How is Jesus viewed in the Baha'i Faith? Who do you say he is?
Did Jesus pre-exist in heaven with God before taking on human form, or was he just a good man, a prophet? Did Jesus die and then was resurrected, or do you go along with the Islamic view that Jesus did not die? Is Jesus coming back to judge the world and, if so, is he coming back as a Muslim? And what do you think about the Christian view that it was necessary for Jesus to give up his life in order to save sinful humanity from the consequences of sin?
B Knott Wildered2012-11-04T01:03:19Z
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In my view, one of the strongest aspects of the Baha’i Faith is the principal called Independent Investigation of Truth. In essence what that means is that each individual is responsible for his or her own spiritual growth. It means that while we can, should and do share our opinions with others, no one has the right to tell us as individuals what we must believe. While on the surface that may sound like it would be counterproductive to unity, in reality it leads to a much stronger unity than is possible when any individual or group of individuals determines what the entire group should believe. I bring that up simply because some of what I believe I have not had an opportunity to share with other Baha’is. It is possible that someone could point out something to me that I missed which would have me changing my mind. Possible, but unlikely. While I firmly believe that what I believe is based on Baha’i Scripture, both you as a non-Baha’i and other Baha’is are more than welcome to disagree with me and develop your own beliefs and opinions based on your own understanding of Scripture, both Baha’i Scripture and the Bible. But again, I believe I have very good reasons for what I believe.
I am left musing, wondering if this particular question is merely to satisfy your curiosity or if you have a specific scriptural basis for asking. If it is scripturally based, and by that I’m referring to the Bible, then there are two other very closely related questions that you will be asking. We shall see.
The Baha’i scriptures referring to Jesus run into the hundreds of separate passages. Therefore, I’m going to give you just a couple of representative samples.
“As to the position of Christianity, let it be stated without any hesitation or equivocation that its Divine origin is unconditionally acknowledged, that the Sonship and Divinity of Jesus Christ are fearlessly asserted, that the Divine inspiration of the Gospel is fully recognized, that the reality of the mystery of the Immaculacy of the Virgin Mary is confessed, and the primacy of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is upheld and defended.”
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 490)
“Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.”
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 85)
“If you reflect upon the essential teachings of Jesus you will realize that they are the light of the world. Nobody can question their truth. They are the very source of life and the cause of happiness to the human race.”
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 250)
The traces of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the influence of His Divine Teaching, is present with us today, and is everlasting.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 91)
In my considered opinion: The inner essence, the true reality of the Son of God existed even before Creation. However, I believe that the physical manifestation of the Son of God did not exist until He was conceived in His mother Mary. In my view, what is important about Jesus is not His physical body, not that part of Him that was human but rather His inner reality. As far as pre-existing in heaven, that depends on what you mean by heaven. I do not believe that heaven is a “place.” I do believe that heaven has a reality however. In my considered opinion, the Islamic viewpoint that Jesus did not die is a misinterpretation of their own Scripture, the Qur’an. I firmly believe that Jesus physically died and was resurrected. However, I believe that His reality, that part of Him that made Him a part of the Essence of God, never died and that is what the Islamic Scripture truly indicates. In Revelation 3:12, Jesus very clearly states that when He returns He will have a new name and will give a new name to His followers. I could cite other Scripture as well, but in my opinion Jesus clearly indicated that he would not come back as a Muslim or as a Christian. I fully appreciate that you may disagree with the Christian part, but if so it will have to be addressed in another question. Not enough room here. Actually, it is probably too much for any one single question.
I highly respect the value of education/knowledge. If this question is geared towards that, then I can see some value. However, knowing that you claim to be a Christian, I would hope your intention is more than just knowledge/education.
Which brings me to the question of "why." I am at a loss of words to say what follows in a kind and loving manner: Who cares what the Bahai'i Faith thinks of Jesus, when we have the Bible, the Word of God, to instruct us.
