XieXie

Hi! I'm XieXie, a new member here to ask a few questions concerning the Bahá'i faith.

Since Bahá’u’lláh is the current prophet in your view, does that make Islam, Christianity, etc 'wrong?'

Basically what I'm curious about is how you view other religions after the coming of a new prophet. For instance, would you say Christianity became obsolete after the coming of Bahá’u’lláh? Is Bahá’u’lláh the last prophet?

Thanks!

Liq

As a Baha'i, I believe in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it's simply a part of the faith to believe in these religions or at east respect them because they formed the foundation for the new religion. I've been thinking about this for a while. What I came up with is this: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All these religions are not "wrong", they're incomplete. Each new religion comes to add something to the previous one, and this is what makes Baha'i the most complete religion of them all. Simply because, if they all say the same thing, then why do we need a new religion?
So far, yes, Baha'u'llah is the last prophet.

XieXie

But there's possibility of another one?

I found this quote from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas:

The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and science; the equality of men and women; ... the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind—these stand out as the essential elements [for eternal world peace, as proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh.]

If world peace is attained, will more Messengers still be sent?

arthra

It may depend on whose definition of "world peace" you are considering..

Since the end of the so-called "cold war", i.e., the collapse of the old Soviet Union there are still wars but they are also described as "brush wars"..more local conflicts that are fueled by economic and social disintegration .. The earlier massive wars of the twentieth century where a whole continent or region was uinvolved in war is pretty much over.

What we have today is a Unted Nations and International Court that is much closer to the world parliament and court described by Baha'u'llah in the 1870's.

The next Manifestation is not anticipated until the full expiry of a thousand years from the time the Aqdas was revealed..exactly what issues will be facing humanity at that time we do not know today but for this age the crying need is the elimination of racial prejudice and nationalistic hubris.

- Art :cool

lukasali

I can't quote scripture (or even cite it), but I have a very clear memory of Baha'u'llah stating that God will never leave mankind without guidance, and this implied to me that there will always be more Manifestations. Also, the statement of Baha'u'llah that all human being have been created to carry forth an [I]ever advancing[I] civilization indicates that once world peace is attained, then we will be ready to grow and evolve to the next stage of being, whatever that may be.

Regarding your question about whether the Faith renders Christianity or any other religion obsolete - there are several different ways to approach this question, in my mind. I will try to give you a brief overview of one perspective that is particularly relevant to me.

Baha'is believe (because Baha'u'llah, the Bab, and Abdu'l-Baha clearly taught it) that there is only one religion, the religion of God. This religions is regularly renewed and re-invigorated by God's Chosen Manifestations. (In fact, this concept is also clearly demonstrated by Muhammad, Jesus and other Manifestations in their acceptance of previous religions - Muhammad for example called the religions of Jesus, Moses and Abraham "Islam").

As Baha'u'lah says, "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future." And further: "How high the reward of him that hath not deprived himself of so great a bounty, nor failed to recognize the beauty of his Best-Beloved in this, His new attire."

So no, the Baha'i Faith does not render the former religions obsolete because it is quite literally the same religion. It is merely given a new form by the new Manifestation. So one way that Baha'is could look at your questions is that the Baha'i Faith is the same religion as Christianity, Hinduism etc., but Baha'u'lah has rendered the outward form of those religions obsolete - the outward form being such things as social laws and administrative systems (not to mention man-made superstition and dogma) - and replaced them with a new form. The truth of those religions and the value of their spiritual power remain wholly undiminished, and in fact are glorified, fulfilled and reinvigorated by Baha'u'llah's Revelation.

Personally, it is precisely because of Baha'u'llah that I (and many many Baha'is I know) love, cherish, believe in and in fact worship Jesus, the Buddha, Mohammad, Zoroaster and all the other Manifestations we know of, study their histories and holy books devotedly, and deeply appreciate the faith and transformation that they have inspired in the hearts of their followers.

I hope this is helpful in some way! Thank you for sharing your questions with us.

Pollwr

I agree, the other religions are not obselete. For example, I am a Bahá'í and I gathered, from the writings of the Faith, that meditation is important but failed to find much in the way of instruction on how to do it. That was to be found in the teachings and practises of other Faiths, which I view as part of One Religion, from God.

There are spirtual truths that never change. Followers of each religion learn the portion of spiritual truths that have been revealed to their Manifestation, depending on mankind's capacity to understand them. Each newer religion may reveal a little more of these truths and repeat some that have been revealed in the past. We can all learn about spirtual truths revealed to any Manifestation of God and it will be beneficial.

There are also social teachings and these do become obselete. When a new Manifestation of God comes they reveal a new set of social laws for the benefit of mankind. For example, Bahá'u'lláh brought us teachings on the equality of the sexes and told us not to have priests as there is widespread literacy and we must all read the writings for ourselves.

