"God and the Major World Religious Leaders
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Moses God is personal. Strict, uncompromising monotheism
Krishna Polytheistic, but ultimately pantheistic and impersonal.
Zoroaster Two Supreme Beings. Philosophical dualism
Buddha God not relevant. Essentially agnostic.
Confucius Polytheistic.
Jesus Christ God is personal, able to beget a son. Strict, uncompromising monotheism."
(Francis Beckwith, Baha'i. Minneapolis, MN.: Bethany House Publishers, 1985, p. 17, hereafter, Beckwith).
Beckwith summed up the chart by saying:
"Though Shoghi Effendi has said that the manifestations disagree on 'non-essential aspects of their doctrine,' it would stretch credibility to the limit to suppose that the nature of God is one of these non-essential aspects. God cannot be impersonal, personal. Transcendent, polytheistic, pantheistic. Monotheistic, able to beget, not able to beget. Relevant, and irrelevant all at the same time" (Beckwith, p. 18).
Shoghi Effendi represents the idea that all religions are essentially the same:
"The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, the followers of His Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society" (Shoghi Effendi, "The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh" in World Order, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1972-73), p. 7).
Beckwith's chart show the impossibility that "all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony." It is grossly unfair for Baha'i apologists to reinterpret the world's religions in such a way as to make it appear there is basic agreement among them. This is done my denying the essential teachings that are unique to each faith. This is clearly done with Christianity, in that all its most important teachings are denied by Baha'is. It is sheer dishonesty to say that the world's religions "differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines." How can what a religion teaches about God or salvation be rendered "a nonessential aspect"?
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The Baha'i Faith and other religions
While on the surface, Baha'is are open and accepting of other religion, in reality, and ultimately they are the very opposite. Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah is the only messenger for today, and that all other religions have been superceded by Bahaism.
"In order to find truth . . . and open mind is essential . . . that we imagine ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest obstacle in the path to unity" (Universal Peace: More than an End to War).
It is difficult to understand how Baha'is can make the above statement when they believe they are the only true religion on the face of the planet!
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God
In Theology proper, for the Christian, there is only one God asserting a strong monotheism. The Baha'i faith also asserts monotheism. It strongly denies the existence of more than one God. Yet, this God is not well defined. Wilson description is too the point:
"The teaching of Bahaism regarding God is hard to grasp, because it oscillates between Theism and Pantheism" (Wilson, 88).
The charge of pantheism seems well founded. Bahaism teaches that the Holy Spirit is a separate entity from God, yet is 'itself" eternal. Further, it teaches that all of "creation," the universe itself is eternal, in that it is forever proceeding from God.
Esslemont relates:
"Baha'u'llah teaches that the universe is without beginning in time. It is a perpetual emanation from the Great First Cause. The Creator always had His creation and always will have . . . Abdul-Baha says . . . this endless universe, had no beginning" (Esslemont, 208-209).
Since Bahaism affirms the eternality of the universe, it is forced into two possible conclusions. One, that the universe is a part of God (pantheism). If the charge of pantheism is denied, then you are left with the idea that the universe is a separate entity from God that nonetheless is eternal (some sort of dualism).
Similar to Islam, from which it sprang, Bahaism believes that God is unknowable, and can only be known indirectly through his manifestations. While Baha'is reverence Baha'u'llah as the manifestation of God for this age, they do not worship him. Worship belongs to God alone.
Christianity teaches that God can be known, and in fact, salvation depends upon knowing him. John 17: 3 says: "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Martin sums up the Baha'i attitude about God:
"For the average Baha'i God is an impersonal force, a being devoid of personality" (Martin, Walter R. The Rise of the Cults. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1955, 1957 edition, p. 119, Hereafter Martin, Rise of Cults)
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The Trinity
Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible affirms that while there is only one God, he exists in a tri-personal way. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each distinct personalities in relation to each other, yet share the nature and essence of the one being of God.
Baha'is reject the Trinity. In Walter Martin's classic work Kingdom of the Cults, he relates an interview with a Baha'i teacher. I will quote the exchange relating to the Trinity:
"Question: Do you in Bahaism believe in the Holy Trinity? Answer: If by the Trinity you mean the Christian concept that the three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are all the one God, the answer is no. . . We cannot accept the idea that God is both three and one and find this foreign to the Bible which Christianity claims as its source" (Martin, Walter R. The Kingdom of the Cults. Minneapolis, MN.: Bethany House Publishers, 1965, 1985 edition, p. 273-274, hereafter Martin, Kingdom).
In a brochure called "Christianity and the Baha'i Faith, we find the following:
"What about the Trinity? Baha'is believe that 'the essential oneness of Father, Son and Spirit had many meanings and constitutes the foundation of Christianity . . . Here is one way to understand the Trinity: The Bible compares God to the astronomical sun, and Christ to its reflected image. The Holy Spirit, in this analogy, is the light shining in and through the mirror. Thus the Trinity means the Father is the Divine Essence, the Holy Spirit is the Divine Light, and Christ is the Divine Reflection. From one point of view, these three are the same; from another, they are distinct" (Christianity and the Baha'i Faith: Frequently Asked Questions. Knoxville, TN.: Stonehaven Press, 1999, hereafter Christianity).
