ANSWERS: 3
  • Followers of the Baha’i religion have an exalted view of God, so much so they deem God unknowable. They believe God is not so much without gender as beyond gender. He is neither male nor female. God, according to the Baha’i, is exalted above all human attributes. Anyone who professes real knowledge of God has simply succumbed to their own imagination. For the Baha’i, the essence of God cannot even be hinted at, and comprehension of God is unattainable. In the teachings of the Baha’i, the only way to know God is through the Manifestations of God. These Manifestations of God exhibit God’s character and attributes, acting as his messengers. Since God is unknowable, the Manifestations of God represent God’s divine presence, and transmit grace and heavenly knowledge to mankind. The Manifestations of God were individuals who lived amongst men. The Baha’i do not believe they were incarnations, rather that they were theophanies -- a visible manifestation -- reflecting the glory of God. These individuals were the only means man had to approach God. While there is no definitive list of individuals who were considered Manifestations of God, these personalities included Adam, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster -- the founder of the religion Zoroastrianism which was accepted by the Baha’is as one of the nine known religions -- Krishna, The Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, The Bab, and Baha’u’llah. Each of the Manifestations was unique in the way they exuded deity; their message and methods were individual. Some styled themselves as prophets, while others claimed to be the very voice of God. Nevertheless, each was considered to be the bringer of divine revelation, unity, peace, and certainty to diverse groups of people. They brought all to the same faith. Ultimately, it is believed, other Manifestations will arise though none will overshadow Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i faith. Baha’i Religion – God and Jesus The teachings of the Baha’i embraced the idea of a creator. The composition of the universe suggested design; they did not feel things developed by accident. Even the makeup of human character and personality including intelligence and volition was the indication of the work of some Greater Power than chance. The Baha’i writings included some extremely lofty names for God: Almighty, All-Knowing, Cause of All Causes, Inspirer, Fountainhead of All Revelations, Wellspring of All Lights. The Baha’is have listed Jesus Christ as one of the mere Manifestations of God, among many others. They have not understood that Jesus Christ was indeed God Incarnate, God in human flesh. Jesus Christ came so that we could know God, the gap between human and divine was bridged by the shedding of Jesus’ blood. 1 John 5:20 says, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we are in God because we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.” I took this from http://www.allaboutreligion.org/bahai-religion-faq.htm
  • It's long, so bear with me. There's a summary at the end. --- Founded a century and a half ago, the Bahá’í Faith is today among the fastest-growing of the world’s religions. With more than five million followers, who reside in virtually every nation on earth, it is the second-most widespread faith, surpassing every religion but Christianity in its geographic reach. Bahá’ís reside in more than 100,000 localities around the world, an expansion that reflects their dedication to the ideal of world citizenship. The Bahá’í Faith’s global scope is mirrored in the composition of its membership. Representing a cross section of humanity, Bahá’ís come from virtually every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic class. More than 2,100 different ethnic and tribal groups are represented. Since it also forms a single community, free of schism or factions, the Bahá’í Faith comprises what is very likely the most diverse and widespread organized body of people on earth. People of virtually every background, in every nation, have become Bahá’ís. Shown here is a gathering of Bahá’ís from the Cochabamba region in Bolivia. Many are members of the Aymara and Quechua indigenous groups. The Faith’s Founder was Bahá’u’lláh, a Persian nobleman from Tehran who, in the mid-nineteenth century, left a life of princely comfort and security and, in the face of intense persecution and deprivation, brought to humanity a stirring new message of peace and unity. Bahá’u’lláh claimed to be nothing less than a new and independent Messenger from God. His life, work, and influence parallel that of Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad. Bahá’ís view Bahá’u’lláh as the most recent in this succession of divine Messengers. The essential message of Bahá’u’lláh is that of unity. He taught that there is only one God, that there is only one human race, and that all the world’s religions represent stages in the revelation of God’s will and purpose for humanity. In this day, Bahá’u’lláh said, humanity has collectively come of age. As foretold in all of the world’s scriptures, the time has arrived for the uniting of all peoples into a peaceful and integrated global society. “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens,” He wrote. The youngest of the world’s independent religions, the Faith founded by Bahá’u’lláh stands out from other religions in a number of ways. It has a unique system of global administration, with freely elected governing councils in nearly 10,000 localities. It takes a distinctive approach to contemporary social problems. The Faith’s scriptures and the multifarious activities of its membership address virtually every important trend in the world today, from new thinking about cultural diversity and environmental conservation to the decentralization of decision making; from a renewed commitment to family life and moral values to the call for social and economic justice in a world that is rapidly becoming a global neighborhood. The Faith’s most distinctive accomplishment by far, however, is its unity. Unlike every other religion — not to mention most