BruceDLimber

Hi, Xie! :-)

Here's what the Baha'i scriptures have to say:

"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you."

—(The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 114;
also Gleanings, CXI, pp. 217-8)


And yes, there will ALWAYS be more Divine Messengers!

Best regards, and do keep the questions coming: we LOVE 'em! :-)

Bruce

dattaswami

Oneness of God of different religions

Every religion says that its God created the entire earth and entire humanity. But, unfortunately there is only one earth containing this humanity. Due to one earth, there must be one God only and hence all the religions are calling the same God by different names. Since the God is unimaginable and nobody can even imagine Him, all the names are indicating that unseen and unimaginable God only. This unimaginable God is mediated by energy. Such mediated God is also one and the same because energy is also one and the same for all religions. This mediated God is called as Brahman by Hinduism, Jehovah by Christianity and Allah by Islam. The absolute unimaginable God as well as the medium [Energy] are one and the same and hence there is no difference between these three names.

Of course, when the absolute God gets mediated by human bodies, there may be minute difference in the form, culture and language of the external human form as in the case of Krishna of Hinduism, Jesus of Christianity and Mohammad of Islam. Even here the material of the human body is one and the same except slight variation in the external form. From the point of absolute God, here also there is no trace of difference and hence all these three human forms are also one and the same.



An unanswerable question to fanatics of Islam/Hindu/Christian etc

If any one argue that the human incarnation of his or her religion alone is correct, they will face the following powerful question:

Your human incarnation appeared in a particular region in a particular time only and gave the correct message to the people of that particular region only. After that, several generations passed before that particular message reaches the other regions of the world. All these generations missed that message and went to hell after death. If your message reached all the regions of the world in the beginning itself, at least some of the passed generations might have benefited. If your God alone created this entire earth and all this humanity is His issue, there should be no partiality in giving the message to one region only and allow other regions to be deprived of such fortune. This concludes that your God is partial to one region without reason or that your God did not create this entire humanity.

You have no answer for this question but we have the answer. Your God is impartial to all humanity and is the creator of this entire humanity. Even though the absolute God gave a particular message to a particular region through a particular human form, the same absolute God gave the same message in different human forms to other regions also. The language of the message may differ but the message is one and the same. The form, culture, dress etc., of the human incarnations in different regions may be different but the absolute God in these human incarnations is one and the same and hence His message is also one and the same delivered to all regions in the same time impartially.

Therefore, all the human beings are the children of the same God and hence there must be brotherly hood between all the human beings.




Christians and Muslims are actually cousins

In fact, Christians and Muslims are actually cousins because both are the two branches of same ancestor Abraham. One branch was headed by Ishmael, which became Islam. The other branch headed by Isaac became Christians. Muslims recognize Jesus also as the precedent prophet to Mohammad.

Mohammad was very much pained at the crucifixion of Jesus and hence resisted the concept of human incarnation, which can never be relished by the co-human beings due to ego and jealousy. This is not difference of policy but it is due to the heart felt pain by Mohammad about Jesus.

Hindus were always co-operative with every religion and you can find the peaceful co-existence of Christianity and Islam in India with out any violence. In fact, Hinduism itself is a mini model of Universality of Religions. There are several sub-religions in Hinduism like Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktayism etc., which co-existed based on unity in diversity. In fact, Shankara co-related all the sub-religions and brought the unity based on single God called Brahman appearing in different forms like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti etc.

The same process of unity of religions in one region was carried on by Mohammad, who established the concept of single God called as Allah. Of course, Shankara brought such unity by powerful logic and debate, where as Mohammad brought the same unity through powerful sword. The powerful knowledge is represented by sharp sword as said in Gita [Chchittvaa jnaanaasinaa….]. According to the circumstances and the mental level of the then existing people, knowledge or sword was used. In the time of Shankara, the quarrel was between scholars of various religions through arguments. In the time of Mohammad, the quarrel was between the heads of various religions through swords. The final result was one and the same.





Unity of Hinduism and Islam

Hindus and Muslims lived together from a long time in India. You will find Muslims going to Hindu temples and Hindus going to Dargahs of Islam. The Nawab of Hyderabad brings the pearls for Lord Shri Rama every year. The unity of Hinduism and Islam was much stressed by Shri Shiridi Sai Baba, who looked like Muslim and preached the unity of the both religions.

The unity of Hinduism and Christianity is very much indicated by Shri Satya Sai Baba, who looks like a Christian father in dress and preaches the unity of all religions. The difference between two religions was never exceeding the limits of a deep debate of the scholars of both the scriptures in Hinduism.