For those who complain about the difficulty in understanding the Trinity, this explanation does not seem an improvement. Further, it is a complete redefinition which bears no resemblance to the biblical teaching concerning the nature of God.
The very fact that Baha'is deny that Jesus is Almighty God illustrates their rejection of the Trinity.
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The Manifestations
In order to understand Baha'i teaching on the Godhead, it is necessary to understand their view of the 'Manifestations,' which they define as follows:
"The Manifestations represent a level of existence intermediate between God and humanity" (From "Baha'i Topics, Who Are the Prophets? At http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-0-3.html)
"The great prophets of God, his chosen Messengers, who appear in every age. The Manifestations of God are not God descended to earth but are perfect reflections of his attributes, just as a mirror reflects the sun but is not the sun itself. All the Manifestations have the same spirit, although their outward forms are different, and they manifest different attributes of God relevant to the needs and circumstances of the age in which they appear. They differ only in the intensity of their revelation and the comparative potency of their light. The Baha'i writings identify several Manifestations, among them, Abraham, Noah, Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah" (Baha'u'llah. Mona Vale NSW, Australia.: Baha'i Publications Australia, 1991, p. 80, hereafter Baha'u'llah).
Important in the above quote is that "All the Manifestations have the same spirit." This raises the question; what is this spirit? Is it personal? If so, how could both Baha'u'llah and the Bab, who lived at the same time, both be this same person? If this "spirit" is impersonal, then how can it be maintained that Baha'u'llah is the same person or the return of Jesus Christ?
In their tract, "The Glory of Christ," Bahaism states:
"In terms of human identity, these mirrors are distinct, having different human bodies and souls. But they are the same divine spirit, for they manifest the one eternal Christ" (The Glory of Christ: A Baha'i Testimony. Knoxville, TN.: Stonehaven Press, 1997).
Again, if all the manifestations are "the same divine spirit." How could both the Bab and Baha'u'llah, who were contemporaries both, be that one person?
"The Manifestation then, is not simply an ordinary person whom God chooses at some point in His natural lifetime to be His messenger. Rather, the Manifestation is a special Being, having a unique relationship to God and sent by Him from the spiritual world as an instrument of divine revelation. Even though the individual soul of the Manifestation had a phenomenal beginning, it nevertheless existed in the spiritual world prior to physical birth in this life. The immortal souls of ordinary men, on the other hand, have no such preexistence, but come into existence at the moment of human conception. Of the preexistence of the souls of the Manifestations, said: 'The Prophets, unlike us, are pre-existent. The soul of Christ existed in the spiritual world before His birth in this world. We cannot imagine what that world is like, so words are inadequate to picture His state of being.'" ("Baha'i Topics, Who Are the Prophets? At http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-0-3.html).
From this passage, we further see that the Baha'is teach that the manifestations pre-existed their life on earth. So we wonder; did this spirit leave Muhammad, dwell in "the spiritual world," then enter into Baha'u'llah (who was born two years before the Bab), and then at the Bab's birth split into two 'persons'?
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Jesus Christ
As has already been alluded to, Bahaism rejects the biblical teaching that Jesus Christ is Almighty God. Instead Bahaism teaches that Jesus was a manifestation of God. These manifestations (Moses, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah) are not Almighty God, but rather are human beings in whom the Holy Spirit dwells in, in a unique way.
Further, Bahaism teaches that Baha'u'llah is the return of Jesus Christ.
"Christ once more is knocking at the doors of our hearts . . . Baha'is believe the new name of Christ is Baha'u'llah . . . He fulfills Christ's own promise to return . . . He is the return of the one spiritual Christ&emdash;that pre-existent Word or Logos who is the same 'the same yesterday, and today, and forever . . . Baha'is are in reality Christians of the second coming" (Secret of the Second Coming: Christ's Glorious Return, Knoxville, TN.: Stonehaven Press, 1998, hereafter 'Secret')
The Bible clearly refuted this notion. The book of Acts leaves us this record:
"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven'" (Acts 1:9-11).
The prophet Zechariah gives more detail on Christ's return:
"Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south" (Zechariah 14:3-4).
Jesus ascended to heaven in the same physical body in which he walked the earth, and it is that resurrected body he now has in heaven, and is the one he will return in. The real Jesus will have the marks of the nail prints in his hands and feet.
Jesus himself said:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:1-3).
Jesus did not say, "I will return in the form of another," or "I will send another in my name." He said, "I will come back." He warned that others would falsely claim to be him, but that we should not be tricked by them:
"At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christ's and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect&emdash;if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:23-27).
In his Olivet Discourse, Jesus went on to outline the events of his coming which include the judgment of the nations and the setting up of his kingdom over the earth (Matthew 25:31-46).
Why should I believe the blasphemous claim that Baha'u'llah is Christ? The real Jesus had a miraculous birth, healed the sick, walked on the water, and raised the dead. Baha'u'llah did none of these. Above all, Jesus predicted his own resurrection. Baha'u'llah is dead and buried; Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ever lives!
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