| What does the Baha’i Faith claim? The Baha’i Faith claims that Baha’u’llah is |
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| the Promised One of all Religions, that humanity will be brought together in one |
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| universal Cause, one common Faith, that the different Religions of the world are |
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| different chapters in one great spiritual drama that courses throughout |
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| history. This is a very beautiful, to some, vision of human humankind’s history, but |
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| at the same time, there are many challenges that arise and many questions that arise with regards to this claim of the Baha’i Faith. Here at Bridging |
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| Beliefs we try to look into some of these questions and explore them as best we can. “The objection was commonly raised against the foregoing conception of |
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| religion is the assertion that the differences among the revealed faiths are so fundamental that to present them as stages or aspects of one unified system |
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| of truth does violence to the facts. Given the confusion surrounding the |
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| nature of religion, the reaction is understandable. Chiefly, however, such an |
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| objection offers Baha’is an invitation to set the principles reviewed here more |
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| explicitly in the evolutionary context provided in Baha’u’llah’s writings.” |
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| In this quote it states that the differences between these faiths are so fundamental |
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| that to actually claim that they are actually coming from one common Source would do violence to the facts. But this is actually coming from a |
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| misunderstanding about the nature and role of religion. I love this quote because it actually says to the Baha’is that we have to empathize with this |
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| perspective, that it seems that this cannot be true, and that the responsibility is placed upon the Baha’is to try to actually place all these |
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| different faiths within their evolutionary context, to any adherent of another belief system. Be they Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, |
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| and secular atheist, or agnostic. The Baha’i faith is moving out into |
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| neighborhoods, reaching out to community members, and attempting to bring all of humankind, irrespective of belief or creed, into a process of trying to unify |
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| society. We’re reaching out to friends and family and neighbors, and asking them |
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| to come with us to walk paths of service together, irrespective of our beliefs. |
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| And when we do, we have to understand that many of these people will say “well that’s a beautiful vision. At the same time, I have some concerns about the |
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| perspectives of the Baha’is.” So they might be coming from a Christian perspective, and have questions that are particular to Christianity. They might be coming |
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| from a Buddhist background, and have questions that are particular to a Buddhist. And it is our job, as Baha’is, to place these Revelations in their |
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| respective evolutionary context, and do our best to actually respond to the apprehensions of our brothers and sisters in our communities. |
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| “It is at such time that the Friends of God avail themselves of the occasion, seize the opportunity, rush forth and win the prize. If their task is to be confined to good |
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| conduct and advice, nothing will be accomplished. They must speak out, expound the proofs, set forth clear arguments, draw |
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| irrefutable conclusions, establishing the truth of the Manifestation of the Sun of Reality.” |
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| “In this day there is nothing more important than the instruction and study of clear proofs and convincing, heavenly arguments, for therein lie the source of |
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| life and the path of salvation.” In the first quote we are told explicitly by |
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| ‘Abd’ul-Bahá that, if our task be confined to good conduct, nothing will be accomplished. That we actually have to be willing and |
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| ready to actually share the reasons for our beliefs with friends and family. To |
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| express to them, through arguments, clear and conclusive arguments, why it is that |
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| we believe the Baha’i Faith is actually a Divine Revelation, and is the, if you |
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| will, refuge of humankind, to create a unified society. So from here, we’re going |
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| to actually move through a series of potential objections and questions that might be posed by people from different backgrounds. And to remember all |
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| throughout this that, given our highest goal of the Baha’i |
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| Faith is a unification of humankind, any dissension or conflict that arises, |
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| the Baha’is should actually remove themselves from. So if things become very contentious, we actually step out of the discussion. We seek to have cordial, |
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| intellectual, loving dialogue between people of all belief systems. Here first, |
