, heavenly, radiant, merciful; the one reality appearing in its successive manifestations. For instance, the sun is one and the same but its points of dawning are various. During the summer season it rises from the northern point of the ecliptic; in winter it appears from the southern point of rising. Each month between it appears from a certain zodiacal position. Although these dawning-points are different, the sun is the same sun which has appeared from them all. The significance is the reality of prophethood which is symbolized by the sun, and the holy Manifestations are the dawning-places or zodiacal points."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 258)

Orthodox

That unity of the apostles also existed after the apostles, through their desciples onto their desciples, unified by the church and doctrine put into practice at nicea and remains to this day.

arthra

The Baha'i view of the church is that overall historically it has not been all that united but has had great divisions and strife over the centuries not to mention persecutions of other Christians..

Even in the Book of Acts you will see where there was a falling out between them..


Acts 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Orthodox

Yes there was some difference in the early church but we know they were still united in the end, and one cannot doubt if they look into the history there is a consistent orthodox theology cotinuing through the centuries. Starting in the New testamant, carrying on through Saint Ignatius to St Athanasius to St John Damascene to this day. The church has been united since the days of the apostles, even if people have schismatizd away from it, such as the roman church.

arthra

The church has been united since the days of the apostles, even if people have schismatizd away from it, such as the roman church

You just provided an example of Christian disunity..

Orthodox

Christian disunity, but not church disunity, the church is still united and undivided sinc the apostles.

Livindesert

The churches that sprang from the apostolic church I hope will eventually realize that the second comming has occured and that further truths about God have been revealed by God through Baha'u'llah to mankind thus giving man more information about God Just as the Christ and his followers revealed more about God to the Jewish faith. At least as a Baha'i this is what I hope and believe.

Orthodox

Lol being Christian I have to dissagree, Baha'u'llah was not Jesus as the church has maintained. I think some liberal churches might accept Abdu'llah, the bab and Shoogi Effendi, but I most of the heterodox don't.

Livindesert

I can agree to disagree we will all find out eventually since we only have so much time here on earth :lol