Gilberto:
I've tried hard to follow the theology and it just isn't plausible. It
often seems like Bahai theology is a large exercise in having your
cake and eating too. Prophets are similar in some respects, and
different in other respects. I wouldn't call them "one". If you
believe all the prophets are one, and God's religion is one, then the
Bahai faith is redundant and Islam (in the sense of following the
Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad, saaws) is sufficient. Are you
willing to go along with that conclusion?
JS:Gilberto, I'd say that what you are saying is reasonable, but I come to a different conclusion.
First, these are my own views based on my limited knowledge, so take what I say, and have said, in that light. I agree with what you say, prophets are one on the one hand and are different on the other. To me, it means that both conditions are simultaneously true.
**(A)
What are prophets, really? Baha'u'llah says that the Prophets (Manifestations), "one and all" (Gleaning pg 47), have qualities that come from God, and are not from the Prophets' themselves:1. "Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose"
2. "From Him (God) proceed their (Prophets') knowledge and power"
3. "from Him (God) is derived their (Prophets') sovereignty"
4. "beauty of their (Prophets') countenance is but a reflection of His (God's) image"
5. "their (Prophets') revelation a sign of His (God's) deathless glory"They all have these qualities:
1. "They are the Treasuries of Divine knowledge"
2. "[They are] the Repositories of celestial wisdom"
3. "Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite"
4. "by them is revealed the Light that can never fade"
5. "reflect the light of unfading glory"In other words, "By the revelation of these Gems of Divine virtue (Prophets) all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty, and grace, are made manifest"
**(B)
Now, how are they the same? They are the same in that they all have these qualities mentioned above."These attributes of God are not, and have never been, vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets and withheld from others. Nay, all the Prophets of God, His well-favored, His holy and chosen Messengers are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of His attributes."
**(C)
So, how are they different?"They only differ in the intensity of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their light. Even as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others."
Don't misinterpret this to mean that the intensity difference of the prophets has to do with the fact that some Prophets were just endowed with more qualities. This is not so. Their difference has to do with what they EXPRESS. In other words, all the Prophets have the exact same qualities, but some choose to reveal more of it than the others. Why? It has to do with the condition and maturity of human beings. Like if I knew Calculus but taught first Grade, I would only teach addition and subtraction. If I taught 12th grade, I would teach calculus. So, someone could say that I as the first grade teacher did not know calculus because he only witnessed me teach simple number relationships all year.
"the light of some of these attributes may or may not be outwardly revealed from these luminous Temples to the eyes of men. That a certain attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that they who are the Day Springs of God's attributes and the Treasuries of His holy names did not actually possess it."
**(D)
I am sure you are going to ask, what does Baha'u'llah say that Muhammad did not, so I'll wait until you ask it to write something about it... but basically, because the people of Muhammad's time were not ready to hear everything that He could have said, He did not. The 1st grade teacher can say that the lessons for the year are complete and ended, and that they have acquired all the skills needed (to move on to 2nd grade). The content in the Kitab-i-Iqan, for example, is an example of interpretations that Muhammad did not reveal.
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