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