Fanatic Terrorism Hindu/Muslim view


Today, the difference between religions has gone to the level of terrorism and the peace is not only cracked into pieces but also ground to fine powder. The ignorant fanatics of a religion are killing the innocent people of other religion. Such killing is not Jihad of Islam and also not Dharma Yuddha of Hinduism. You may argue that Mohammad brought the unity of religions through sword and therefore conversion of other religion into your religion must be through violence.

In the time of Mohammad, the religions were many and were quarrelling with each other by swords and that was affecting the peace to a great extent. Mohammad preached the unity of religions and finally had to use the sword only to stop several swords fighting with each other. That is not the situation in the present time. In every country all the religions are co-existing peacefully like the different members of the same family. The reason is that the humanity is well advanced in education and improved a lot in the faculty of logic through advancements of science and technology. Of course, you are free to teach your religion or even prove the defects of other religion through arguments and debates. If people are convinced, they will follow your religion. If not, you have to leave them peacefully.

Q’ran says that one should preach about Allah and leave the person with safety. Mohammad never said to use the sword when the religions are co-existing with peace and love to each other.

Gita came out from a war. But the war was not based on the deference in the religions. It was based on eradicating the injustice used to grab the property of some brothers by their brothers. Lord Krishna tried a lot for compromise. It was a war based on the division of property and not on the division of religions. Even in that war, innocent people living in villages and cities were not killed through terrorism. Only selected soldiers fought with each other in a selected place called Kurukshetra. You should not say that Aswatthama killed the people in sleep in the midnight and this is a part of Dharma Yuddha [Jihad].

But Aswatthama killed the soldiers of other side only and never entered the city of Pandavas and killed innocent people as done by terrorists today. Seeing these cruel activities of terrorism based on the difference in the religions, all the three human incarnations [Krishna, Jesus and Mohammad] from heaven are deeply pained because the same absolute God exists in all the three forms, who is the single creator of the entire humanity. The father is terribly pained if one of his sons kills the other son.



Let us stop fighting in the name of religion & God


This entire earth is the property of the absolute God since it is created by Him. No human being created any region of this earth and therefore the absolute right of this entire earth belongs to the absolute God only. It is the climax of foolishness of human beings to fight and kill each other for the sake of the borders of divisions of countries and for the ownership of any region on this earth.

The representatives of all the countries on this earth should unite and form a Central Government to control the terrorism in any country. It should be responsible for the peace of the entire world. If the peace is achieved in entire world in this way, it is a real achievement of the success of this holy Christmas.

MarkoPo

All the Prophets of God proclaim the same Faith.
islám was in existence before Muhammad;
the Báb said His religion was the essence of Islam.
There will never be an end to Revelations, since
there has always been a Creation that needs guidance.

twowings19

To help wrap my mind around this I put it into the context of how Christianity views Judaism and the prophets Moses, Abraham and Adam. Christ came as promised and continued/completed the promises and teachings of Adam, Abraham and Moses as well as leading humanity into a new direction of self awareness and recognizing their personal relationship to God. Baha'is teach that Baha'u'llah completes the promises of all past prophets as well as brings a new direction for humanity to grow.

earthling155

The Baha'i Faith contains all true religion. The former dispensations are part of the Baha'i Faith, just like the Old Testament is part of Christianity.

While Baha'u'llah is the Most Great Announcement, a new independent Manifestation of God will appear every thousand years or so for as long as human civilization lasts.

And Abdu'l Baha says that the civilization founded by Baha'u'llah, will last for at least 500,000 years. At that time scale, Homo Sapiens will have evolved into a different species by then.

Lunitik

Quite the contrary, Baha'is are instructed to read the Bible and Quran to gain a better understanding of this Cause.

The very nature of progressive revelation insists that each builds on the prior. Of course, where they disagree, we are told that the newest takes precedence.

earthling155

I had studied many religions before I became a Baha'i. I had been baptized a Mormon at age 8, and liked all Christian religions. When I first read the Koran, I recognized the Voice of God immediately. However, there are some fairly serious differences between Islam and Christianity, as I understood it. The most significant difference is the station of Jesus Christ.

I just figured that God could walk and chew gum at the same time. And even though I could not understand this seeming contradiction, I had respect for all the religions and considered myself to be a Christian.

I first read Baha'u'llah and the New Era and A Thief in the Night. I was very interested in what they said, and very skeptical. Then I read the Kitab-i-Iqan. When I finished reading that book, I was a Baha'i. The diverse religions were like oil and water, they didn't mix very well. The Revelation of Baha'u'llah is like a catalyst that unites all the religions into one universal religion.

Allah'u'Abha

tonyfish58

This is One of the Bahai Faith's most important teachings.

It will not happen unless and until Unity is firmly established.

Cheers Tony