elijah115 said:
Four questions
1. Did Bahu Allah (sorry if its pelt wrong) make any prophecies that came through?
2. Was He prophecied by prophets before him?
3. Was his message for the whole world? Thus conveyed to the rest of the world in most of all languages?
4. Who witnessed his revelations? Did his witnesses write about him, or was his divine calling supported miracles?
Questions I don't know the answers to at the moment so not rhetorical. If you can answer those 4 questions and or PM the link to your response that would be cool.
I hope skeptical doesn't mind if I join in ya'lls fun. I've had some great interest in the Baha'I faith for a while now, so I'm tagging along to hear skeptical's words. I do know some stuff though.
1: Not that I know of
2: In Abdul'Baha's book,
Some Answered Questions, (which I've read 4 times now) he refers to some of the verses and "prophesies" in Daniel. Especially to the ones that talk of the "clouds being dispersed, and a new temple coming out of heaven, etc." Abdul'Baha says that this is metaphorical, the clouds referring to the "divines" or religious leaders of the era that have so totally corrupted God's religion that he sends down a new Messenger to reinstate the light.
I've done the math he purports myself, and have found it to be true. But if you take the prohpesies talking about the number of days, years, etc, talking about the temple things, and start at the correct date that Cyrus or whoever proclaimed the edict; add up all the dates, and it ends up being the number 1844.
An interesting fact is that around 1844, several Christian and Muslim leaders were claiming that their prospective "Messianic" figures would return to earth. In fact, the whole world seemed to collectively anticipate this event. The date 1844 is also the declaration of the Bab's station of Messenger at (Mecca?).
An interesting thing I read is that several Muslims (Imam's?) in Iran all collectively felt the compulsion to seek out Allah's "promised one;" I forget the name of "him."
They all scattered around Iran, and they all eventually converged on the Bab, who became known for his incredible wisdom in debating religious topics with the "divines," (remember Jesus?) his charity, peacefullness, and in something I read, his ability to produce scripture that rivaled the literary mastery of the Qu'ran.
When the Iranian authorities apprehended the Bab, they set his execution. At the scene, the Bab and a young follower were suspended on a wall by ropes. 200? riflemen then fired on the Bab and his follower. After the smoke cleared, the Bab was gone, his ropes cut, and the young man standing there visibly shaken. The Bab was found dictating his last words to his secretary, telling his captors that they could not kill him untill God decreed his fate. After he finished, they took him back and shot both of them to death.
NOW, if you accept that the Bab was indeed a Messenger, then you will accept Baha'u'llah, because the Bab spoke of an even greater Messenger than himself that would arise. "He whom God shall make manifest," was Baha'u'llah. Also, prior to meeting Baha'u'llah (I think), the Bab told his followers to specifically seek out Baha'u'llah.
3: From what I understand Baha'u'llah SPECIFICALLY spoke of his message as for all mankind. He is quoted as saying, "the Earth is but one country and man-kind its citizens."
4: The Bab and Baha'u'llah had numerous scribes to transcribe their messages when their states of rapture would overtake them. Baha'u'llah HIMSELF wrote some of the Baha'I religious texts, such as the Kitab-al Iqan.
There are many traditional stories of miracles attributed to Baha'u'llah; but his son warned against even considering "miracles," in the attempt to validify the truth in a Manifestation of God.
Abdul'Baha expressed the rediculousness of using miracles as a proof for a religions validity. Because the unbelievers will say they are lies, and why should they believe these over the supposed miracles of other religions? The proof of miracles only work for someone within the religion, not from outside.
Did I do well?
I'm here to learn as well.
I enjoy reading Abdul'Baha's work. That and talking to the Baha'I's from KC.
EDIT: Something else I found facinating when reading about Baha'u'llah was that when people who had never met him, his enemies, and anyone for that matter, came across him, they could not speak. People speak of their meeting Baha'u'llah as incredible, they become dumbfounded in his presense, they look upon him and compare him to a King; with an aura of such commanding presence and wisdom that the most powerfull rulers of the world would be envious of him. Yet he in no way shape or form lorded it over others.
as in needing Alka-Seltzer
I asked a question in the OP of this thread, on April 22nd. Let's try again:
