grinko

Hello. I have a friend who follows the Bahai faith and I am trying to gain an understanding of some Bahai beliefs. I am a protestant Christian. The biggest question for me (and one I'm sure has been asked before) is, "How does Bahai account for the exclusivity of some religions?"
In the specific case of Christianity, when Jesus states that He is the only way, how does Bahai integrate that? Is Jesus's statement even considered accurate? Or is this somehow explained through dispensationalism?

Thank you very much for any answers and explanations =)

arthra

Every religion has universalist aspects to it as well as more exclusive aspects..

When Jesus said He was the Way

14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

(King James Bible, John)

He was speaking as a Manifestation of God we believe for the people. A Manifestation we believe is a Mediator between God and man hence Jesus correctly taught that He was the Mediator.

You can read about the Baha'i view on the subject in further detail:

The Eternal Quest for God: Chapter 6

cire perdue

14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. (King James Bible, John)

Baha'is believe that the Being, Manifestation, Christ-figure, Prophet is the Holy Spirit in the form of a Person. It may have been more visible in some than others, BECAUSE of the limits of man's capacity to accept and understand the message from God. One of Them may have appeared ignorant in comparison to others because He was among ignorant people. However They are all the Holy Spirit, my understanding, in human form and are a distinct station from other men as well.

Men choose to make the understanding of these teachings in the image of their desire to control others in my opinion and at times to impart certain views to impart ideas they felt were essential. I think men debase the understanding of scripture over time, that is why God send new Messengers. When there is a strata of religious people who are dependent on others for a living and need to maintain that living and a hierarchy then there are going to be issues.

To Baha'is it appears that Christianity has been more concerned with all believing the same which results in personal salvation. Baha'is believe that it is almost a given that one has salvation provided his life efforts reflect that he has faith, that it is not a false life. Nevertheless all salvation is by Grace. Baha'is step forward a bit to say if you have faith then you love and serve others, you don't sit on the laurels of salvation.

It does notmean that when one becomes a Baha'i one immediately knows how to be a loving teaching human being. By faith in the Faith, by prayer, by teaching the Cause, by reading the Writings you may find yourself growing. For me that was not enough. I needed 12 step programs, Dale Carnegie, therapy, etc. I see all of that as what I needed. If I could do it, then others should be able to, hopefully you don't have alcoholic parents, abuse issues etc, but if you do, growing in this Faith may be even more satisfying. It has been to me.

BruceDLimber

Quote:

Originally Posted by grinko The biggest question for me (and one I'm sure has been asked before) is, "How does Bahai account for the exclusivity of some religions?" In the specific case of Christianity, when Jesus states that He is the only way, how does Bahai integrate that?

There are various Divine Messengers in various Ages, and in the Baha'i view EVERY ONE of Them is THE way for that Age!

So in that respect, each of Them could equally have issued the "But by Me" statement; and in each Age, the person meant by that statement changes.

Peace, :-)

Bruce

cire perdue

It was prodaytrader who explained and it is not original to him that each religion has come to man like being in school. Each one was suited to mankind at the time it appeared, It provided what man needed at that time and to provide more that would cause growth. We now have the most ever revealed. As I read, am exposed, and contemplate this revelation it is so apparent to me how very plain it is. I feel as if every eye shall see him, that may not mean all at once either, but the needs of the age are so obvious. We don't need people competing for wealth, being leaders from wealth or for wealth, we need to be world embracing, et al. This is so plain, and also that it can only come from God and be successful.....

Could anything but Christianity have changed the world? What if we still lived with gladiators for entertainment? Emperors who are deified? Slavery?It is obvious Judaism could not have changed the world then. This is an interesting concept that I had not thought of or seen put this way! Hmmmm.

Iconodule

Quite simply they can't.

LordOfGoblins

Ah the old Jesus is the only way. Bahais have an opinion that statements such as these have meanings. They are not always to be taken at face value or be interpreted in the most literal way.
In this instance Jesus is talking of his spiritual bestowal being the only way to God. But that does not mean another true prophet cannot posses it. If it were the case then Moses would have led people to a false God and false beliefs and the ten commandments would be idoltry because Moses was not Jesus in the Christian teaching.