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| we’re going to look at some questions that might arise from the secular standpoint; those who are not adherents of any religion. |
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| [1- Why can’t I just be a good person?] There is this concept [in the Baha’i Faith], where actually the recognition of the Manifestation of God |
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| is essential. The opening of the Most Holy Book, the central book of the Baha’i |
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| Revelation, is that the first duty prescribed unto all humankind is the |
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| recognition of God’s Messenger. After that, it is adherence to His laws and His teachings. “Why is this? Why, if I myself am trying to demonstrate the unity of |
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| religion and science, if I am supportive of for example an international auxiliary language, and I actually believe in the eradication of the |
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| extremes of wealth and poverty, if I take a host of Baha’i teachings, actually say, sure, that’s fine. That’s fine. |
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| I agree. I agree. And I am seeking to actually support these. And as well, even within my own life, trying to be a noble being. Why does it matter [that I recognize Baha’u’llah]?” |
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| [2- Evolution or Creation?] This is actually a question under the rubric of “science and religion” period. |
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| “What is the Bahá’í teachings in its relationship to the concepts within Darwinian evolution?” There are many cases where actually some |
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| of the Central Figures appear to state things that are not actually congruent with the current perspective of Darwinian theory; of biological theory. |
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| “How can one actually recognize and then reconcile these seemingly divergent |
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| perspectives?” [3- Science vs Religion?] This brings up the entire topic of “science and religion”. The Baha’i |
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| Faith teaches the unity of science and religion. For many people, this actually |
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| sounds like “the unity of oil and water”. It appears as if you’re saying it’s the unity of “blind faith” and the unity of “intelligent investigation of the |
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| realities of the universe”. Obviously I believe this to be an erroneous perspective, but how do we do this? “Has not faith throughout history, religion in |
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| particular, actually opposed science? |
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| Is not the very doctrines of religion and the beliefs of religion |
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| inherently epistemologically weak?” “Meaning, given the notion of the |
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| Baha’i “Faith”, is not faith in itself just fundamentally opposed to reason, and |
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| intelligent, and rational discourse? Forgetting just science itself. Is not faith |
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| at its heart eroding the actual potentialities of humankind, and if you |
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| will, dumbing humanity down?” [5- The Baha’i Faith is Non Political: Impotent] |
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| “The Baha’i Faith, and its impotence” And I particularly mean in this case, “how is it that the Baha’i Faith, which appears to |
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| be completely apolitical, not politically involved, can possibly solve the problems |
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| of our world? If Baha’is, and this is a fundamental teaching of the Baha’i Faith, do not engage themselves within partisan political systems, how is |
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| it possible that we could actually solve humankind’s problems?” |
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| [6- Religion Causes War] There are so many instances where believers in Christian and Islam have battled, where Buddhists |
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| have battled Muslims, or Hindus have battled Buddhists. Where there is |
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| conflict on the borders of all these religious ideologies. “Is it not |
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| true that religion itself is inherently divisive and inherently causes conflict, |
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| and even open warfare?” [7- War in Scriptures] And this topic of religion causing war is actually itself separate from another |
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| question. For example, in Islam, there is the doctrine of Jihad. There are wars |
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| within the Old Testament. There are actually warfare within Hinduism. The |
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| Bhagavad-Gita, one of the most famous Hindu texts, is actually placed in a battlefield, and is a response to one individuals question about why he would |
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| have to conduct warfare. So while “religion causes war is inherently divisive” |
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| is one question. The other is, “what is religions relationship to the use of military force?” And this also relates to the |
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| Baha’i Faith itself, because in the Baha’i Faith we believe there is an “International Peacekeeping Force” that should actually establish and maintain |
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| unity in the globe. “How can we understand this?” |
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| [8- Religion is Merely Social Control] “Religion has been used throughout history simply to control people. It itself is something that has been |
