Christianity and the Baha'i Faith: Warwick Leaflets
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop, Christianity and the Baha'i Faith: Warwick Leaflets, bahai-library.com.
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Christianity and the Bahá'í Faith:

Warwick Leaflets

Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop

2005

Members of
the Christian faith accept the Prophets and Messengers of the Bible, up to and
including Jesus Christ. Bahá'ís accept all these too, but believe that the
Revelation of God did not end with Christ. On the contrary, Bahá'ís believe that
throughout history, God has provided guidance for mankind and, by His Grace,
will continue to do so. Bahá'ís believe that the spirit of Christ has returned
in the person of Bahá'u'lláh, whose name translates as "The Glory of God" or
"The Glory of the Lord".

The
Station of Christ

Christ is
often referred to as "the Son of God", but He usually referred to Himself as
"the Son of Man". Indeed, in the New Testament it is clear that all His
followers are sons of God, for example: "But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name." (John 1
v12)

Over the
centuries, people have tried to explain the station of Christ in various ways.
Bahá'ís believe that Christ was special because of the Message which He brought
from God about how we should live our lives and also because of the example of
the way in which He lived and died. Bahá'u'lláh explained that each of the
Messengers sent by God has a double station:

"The first station, which is related to His innermost reality, representeth Him
as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself... The second station is the
human station..."

This is why a Messenger sometimes speaks with the
authority of God, and sometimes as a human being. For example, at one time
Christ said, "I and my Father are one,"
(John 10 v30) and at another time He said, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good
but one, that is, God."
(Mark 10 v18)

The
Messengers of God manifest, or show, the face of God. For this reason, Bahá'ís
refer to Them as "Manifestations of God". They are like mirrors reflecting the
light of God. If we look at the sun in a mirror, we can say we have seen the
sun. But the sun has not come down into the mirror, what we have really seen is
a reflection of the sun. This, to Bahá'ís, explains the reality of Christ and
the other Holy Messengers.

The
Coming of "The Father"

Bahá'ís
believe that Bahá'u'lláh was the One promised by Christ. Christ's own sayings
point repeatedly to a time when the Son of Man would return, "in the glory of
the Father":

"For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels." (Matt 16 v27)

Christ also
made it clear that He was the path to "the Father":

"I am
the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14 v6)

A further
title given to the divine figure promised by Jesus is that of "Comforter":

"And I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide
with you for ever?" (John
14 v16)

Another
title which Jesus used when referring to the Promised One is the "Spirit of
Truth":

"I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth?" (John 16 v13)

Bahá'u'lláh
fearlessly made His claim:

"This
is the Father foretold by Isaiah, and the Comforter concerning Whom the Spirit [Christ] had covenanted with you."

Bahá'u'lláh
was born in the 19th century in the country now known as Iran,
thereby fulfilling many Biblical prophecies as to time and place. Details of
some of these prophecies can be found in the companion leaflet "The Return of
Christ".

Progressive Revelation

In
the same way that Christ's teachings built on the laws of Moses, the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh take forward the teachings of Christ. For
example, Christ said "Love thy neighbour as thyself", whereas Bahá'u'lláh
said "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself."

Each Messenger, speaking as
the Voice of God, builds on the Messages of those who have gone before. For
instance, in ancient times, goodwill was shown only within the tribe. Christ
taught that someone from another group was also to be considered as a neighbour.
Now Bahá'u'lláh has made it quite clear that every person in the world is our
neighbour, for "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."

In the time
of Christ, the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh on world peace, world government and a
world currency would not have made sense. World unity was impossible because
half the world did not know that the other half existed. Likewise, Bahá'u'lláh's
teachings on investigating truth for oneself would have been difficult when most
people could not read. Also, at that time society was not sufficiently developed
to accept the principle of the equality of men and women. Now that we have
instant worldwide communications, the need in this age is to create a world in
which the whole of mankind lives together in harmony.

For a
fuller explanation of the progressive revelation of Divine Teachings, see the
leaflet "All Religions are One".

A
Selfless Sacrifice

Each
Person Whom God entrusts with His Message is persecuted by those who do not
believe and accept His Message. Their suffering, however, only serves to make
the cause of God progress. Bahá'u'lláh explains:

"Know
thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole of
creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh
capacity was infused into all created things."

Bahá'u'lláh, likewise, endured extensive suffering at the hands of His
persecutors:

"The
Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be
released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this
most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He
hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth
may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness?"

The Promised One of All Religions

It was not
only Christ Who promised that He would return. Every one of the major world
religions has the expectation of a world teacher. He has many titles in Judaism,
including the "Everlasting Father" and the "Lord of Hosts". Shíah Islám
promises the return of Imám Husayn. Sunní Islám promises the "Spirit of God".
The Zoroastrians expect the Sháh-Bahrám. The Hindus expect the reincarnation of
Krishna and the Buddhists expect the "Fifth Buddha", the Buddha of Universal
Fellowship. Despite the different titles by which the Divine Messenger is known,
all religions have similar prophecies of a time when all mankind will come
together. As Christ promised:

"And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one
shepherd."
(John 10 v16)

Surely,
this is the time of fulfilment for which Jesus taught us to pray:

"Thy
kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt 6 v10)

The text of all these leaflets remains the copyright of Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop. The Bookshop is happy for people to download individual copies for their own purposes. Printed copies can be purchased from the Warwick Bookshop. Individuals or communities wishing to translate or print these leaflets in other countries please contact the Bookshop for permission.

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-- Christianity and the Baha'i Faith: Warwick Leaflets (Used by permission of the curator)