Five Things You Should Know About the Baha’i Faith.
by Peter
1. Baha’i’s Islamic Roots.
Baha’i began with the
teachings of a young Iranian businessman. He began promoting
ideas of unity under one god in his small Islamic sect. He
believed that God had chosen him to usher the world into a
new era of unity. Essentially, he considered himself the
messenger of god on earth for this age. This
man – commonly referred to as the Bab (gate) – shocked the
Muslim world with his notion that Mohammed, Moses, and Jesus
were all prophets of the same God. Unfortunately, Muslims
and Jews agreed that this man must die. He faced the firing
squad on July 8, 1850. Before his death, the Bab did predict
that one would follow him, and organize the whole of believers. His
successor was a man who is commonly known as Baha’u’llah.
The persecution continued, and resulted in many Baha’i
deaths. In 1912 the Baha’i faith reached the Americas and
experienced the new birth of religious freedom. After the
Baha’u’llah’s death, there arose one more common leader
known as Shoghi Effendi. Since the end of his tenor, the Baha’is have looked to the
Universal House of Justice for leadership.
2.)
The Baha’i and God.
One God - one religion -
one humanity. Baha’i focuses on the idea that there is one
God, and he has given many expressions about himself
throughout the ages. This God is the creator of all and the
source of all truth. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent,
and omnipotent. While God to them is a personal God, he is
not fully comprehensible to the human mind. Baha’i faith
holds that God has one greater covenant with mankind,
through which he functions throughout the ages.
Administering this covenant God chooses to use a lesser
covenant which is only for a period of time, and in
connection with prophet for that time. The times and
prophets will differ and so will the rules of the lesser
covenant. So from the beginning, man has been given Moses,
Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius, Krishna, Lao,
and finally Baha’u’llah. Each period had different
requirements for fellowshipping with God, but each prophet
was from the same God. Notice that Jesus Christ is
considered on an equal plane with all other prophets, a
contention the Bible adamantly refutes.
"Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: (10)
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and
things in earth, and
things under the earth;
(11) And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11. Baha'i misses this
singularly most important fact!
3.)
The Baha’i beliefs about man.
Man is created in the
image of God and as such can only be good at his core.
However, the goodness of man can only be accessed through
his relationship to God. Man is responsible to recognize the
teachings of God’s messengers through the ages and conform
to their teachings. Marriage is encouraged, and considered
the cornerstone of society. It is defined as one man and
one; it expects chastity outside of its bounds; it is
practiced to encourage spiritual development in the lives of
marriage partners. All Baha’is are expected to follow these
social principles: Unity of God – Unity of religion – Unity
of mankind – Gender equality – Elimination of all forms of
prejudice – World peace – Harmony of religion and science –
Independent investigation of truth – Universal compulsory
education – Universal auxiliary language – Obedience to
government and non-involvement in partisan politics –
Elimination of extremes of wealth and
poverty. After death the soul lives on and is judged on the
basis of spiritual advancement during the physical state.
There is no heaven or hell; rather these terms refer to the
spiritual nearness or distance of relationship to God.
Humanity is one. The goal is overcome racial, sexual,
national, and social prejudice throughout mankind. Tolerance
is the key: Education is the engine. Again, Baha'i
misses the criticial issue. It fails to explain the
presence of sin or its solution. The Bible warns that
self-reformation and self-education can never cure our sin
problem. We must become new creations in Christ Jesus.
"Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new," 2 Corinthians 5:17.
4.)
Baha’i Organization and demographics.
Baha’is on the local
level are involved in study circles.” This is a relatively
new approach to community development and education. Each
study group works through a series of workbooks. Participants can start
their own study groups after completing the work. In a
community where there are enough adult members, Baha’is’
elect a spiritual assembly, which will look into the
writings of the Bab and the other leaders for making
decisions regarding social practices. A national spiritual
assembly governs the local spiritual assemblies, which is
responsible to the
Universal House of
Justice. Ultimately, the final authority on all matters is
the writings of the founding leaders. The House of Justice
is an elected board of nine members. Baha’i faith holds the
number nine – corresponding to the number of messengers from
God – very sacred. The faith has its own spiritual calendar.
The year is divided into nineteen months each having
nineteen weeks. Baha’is’ celebrate a New Years feast during
which they reflect and refocus on March 21.The beginning of
each month is also celebrated with a feast of worship,
consultation, and socializing. The world population is
estimated between 5 and 6 million. In 2004, the World
Almanac and Book of Facts place the majority of Baha’is’ in
Asia, with Africa and Latin America following. The greatest
concentration is in India and the next is Iran.
5.)
Baha’is’ Present Activities.
Baha’i Faith does believe
in acquiring land, and maintaining houses of worship and
offices. Many of her buildings are lavishly designed and
landscaped, but in twice as many places the Baha’i
worshippers meet in homes or rented facilities. The focus of
Baha’i House of Justice is education. The Study circles are
one method, and another program is the junior youth.
Expansion of the religion is focused on children’s classes,
devotional meetings, and religious studies. Baha’i strives
for unity and world peace. The followers are encouraged to
live morally upright lives, and to share with the sufferings
of the word. As a result, Baha’i is deeply involved in
social work. This includes much work for the United Nations,
and many UN agencies. The practices range from medicine, to
education, to children’s aid, and etc.
Martin, Walter A,
Kingdom of the Cults
www.bahai.org.
www.wikipedia.org.
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2 Tim 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
KJV
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