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| chosen by those in power to, if you will, cow the people, to keep them as sheep, |
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| so that they’re not questioning, and keep them in order.” |
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| [9- Religious Merely for Psychological Reasons] Another a whole host of issues comes when we look at how religion has |
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| actually been commonly understood. For example people will say that “religious people merely want community. So most people are just religious because they |
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| want to have a whole bunch of people that will accept them”. Or that “people are merely afraid of death. So this this fear of non-existence in |
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| the future makes people pick up the mantle of religion, because it is really a wish-fulfillment system, that actually makes them feel better, instead of simply |
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| facing up to the harsh realities of life.” There are many within this group. |
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| But it’s really that, there is a psychological need or a social need that |
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| drives people to become religious, and it has no relationship to an actual truth claim. [10- The Baha’i Vision is Utopian] |
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| The vision of the Baha’i Faith is unbelievably exalted. Our perspectives on |
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| the International Auxiliary Language, the unity of religion and science, the equality of men and women, and a host of other Bahá’í teachings, appear to |
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| actually portray “a vision of a future that is entirely utopian; idealistic to |
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| the extreme, and it couldn’t possibly ever be achieved.” How can we actually |
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| understand this, and how can we respond to this understandable objection? |
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| [11- The Baha’i Faith’s View on Homosexuality] Another large question that is often brought up is “the relationship of the Baha’i |
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| Faith to issues such as homosexuality or transgender issues.” Another thing that is |
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| often not discussed, and that we will have to look at in time. [12- Proofs of God and the Afterlife?] |
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| In common culture, many people just actually have the assumption that “there are no proofs of the existence of God, and no possible way that one could prove |
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| that there actually is an afterlife. Or that the spirit of humankind continues after the destruction of his body.” |
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| [13- The Baha’i Faith is Merely Syncretic] Further, Baha’i Faith is actually often seen as syncretic. “Is not the Baha’i |
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| Faith simply a religion that has picked and chosen a series of different things that it likes from the different religions and sort of just mashed them |
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| together, in a, if you will, unnatural or false unity? Are we not just choosing |
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| from the buffet of religious ideologies and drawing them together?” [14- Unity of Religion is Contradictory] |
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| Hinduism appears to “be polytheistic; there are many gods. In Christianity, it is the doctrine of the Trinity, where God is a tri-une Being, one God with three persons.” |
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| Islam appears to explicitly state that “this is completely false.” |
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| Actually in fact, “Judaism appears not to agree with Christianity on the nature of |
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| the Godhead.” “How about Buddhism, which appears to have no God?” This is commonly believed within the West. “So how do we take all these different visions of |
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| Ultimate Reality [God] and possibly say the that they are one?” This goes as well for Prophetology. “Is not the station of Jesus Christ seemingly radically different from the |
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| station of the Prophet Muhammad, as revealed in the Qur’an? The Buddha does not seem to be, in its common understanding, He does not seem to be the |
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| same kind of Being as, for example, the Prophet Muhammad, Jesus, or Krishna. |
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| So, within our Prophetology (our study of the Prophets themselves) how can we possibly |
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| say that there is a unity of religion, when the actual Founders appeared to claim such radically different stations for themselves?” This also goes for |
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| soteriology, or the study of salvation. “Do we really think that the process of achieving Nirvana, as revealed within the Buddhist texts, is actually the same |
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| process as Moksha, the goal of Hindu mysticism? And how could either of |
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| these two be remotely connected to the concept of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, and actually having His sacrifice on the |
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| Cross being the redemption of your eternal soul?” The other is the issue of exclusivism. Jesus Christ says “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man |
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| cometh to the Father except through Me.” Unbeknownst to most people, the Buddha says almost the identical thing, that there is no way to Enlightenment except |
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| through the Eightfold Path, His teachings. “So if you actually have exclusivistic communities throughout, how can you possibly bring them together?” |
