Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cmu-cs-spice.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!cmu-cs-spice!rta From: rta@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA (Robert Aarhus) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: God and His Manifestations - Progressive Revelation Message-ID: <218@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA> Date: Sat, 5-Jan-85 14:14:53 EST Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-s.218 Posted: Sat Jan 5 14:14:53 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jan-85 03:03:12 EST Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 55 >From : rta@cmu-cs-spice (Bob Aarhus @ Carnegie-Mellon University CS) One of the principle foundations of the Baha'i religion is that the world's current major religions are merely successive updates of the same religion. The prophets of these religions - Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad - were all Manifestations of God. Each of them tailored their preachings according to what the peoples of their lifetimes needed to hear from God. In the words of Baha'u'llah, each of these manifestations was... "uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith." (Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 154) However, on closer inspection, this supposed unity behind religions begins to break down. Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad all preached of one God. Krishna taught of many Gods; Buddha taught no God. Such a fundamental difference in beliefs makes this principle questionable at best. For a case in point, consider the preachings of Jesus. Many people, Christains and Non-Christians alike, do not deny that Jesus made claims that he was Divine... "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." (John 14 : 6, NIV) "I and the Father are one." (John 10 : 30, NIV) "'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I AM!'" (John 8 : 58, NIV) [The last quote shows Jesus using the name of God given to Moses to tell the Israelites -- "This is what you are to say to the Israelites : I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3 : 14)] Now, we can take this one of two ways : either Jesus is or he isn't who he says he is. If he is, then all his teachings are true, and the Baha'i faith crumbles to dust. If he isn't, he is at best a madman, at worst a liar -- in either case certainly not a Manifestation of God, as per Baha'u'llah. Therefore, for the Baha'i to say "We have a religion that takes some of its ideas from other religions of the world" makes the Baha'i faith worthy of further investigation; however, to say "We have a religion that all other religions attest to and is derived from" shows much wishful thinking on the part of Baha'u'llah, and casts doubt on his own claim of infallibility. Bob Aarhus, CMU Computer Science, Spice Project ARPA : rta@cmu-cs-x.arpa UUCP : seismo!cmu-cs-x!rta