The Bahá'í Faith: Teachings, History, and Practices

[Pancho Frijoles]

Against the Baha'i Faith, Christ says we can know the Father through him.

God in unknowable to men, except by what we can perceive through His Manifestations.

No mind can understand God. He is beyond our limited minds. The Bible says he dwells in "inaccessible light" and that "heavens and earth" cannot contain Him.
However, Jesus makes God knowable to us, in regard of what we need to know about Him.

 

[mikesw]

God in unknowable to men, except by what we can perceive through His Manifestations.

No mind can understand God. He is beyond our limited minds. The Bible says he dwells in "inaccessible light" and that "heavens and earth" cannot contain Him.
However, Jesus makes God knowable to us, in regard of what we need to know about Him.

True. Christ shares what we need to know about God. The other religions contradict that knowledge and thus are false manifestations, false witnesses. Scripture even talks about false messiahs. Those false messiahs cannot be speaking the truth too, can they? You have to accept the full testimony of scripture or deny Christ.
There also is no fit of the testimony of the Bible, in its exposing and rejecting of false gods, with the acceptance of religions that form surrounding those false gods. Why would God change his mind so as to accept these other religions whose practioneers were mocked for their false gods and were often destroyed so as to prevent the spread of their evil practices? If you accept Jesus as a "manifestation," you must also accept all of scripture that he validates.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

God doesn’t need blood from an Innocent to forgive sins. Both Muslims and Baha’is believe that.

It's TRUE that "Forgiveness" doesn't require BLOOD. it's an act of the will - i.e. tearing up the "IOU" that you're holding against a person. But Calvary wasn't about "Forgiveness" at all, but about CLEANSING FROM SIN. And that DOES require Blood sacrifice to accomplish (Isa 53:10).

ISLAM claims that Jesus DID NOT die on the cross, which makes their entire religious system totally WORTHLESS since their victims are given NO WAY to be cleansed from their sin, and avoid HELL / The lake of fire..

Baha'is have a confused view of Jesus, and appear to have no sense of His unique ability to be the perfect SIN OFFERING by which we are CLeansed from our Sin and made perfect before God, which makes it also a WORTHLESS Religion, which can only damn its victims to Hell/lake of fire.

 

[Gloria]

My late brother-in-law Lloyd Haynes was Of the Baha'i Faith. Lloyd became a Christian through a deathbed Conversion. He was married to my sister who wrote a book about him and she was already a Christian. He was a very remarkable man and extremely kind-hearted. He had a fantastic career in the US Navy and a leading role in the very popular TV series "Room 222"

Amazon.com

Lloyd Haynes - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

​

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

ISLAM claims that Jesus DID NOT die on the cross, which makes their entire religious system totally WORTHLESS since their victims are given NO WAY to be cleansed from their sin, and avoid HELL / The lake of fire..

Hi Bob and @mikesw

Imagine you work in Dubai for a company: Your manager is a Muslim. He has been a good manager in general, but one day he yells at you for a simple mistake you accidentally made. He yells at you publicly and you feel humiliated.
Next day, he comes to you repented. First thing is he meets you in private and asks you to forgive him. He also tells you that he has already asked God for forgiveness, on his knees and in tears. He publicly confesses his sin and even talks to Human Resources about what he did. The company puts him in a course of leadership, with special monitoring of his subsequent behavior.

Would you, Bob, forgive your manager?
Would you, mikesw, forgive your manager?

 

[mikesw]

Hi Bob and @mikesw

Imagine you work in Dubai for a company: Your manager is a Muslim. He has been a good manager in general, but one day he yells at you for a simple mistake you accidentally made. He yells at you publicly and you feel humiliated.
Next day, he comes to you repented. First thing is he meets you in private and asks you to forgive him. He also tells you that he has already asked God for forgiveness, on his knees and in tears. He publicly confesses his sin and even talks to Human Resources about what he did. The company puts him in a course of leadership, with special monitoring of his subsequent behavior.

Would you, Bob, forgive your manager?
Would you, mikesw, forgive your manager?

View attachment 758

That would be great that he repented and received reconciliation through Christ. His following of Christ would be a time of rejoicing indeed. How could I not forgive him who has been forgiven through Christ? However, what he does with respect to his Islamic god is not of any contribution here. His apparent repentance toward me would be appreciated. I could forgive him and even feel sorry for him being put through useless courses.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

That would be great that he repented and received reconciliation through Christ. His following of Christ would be a time of rejoicing indeed. How could I not forgive him who has been forgiven through Christ?