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| [15- The Baha’i Administration is Impractical on a Large Scale] |
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| There’s no clergy within the Baha’i Faith. All are elected or appointed |
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| officials, for terms. But one of the peculiar features of the Baha’i system |
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| is actually that there is no nomination. You cannot form parties. You cannot |
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| campaign for yourself or for another individual. “How can this possibly be |
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| applied to the whole world, let alone just one single country?” [16- Is the Baha’i Administration Democratic or Theocratic?] |
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| The Administrative Order itself as well claims, in the words of actually the |
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| Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith, to incorporate all the beneficial aspects of the various forms of government, of autocracy, of democracy, of aristocracy, |
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| and of theocracy. And yet at the same time, to have purged out from the system any of |
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| the negative qualities or aspects of any of these respective forms of governments. Baha’is themselves are free to actually debate, and dialogue, and |
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| question things. But once a decision has been made, even by a Local Spiritual Assembly, and a National Spiritual Assembly of course, we must carry out the |
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| decision of that body. [17- The Infallibility of the Universal House of Justice] |
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| This rises right up to the top, when we get to the supreme elected body |
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| of the Baha’i Administrative Order, which is the Universal House of Justice. Because the |
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| Universal House of Justice is claimed to be an infallible institution, and when it actually makes a legislative decree, that is it. It is to be considered as equal to |
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| the very word of God itself. For many, this is actually a frightening notion. |
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| [18- The Severity of Baha’i Criminal Laws] There are a host of, if you will, penalties and injunctions within the |
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| Most Holy Book related to such things as murder, arson, theft, and destruction to |
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| the property of the community. [19- What is the Baha’i Administrative Order?] |
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| “What is the Baha’i Administration? How can we get a picture of how it is structured, and why it is structured the way it is, to the |
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| best of our knowledge? What about the future Baha’i Commonwealth?” In the Most Holy Book, as you can find within the notes of the Most Holy Book, there is to |
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| be an International Peacekeeping Force. There is to be a Parliament of Men, where |
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| all the nations are brought together. There’s to be a Supreme Tribunal, that is to adjudicate between problems between countries. |
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| [20- What is the Baha’i Divine Economy?] The Baha’i Faith has a, from the outside perspective, very peculiar economic conception. |
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| We claim that it is a spiritual solution to economic problems. “How is that going to be carried out, especially given that within the |
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| Baha’i Faith, taxation is actually voluntary? How could we possibly run a society on such a principle?” |
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| [21- Muhammad is the Last Prophet] There is a common understanding, near universal understanding |
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| within the Islamic community, that the Prophet Mohammed is the seal of the Prophets. The final Prophet of God to humankind, before the |
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| Great Day of God, and if you will, before the End of Times. “Baha’u’llah comes along, |
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| and the Bab comes along, the two Founders of the Baha’i Faith, and claim to be Messengers from God to humankind. How could this possibly be so, given the |
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| Qur’an says He is the seal of the Prophets?” |
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| [22- The Baha’i Qiblih is Shirk] Another question that has been brought up, and an understandable objection in many ways from the Islamic community, is that “the point of prayer, the Point of |
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| Adoration of the Baha’i world is the very Person of Baha’u’llah Himself. So |
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| that, throughout the history of the Baha’i Faith, the focus of prayer, whereas an Islam it was Mecca, the Kaaba in Mecca, was actually the Person of Baha’u’llah as He |
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| moved through His exiles. This seems to be shirk, the associating of partners |
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| with God, explicitly.” [23- Islam is the Perfect Religion] |
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| The Qur’an states “today I have perfected your religion.” Or such things as “you shall have no other religions save Islam”. “How can we |
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| actually look at the Qur’an, see that Islam was perfect. And this actually goes |
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| for example Christianity, and Judaism, or Buddhism, or Hinduism. That it’s a perfect |
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| Revelation, and yet it needs to be updated? How can we actually see a quote |