Likewise when he talks about the fact that he is God, he is talking about how the light reflected within him resembles the image of God. THe absolute God does not inhabit a human body however. This has been explained many times on this forum but of course some Christians just want to bicker about it over and over again. So I have given the most simple the most uncomprehensive explanation simply because I am tired of explaining this concept. You can do a search on the forum on "sun in the mirror" or look up the concept of"manifestation of God" in some answered questions for example. I hope some other Bahais will take over...

cire perdue

While you say that God can do anything when it comes to what you believe, but it may not be applied to what we believe? God could not have the ability to have things the way we believe them? That is naivity or presumption of the highest order, I would say.

Iconodule

That is to say I find the time table of progression of religions in bahai odd, by comparing the vastly different faith traditions which have come from each prophet the bahai claim to believe and accurately represent.

tonyfish58

This link is a good read

In The Glory of the Father: The Baha ... - Brian D. Lepard - Google Books

Cheers Tony

grinko

Folks, thank you so much for these explanations. As I said, my goal isn't to debate or argue; I'm simply trying to understand Bahai so that I can discuss it better with my friend. I found your answers helpful, and I appreciate all of you taking the time to type them up.

Thanks much!

cire perdue

IF there has been argument, I do not feel like you provided it. BAha'is are actually not supposed to argue, but we cross the line here. I can't do anything about what others do, but I plan on not arguing as a goal. My goal for today is not no more arguing for today. Thank you for the appreciation.

cire perdue

Perhaps I am projecting my faults on others, but I have been arguing with Iconodule, and I am not going to do that again. This is the way the old world has done things. If someone truly wants answers they will seek them. Could Baha'is have held back on seeking Baha'u'llah?

Yeshua

Pope John Paul II was once asked: "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY RELIGIONS?"

Here's the question and his answer:


"...Q: But if God who is in heaven-and who saved and continues to save the world-is One and only One and is He who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, why has He allowed so many religions to exist?
Why did He make the search for the truth so arduous, in the midst of a forest of rituals, of beliefs, of revelations, of faiths which have always thrived-and still do today-throughout the world?

JPII: You speak of many religions. Instead I will attempt to show the common fundamental element and the common root of these religions.

The Council defined the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions in a specific document that begins with the words "Nostra aetate" ("In our time"). It is a concise and yet very rich document that authentically hands on the Tradition, faithful to the thought of the earliest Fathers of the Church.

From the beginning, Christian Revelation has viewed the spiritual history of man as including, in some way, all religions, thereby demonstrating the unity of humankind with regard to the eternal and ultimate destiny of man. The Council document speaks of this unity and links it with the current trend to bring humanity closer together through the resources available to our civilization. The Church sees the promotion of this unity as one of its duties: "There is only one community and it consists of all peoples. They have only one origin, since God inhabited the entire earth with the whole human race. And they have one ultimate destiny, God, whose providence, goodness, and plan for salvation extend to all. . . . Men turn to various religions to solve mysteries of the human condition, which today, as in earlier times, burden people's hearts: the nature of man; the meaning and purpose of life; good and evil; the origin and purpose of suffering; the way to true happiness; death; judgment and retribution after death; and finally, the ultimate ineffable mystery which is the origin and destiny of our existence. From ancient times up to today all the various peoples have shared and continue to share an awareness of that enigmatic power that is present throughout the course of things and throughout the events of human life, and, in which, at times, even the Supreme Divinity or the Father is recognizable. This awareness and recognition imbue life with an intimate religious sense. Religions that are tied up with cultural progress strive to solve these issues with more refined concepts and a more precise language" (Nostra Aetate 1-2).

Here the Council document brings us to the Far East-first of all to Asia, a continent where the Church's missionary activity, carried out since the times of the apostles, has borne, we must recognize, very modest fruit. It is well known that only a small percentage of the population on what is the largest continent believes in Christ.