Your manager is a Muslim. He does not believe in a blood atonement. It is very likely that he thinks that crucifixion never happened.
Would you forgive your manager, mikesw?

Dear @synergy , I also invite you to consider the scenario and answer. Would you forgive your manager?

 

[mikesw]

Reply

Your manager is a Muslim. He does not believe in a blood atonement. It is very likely that he thinks that crucifixion never happened.
Would you forgive your manager, mikesw?

Dear @synergy , I also invite you to consider the scenario and answer. Would you forgive your manager?

I added stuff while you were typing:
However, what he does with respect to his Islamic god is not of any contribution here. His apparent repentance toward me would be appreciated. I could forgive him if he asks me, and I could even feel sorry for him being put through useless courses.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Reply

I could forgive him if he asks me, and I could even feel sorry for him being put through useless courses.

Thanks for your answer, mikesw. I appreciate it very much.
This shows that you follow Christ, who taught us to be merciful, since we also require the mercy of God.

If you, with your human limitations, were able to forgive that Muslim manager, without requiring from him to pass a quiz on Theology, without asking him to quit being Muslim, God certainly forgave him.

Nobody can be more merciful than God. Throughout the gospels, men are shown to be less merciful than God.
If someone says "I forgive you sincerely, but God won't", that person is not in the love of Christ.

 

[mikesw]

Thanks for your answer, mikesw. I appreciate it very much.
This shows that you follow Christ, who taught us to be merciful, since we also require the mercy of God.

If you, with your human limitations, were able to forgive that Muslim manager, without requiring from him to pass a quiz on Theology, without asking him to quit being Muslim, God certainly forgave him.

Nobody can be more merciful than God. Throughout the gospels, men are shown to be less merciful than God.
If someone says "I forgive you sincerely, but God won't", that person is not in the love of Christ.

Ouch. Your ignorance of God is rather extensive. You try to bypass the work of Christ to create some imaginary world where the hypothetical request to forgiveness by a false god is thought to have as much validity as the reconciliation of man through God's son. How on earth do you reconcile your total rejection of the identity and work of Christ with acceptance of God who sent his Son. You only accept the relevance of Christ Jesus by rejecting who he is.

 

[synergy]

Your manager is a Muslim. He does not believe in a blood atonement. It is very likely that he thinks that crucifixion never happened.
Would you forgive your manager, mikesw?

Dear @synergy , I also invite you to consider the scenario and answer. Would you forgive your manager?

Of course I would forgive him but we are talking about 2 significantly different situations here. The forgiveness that we get from God is eternal life which can only happen if death is conquered. So how does the Baha'i faith believe death is conquered?

 

[charismaticlady]

@Pancho Frijoles

Curious if your faith has a book like the Bible or Quran?

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

My late brother-in-law Lloyd Haynes was Of the Baha'i Faith. Lloyd became a Christian through a deathbed Conversion. He was married to my sister who wrote a book about him and she was already a Christian. He was a very remarkable man and extremely kind-hearted. He had a fantastic career in the US Navy and a leading role in the very popular TV series "Room 222"

Amazon.com

Lloyd Haynes - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

​

I bought the digital version of the book of this remarkable man. Thank you, Gloria!

Let me share some thoughts about this:

1. The book does not tell the story of a deathbed conversion that I could comment on. Probably your sister did not consider important or appropriate to include it in the book. She says that Lloyd remained "ruthless and fun" to the last day. She says Lloyd believed in an afterlife, and told her not to worry. Then she presents his death as this: "At midnight, on New Year's Eve with the deep sky ablaze with fireworks, air filled with horns, voices cheering with celebration, Lloyd died". That's it.

2. As a Baha'i, if I were asked in my deathbed if I believe in Jesus, or if I love Him, of if I believe Jesus is my Savior, I would answer "yes", as I would answer Yes now. I believe that Jesus is the Word manifested in flesh. It is that Word that give us eternal life, when followed. To be certain of my conversion to Christianity, the person taking care of my on my deathbed should start asking several complex questions on Theology. But it is very unlikely that such person would make them, or that I would be in the mood or capacity to answer them. So, that person, after my death, could go out and tell others that I had a "deathbed conversion" to Christianity, when in reality, I always believed in Jesus as a Baha'i.