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| saying “you shall have no other religions except Islam” and then say “but there’s this other religion”. How is it that the Islamic law itself has been completely |
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| abrogated? This is actually the same question that a Jew asks a Christian. How is it possible that the laws of God have just been, in some sense, wiped away?” |
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| [24-The Qur’an on Jihad and Holy War] |
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| “What does the Qur’an actually say about Jihad? Are Muslims supposed to kill |
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| non-believers?” This is often stated within our culture and within social |
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| media, but what does it actually say? It would be important to actually study this. But this relates as well to the history of Islam. It is undeniable that |
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| the Prophet Muhammad and His companions engaged in warfare. “How do we understand this?” |
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| [25- Prophet Muhammad had Many Wives] “The Prophet Muhammad had multiple wives. Polygamy is in the Qur’an. It is |
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| also within the Christian and Jewish Scriptures as well. But how do we understand this?” |
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| [26- Jesus is the Only Way] Christianity claims to be an exclusivist religion. By that |
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| I simply mean “there’s no other way to God save through Jesus Christ.” The New Testament explicitly states “there’s no other Name under heaven by which you may be saved, save Jesus Christ.” |
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| There are a host of other quotes within the New Testament |
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| that justifiably in many cases give the Christian a solid belief that there |
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| couldn’t possibly be a messenger after Jesus Christ. [27- Do Baha’is Believe in the Trinity?] |
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| “The Trinity is a very dominant within the Christian community. While it |
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| is not universal, it is very very prominent, and it has been for a very long time. The Qur’an itself seems to explicitly deny the Trinity. And do |
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| Baha’is themselves believe in the Christian Trinity? If not, again, how could this be reconciled? This even brings up an issue, |
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| from a Baha’i perspective, in its relationship to Christianity and Islam. Because as is very commonly believed, the Qur’an seems to even deny the crucifixion |
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| of Jesus Christ. How could that possibly be true, since it is a central concept within the New Testament?” |
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| [28- What was the Nature of Jesus’ Resurrection?] Another major question that could arise from the Christian community, and is very |
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| understandable, is the Baha’i perspective on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
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| It appears to many that “the Baha’i Faith outright denies the physical |
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| resurrection of Jesus Christ, focusing instead upon a spiritual metaphorical interpretation of the events, as told to us in the New Testament. And this seems to |
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| really cut to the very heart of Christianity and Christians themselves. [29- Spectacular Eschatology?] |
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| Eschatology, the belief in the End Times, and in particular the Return of Jesus Christ. |
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| It is commonly understood that “the return of Jesus Christ will be a very obvious and extremely apocalyptic event, |
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| that no one could possibly miss. And yet the Baha’is portray the Return of Jesus |
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| Christ as being, from many people’s perspectives, an obscure individual within the Middle East, with no massive signs or apocalyptic happenings.” |
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| [30- Is Baha’u’llah a False Prophet?] The New Testament clearly warns the Christian community about the coming of |
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| false prophets. That they will try and deceive people, try and take them away from the truth of the Gospels. “Is not Baha’u’llah, The Bab, or the Prophet Muhammad, |
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| or Buddha, or Hindu [Krishna], themselves merely false prophets? If you will, even servants |
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| of Darkness, that are trying to tempt the Christian community away from the truth, |
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| as revealed within the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. [31- Buddhist Theology?] |
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| There is again another list of issues that could arise from your Buddhist friend, or your Hindu friend. But equally could arise from an atheist. An atheist could ask “how the |
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| Baha’is could possibly believe in the unity of religion, when Christianity |
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| teaches a tri-une God, whereas Buddhism teaches that there isn’t a God, |
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| very often Buddhism is said to be an atheistic faith, sometimes a |
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| non-theistic faith. And how is it possible that Islam, whose central tenet |
24:56 |
| is the unity and the oneness of God, could be one different expression of the |
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| same Reality as within Buddhism?” As mentioned previously, Hinduism, “does it not have multiple gods? How can we actually bring |
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| these together?” [32- Anatman: No Soul in Buddhism] |