This does not mean that the Church's missionary effort has lapsed-quite the opposite: that effort has been and still remains intense. And yet the tradition of very ancient cultures, antedating Christianity, remains very strong in the East. Even if faith in Christ reaches hearts and minds, the negative connotations associated with the image of life in Western society (the so-called Christian society) present a considerable obstacle to the acceptance of the Gospel. Mahatma Gandhi, Indian and Hindu, pointed this out many times, in his deeply evangelical manner. He was disillusioned with the ways in which Christianity was expressed in the political and social life of nations. Could a man who fought for the liberation of his great nation from colonial dependence accept Christianity in the same form as it had been imposed on his country by those same colonial powers?

The Second Vatican Council realized this difficulty. This is why the document on the relations between the Church and Hinduism and other religions of the Far East is so important. We read: "In Hinduism men explore the divine mystery and express it through an endless bounty of myths and through penetrating philosophical insight. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition, either by way of the ascetic life, profound meditation, or by taking refuge in God with love and trust. The various schools of Buddhism recognize the radical inadequacy of this malleable world and teach a way by which men, with devout and trusting hearts, can become capable either of reaching a state of perfect liberation, or of attaining, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination" (Nostra Aetate 2).

Further along, the Council remarks that "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. The Church has a high regard for their conduct and way of life, for those precepts and doctrines which, although differing on many points from that which the Church believes and propounds, often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. However, the Church proclaims, and is bound to proclaim that Christ is 'the way and the truth and the life' [Jn 14:6], in whom men must find the fullness of religious life and in whom God has reconciled everything to Himself" (Nostra Aetate 2).

The words of the Council recall the conviction, long rooted in the Tradition, of the existence of the so-called semina Verbi (seeds of the Word), present in all religions. In the light of this conviction, the Church seeks to identify the semina Verbi present in the great traditions of the Far East, in order to trace a common path against the backdrop of the needs of the contemporary world. We can affirm that here the position of the Council is inspired by a truly universal concern. The Church is guided by the faith that God the Creator wants to save all humankind in Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man, inasmuch as He is the Redeemer of all humankind. The Paschal Mystery is equally available to all, and, through it, the way to eternal salvation is also open to all.

In another passage the Council says that the Holy Spirit works effectively even outside the visible structure of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium 13), making use of these very semina Verbi, that constitute a kind of common soteriological root present in all religions.

I have been convinced of this on numerous occasions, both while visiting the countries of the Far East and while meeting representatives of those religions, especially during the historic meeting at Assisi, where we found ourselves gathered together praying for peace.

Thus, instead of marveling at the fact that Providence allows such a great variety of religions, we should be amazed at the number of common elements found within them.

At this point it would be helpful to recall all the primitive religions, the animistic religions which stress ancestor worship. It seems that those who practice them are particularly close to Christianity, and among them, the Church's missionaries also find it easier to speak a common language. Is there, perhaps, in this veneration of ancestors a kind of preparation for the Christian faith in the Communion of Saints, in which all believers-whether living or dead-form a single community, a single body? And faith in the Communion of Saints is, ultimately, faith in Christ, who alone is the source of life and of holiness for all. There is nothing strange, then, that the African and Asian animists would become believers in Christ more easily than followers of the great religions of the Far East.

As the Council also noted, these last religions possess the characteristics of a system. They are systems of worship and also ethical systems, with a strong emphasis on good and evil. Certainly among these belong Chinese Confucianism and Taoism: Tao means eternal truth-something similar to the "Word"-which is reflected in the action of man by means of truth and moral good. The religions of the Far East have contributed greatly to the history of morality and culture, forming a national identity in the Chinese, Indians, Japanese, and Tibetans, and also in the peoples of Southeast Asia and the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean.

Some of these peoples come from age-old cultures. The indigenous peoples of Australia boast a history tens of thousands of years old, and their ethnic and religious tradition is older than that of Abraham and Moses.

Christ came into the world for all these peoples. He redeemed them all and has His own ways of reaching each of them in the present eschatological phase of salvation history. In fact, in those regions, many accept Him and many more have an implicit faith in Him (cf. Heb 11:6).

Truth, in fact, cannot be confined. Truth is for one and for all. And if this truth comes about through love (cf. Eph 3:15), then it becomes even more universal..."

-from Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by Pope John Paul II