3. The only way that you could say a Baha'i has converted to other religion is to hear or read a confession that he does not believe anymore in Bahá'u'lláh a Messenger from God. So, "conversion" from Baha'i Faith to Christianism is not as much about what he thinks of Jesus Christ, but about what he thinks of Bah'au'lláh. If the person at his deathbed didn't ask specifically whether he rejected Baha'u'lláh, or heard such a declaration, it is hard to tell if he abandoned the Baha'i Faith.

4. We can read and watch on the Internet hundreds or thousands of testimonies of people converting from one religion to another. From Christians to Muslims and viceversa,, from Catholics to Protestants and viceversa, even from Christians to Jewish and viceversa. To me, this means that those people had a need of God that was not satisfied within their religious practice, and God led them to a place where they could quench their thirst. To me, it is a powerful testimony that God saves people beyond the borders of formal religion.

 

[mikesw]

yikes. a request in AI chat yielded this.

Yes, the Baha'i Faith has its own scriptures that are considered sacred and authoritative by Baha'is. The main Baha'i scriptures include:

1. The writings of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith. These comprise hundreds of letters, tablets, and books written during his lifetime (1817-1892)[3]. Some key texts include:

- The Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), which contains many of the laws and teachings of the Baha'i Faith[4]
- The Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude)
- The Hidden Words
- The Seven Valleys

2. The writings of Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'u'llah's son and appointed interpreter of his teachings. These include talks, letters, and books[3].

3. The writings of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, are also considered authoritative interpretations of Baha'i teachings.

Baha'is consider these texts as holy books and the creative Word of God for this age[3]. The original handwritten texts of Baha'u'llah's and Abdu'l-Baha's primary works are preserved in secure archives at the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, Israel[3].

While Baha'is respect and study earlier scriptures like the Bible and Quran, the Baha'i sacred texts are the main source of guidance and authority for Baha'is today[1][3]. Baha'is are encouraged to read and reflect on their scriptures daily for spiritual nourishment and guidance[3].

Citations:
[1]

https://www.reddit.com/r/bahai/comments/16vg4x5/is_the_bible_and_quran_part_of_bahai

[2] https://www.bahai.us/beliefs/building-community/progressive-revelation/christianity/
[3] https://bahaiteachings.org/what-are-the-bahai-sacred-scriptures/
[4] https://www.bahai.org/bahaullah/articles-resources/from-kitab-i-aqdas
[5] https://bahai-library.com/dibdin_bahai_view_bible/

 

[Bob Carabbio]

Hi Bob and @mikesw

Imagine you work in Dubai for a company: Your manager is a Muslim. He has been a good manager in general, but one day he yells at you for a simple mistake you accidentally made. He yells at you publicly and you feel humiliated.

Would you, Bob, forgive your manager?

Been there, done that, having worked for people for the last 66 years. "Dubai" isn't important, and neither is the boss' religion. This is an interpersonal issue.

Sure. assuming that's all there is to it, you tear up the I.O.U. and set both of you free.

Of course, unavoidably you HAVE LEARNED something about him, his leadership, and where his "buttons" are. That stays with you, and will affect your relationship moving forward.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

@Pancho Frijoles

Curious if your faith has a book like the Bible or Quran?

Yes, a big set of writings that we considered revealed or inspired. We collectively call them "The Writings".You can access them through the official website bahai.org
My favorite is "The Hidden Words" from Bahá'u'lláh. It was instrumental in my conversion from atheism.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Sure. assuming that's all there is to it, you tear up the I.O.U. and set both of you free.

Since my knowledge of English is limited, there are some words/acronyms/phrases I don't understand.
Could you please explain what I.O.U stands for? Thanks you in advance!

 

[mikesw]

Since my knowledge of English is limited, there are some words/acronyms/phrases I don't understand.
Could you please explain what I.O.U stands for? Thanks you in advance!

Your discussions are decent in English. Glad you can use it so well. It is sort of a phonetic abbreviation of I owe you. When you pronounce the letters, you are saying the words. So an I.O.U. roughly refers to a scribbled out paper saying I owe you money or something else.

 

[charismaticlady]

Yes, a big set of writings that we considered revealed or inspired. We collectively call them "The Writings".You can access them through the official website bahai.org
My favorite is "The Hidden Words" from Bahá'u'lláh. It was instrumental in my conversion from atheism.

Are there any prophecies in the Writings that have come to pass?

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Well, my friend @Bob Carabbio, if you could forgive that Muslim manager, without requiring him to pass any quiz on Theology, or without requiring him to change religion, certainly God would forgive him as well.

No one can be more merciful than God.

Your Muslim manager, if he died that night after your forgiveness, and came to the throne of God, would not be accounted that sin.