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| Specifically with Buddhism, the doctrine of Anatman. Anatman is often translated |
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| as “the doctrine of no self”. That “there is no abiding underlying reality within the |
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| human individual that actually could possibly carry on. That we are really an aggregate of physical form of thoughts and feelings emotions and |
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| concepts that itself cannot abide through the death and destruction of this body.” |
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| [33- Reincarnation] “Do Baha’is actually believe in reincarnation?” This common pat answer |
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| that people will give is no. “How’s this possible, given reincarnation appears to be explicitly taught within the Bhagavad-Gita and is riddled |
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| throughout the Buddhist scriptures, such as the Pali Canon?” [34- Hindus Believe the Human Soul is God] |
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| The Atman Brahman equation. As is commonly believed in the Hindu circles, “the Atman, which is our |
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| self, our true self within us, is itself Brahman, Ultimate Reality. This is the |
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| concept that you often find in popular if you will New Age movements, that we ourselves are God. That our Atman, what is our true nature, is Brahman, that Ultimate Reality. |
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| How can we understand this in its relationship to Christianity, or the Baha’i Faith, or Islam? Again, when it seems there is myself, who is created in the |
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| image of God, and there is this Divine Entity that is unfathomably unfathomably |
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| beyond comprehension and above us.” [35- The Buddha is the Only Way to Nirvana] |
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| “How can we understand, for example the statement of the Buddha that |
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| “there is no other way to enlightenment save through the Eightfold Path?” This is |
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| also commonly not known within the West. But the Buddha explicitly states this within Buddhist scriptures. In the most ancient Buddhist scriptures, such as the |
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| Pali Canon, where there are all these other paths, but they can never truly get |
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| one to full Enlightenment, truly get one to Nirvana. “How can we understand that, |
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| given we believe there are seemingly other paths, such as Christianity, which |
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| came hundreds of years later? [Baha’i Teachings. Verities Found in the Baha’i Writings.] |
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| In addition to many commonly raised objections from a secular, agnostic, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, or Hindu |
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| perspective, we also wish to go into some of the fundamental teachings of the |
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| Baha’i Faith, and some of the lesser known ones. We want to try to explore such things as “the independent investigation of truth”, one of the central tenets of |
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| the Baha’i Faith. And how that relates to, for example, faith. We want to even just |
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| understand what is the relationship of science and religion, as portrayed within the Baha’i scriptures. This is a vital topic, as they are powerful and potent |
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| forces within society. We also want to look at such teachings as the “international auxiliary language”, a core teaching of the Baha’i Faith. That every |
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| individual should have, in addition to their mother tongue, one universal language, that can be spoken throughout the world. What are the Bahá’í |
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| teachings on economics? What is our perspectives on the uses of force? What is the relationship of men and women? What, for example, is the |
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| doctrine of “Progressive Revelation”, the belief that humankind has been communicated to by the Divine World throughout history? How can we understand this? |
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| What is the nature of, given this is something germane to the issues of between Buddhism and Hinduism and Christianity Islam, what is the nature of |
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| a Prophet? What is a Messenger of God? What are the worlds of God, beyond this one? Are there different stages? How can we understand the picture portrayed by the |
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| Baha’i Writings and sync them later with the different world religions? What is |
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| Baha’i epistemology? There are many texts within the Baha’i Writings that speak of proofs and evidences and of ways of carrying out an independent |
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| investigation of truth. How can we understand this? It is important to |
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| remember, that whatever presentations are given here, whatever answers are offered, |
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| are simply my own. They are not the official [authoritative] perspectives of the Baha’i Faith. |
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| They are an individual’s understandings and beliefs surrounding many of these topics. |
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| It’s also important to remember that, if you move through any of these talks, there is an audio recording of any of these talks. So you don’t actually have |
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| to watch them. And in addition, any of the quotes that end up being used are actually in a PDF (original PDF at drive.google.com). |