The only value I can see here is to contrast what the Bible says with the Quran, but even there, I doubt it does much good at all.
In either case, I hope and pray this may at least be a point of witness.
I have learned some things by following your questions in the past. THX.
We have a group who attends our local Multi-Spiritual Forums They believe a prophet comes along every so many centuries. They recognise both Jesus and Mohamed as Prophets - deserving of respect. They just believe that there's another (Bahá'u'lláh) followed both of them as will others in the future. They are kinda 4th Abrahambic Faith. .
Several places in the New Testament explicitly teach Jesus’ pre-existence. Jesus said, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5). This passage alone is sufficient to show that the Scripture supports Jesus’ pre-existence, but it is just one of many such passages. Jesus Himself explicitly taught His own pre-existence (John 3:13, 6:33, 38, 62; 8:23; 16:28). Christ even said that He existed prior to Abraham’s birth (John 8:58-59) even though Abraham’s birth preceded Jesus’ own birth by many centuries! Several texts present Jesus as pre-existing with His Father (Romans 8:3; 1 John 1:2; Galatians 4:4). Several passages even identify Jesus as the Creator (John 1:2-3; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2).
As For the Baha'i Faith? The Baha'i faith is one of the newer world religions stemming originally from Shi'ite Islam in Persia (modern day Iran). However, it has come to achieve a unique status of its own. The Baha'i faith has distinguished itself as a unique world religion because of its size (5 million members), its global scale (236 countries), its practical autonomy from its parent religion of Islam (there is little blurriness between the two), and for its doctrinal uniqueness being monotheistic yet inclusive.
The Baha'I Faith's earliest forerunner was Sayid Ali Muhammad who on May 23, 1844 declared himself the Bab ("Gate"), the 8th manifestation of God and first since Muhammad.
Read the rest here http://www.gotquestions.org/Bahai-faith.html
In the Bahá'í Faith, religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and the capacity of the people. These messengers have included Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and others. For Baha'is, the most recent messengers are the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In Bahá'í belief, each consecutive messenger prophesied of messengers to follow, and Bahá'u'lláh's life and teachings fulfilled the end-time promises of previous scriptures. Humanity is understood to be in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale.
Bahá'u'lláh describes Jesus Christ, Moses, Abraham, Muhammad, Zoroaster, the Bab, and Himself as Manifestations of God.[2] To understand the Bahái concept of Manifestation, one must also understand the Bahái concepts of God, creation, and humanity. This is because Bahá'u'lláh says the Manifestations of God have a twofold station; one is the station of 'pure abstraction and essential unity, not only with each other, but with God as well; the second is the 'station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation, and to the limitations thereof (Gleanings 51, 52). Thus Manifestations are bridges between a perfect, ineffable, and transcendent God, on the one hand, and humanity and the physical world on the other. Traditional Christianity views the station of Jesus in a similar way in that Jesus can not save humanity unless He is part of humanity and part of God simultaneously.
Bahá'u'lláh describes the nature of God by emphasizing its transcendence. The innermost essence of God is beyond anything humanity can understand and experience, because we are limited and God is infinite; we are creatures and God is the Creator (Gleanings 151, 193). As 'Abdul-Bahá explains, the difference between God and humanity is like the difference between a painter and a painting; just as a painting is incapable of understanding the painter, so we are limited in our ability to understand our Creator (Some Answered Questions 5). This does not deny the reality of mystical experience; rather, it asserts that however intensely an individual may experience Gods love, God is capable of loving that person even more intensely; so intensely that the frail human soul would be totally destroyed by the power of the love. It is in this sense that the Bahái writings strongly emphasize Gods transcendence.
This whole religion is a mystical or spiritual one. Based solely on a mystical point of view. I feel it's a early 1800's hippy movement. Throw in some flowers and Marijuana and you have a religious movement. Me, I'll just eat some chips and read my Bible and let these Muslims fight over the scraps.