social and political movements — the Bahá’í community has successfully resisted the perennial impulse to divide into sects and subgroups. It has maintained its unity despite a history as turbulent as that of any religion of antiquity. In the years since Bahá’u’lláh lived, the process of global unification for which He called has become well-advanced. Through historical processes, the traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation have steadily broken down. The forces at work, Bahá’u’lláh predicted, will eventually give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and assist in the creation of this new world. For a global society to flourish, Bahá’u’lláh said, it must be based on certain fundamental principles. They include the elimination of all forms of prejudice; full equality between the sexes; recognition of the essential oneness of the world’s great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; universal education; the harmony of science and religion; a sustainable balance between nature and technology; and the establishment of a world federal system, based on collective security and the oneness of humanity. Bahá’ís around the world express their commitment to these principles chiefly through individual and community transformation, including the large number of small-scale, grassroots-based social and economic development projects that Bahá’í communities have launched in recent years. In building a unified network of local, national, and international governing councils, Bahá’u’lláh’s followers have created a far-flung and diverse worldwide community — marked by a distinctive pattern of life and activity — which offers an encouraging model of cooperation, harmony, and social action. In a world so divided in its loyalties, this is in itself a singular achievement. --- This was taken directly from http://www.bahai.org/faq/facts/bahai_faith so I don't deserve credit for it. Summary: Essentially Baha'is believe that all the previous Manifestations of God (AKA prophets, which include Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Moses, Zoroaster, Abraham, Krishna, Buddha) are from the same God, and that there is only one God. The fundamental point is to unify the world, so we cease to have prejudices against each other and instead become World Citizens, where there isn't any need for war or hatred. For computer users, bear with me. It's like, pretend there's a program called "religion.exe" (or .tar, for unix users). Baha'is believe that there are many different versions of religion in use, and that the current one most suited to our needs is religion v2.0. It's unfortunate that many people haven't been informed that there's been an upgrade. And sometimes, you get fanboys who stick so a certain version, say v1.5, and won't change no matter the reasoning. But in the end, Baha'is believe that all the program versions were complied by the same developer. It's not that He programmed and then fixed His mistakes, but rather that He released the different versions as appropriate for the different computer architectures we had. So something optimised for a Pentium II really wouldn't be suited to the here and now. And that was my attempt at a summary. For more info, go to the Wikipedia page, or http://www.bahai.org. I guarantee it'll be more eloquent than this thing I wrote up here.
  • Answer: First, investigate reality. Man must leave imitation and seek reality. The contemporaneous religious beliefs differ because of their allegiance to dogma. It is necessary, therefore, to abandon imitations and seek their fundamental reality. Second, the oneness of humanity. All human creatures are the servants of God. All are submerged in the sea of His mercy. The Creator of all is one God; the Provider, the Giver, the Protector of all is one God. He is kind to all; why should we be unkind? All live beneath the shadow of His love; why should we hate each other? There are certain people who are ignorant; they must be educated. Some are like children; they must be trained and educated until they reach maturity. Others are sickly, intellectually ill, spiritually ill; they must be treated and healed. But all are the servants of God.  170  Third, religion must be conducive to love of all, the cause of fellowship, unity and light. If it be the cause of enmity, bloodshed and hatred, its nonbeing is better than its being, its nonexistence better than its existence. Religion and science conform and agree. If a question of religion violates reason and does not agree with science, it is imagination and not worthy of credence. Fourth, equality between men and women. In all degrees they are equal. The readjustment of the economic laws for the livelihood of man must be effected in order that all humanity may live in the greatest happiness according to their respective degrees. Fifth, spiritual brotherhood. All mankind must attain to spiritual fraternity -- that is to say, fraternity in the Holy Spirit -- for patriotic, racial and political fraternity are of no avail. Their results are meager; but divine fraternity, spiritual fraternity, is the cause of unity and amity among mankind. As heretofore material civilization has been extended, the divine civilization must now be promulgated. Until the two agree, real happiness among mankind will be unknown. By mere intellectual development and power of reason, man cannot attain to his fullest degree -- that is to say, by means of intellect alone he cannot accomplish the progress effected by religion. For the philosophers of the past strove in vain to revivify the world of mankind through the intellectual faculty. The most of which they were capable was educating themselves and a limited number of disciples; they themselves have confessed failure. Therefore, the world of humanity must be confirmed by the breath of the Holy Spirit in order to receive universal education. Through the infusion of divine power all nations and peoples become quickened, and universal happiness is possible. (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 169)

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