Dear Gilberto,
I admit that this argument is not waterproof and I could hear you say something like this while I was writing it.
However, there is NO independent religion which has a written Will and Testament of its Central Figure, the Manifestation of God, the One who is seen as speaking as the Mouthpiece of God, as the Messenger of God, as the Son of God, except for the Bahai religion. So your equation is not waterproof either.
Ultimately, I cannot waterproof prove to you what is a question of belief. if one cannot accept that the Religion of God is an ongoing thing, that humanity is like a child developing and is in need of guidance and that therefore the Book of Revelation is an ongoing process, then one cannot accept that and will always find arguments to disprove what is said. It is the same as talking to a person who believes in a God and oneself is an atheist, or vice versa.
There are far more adherents of Haifan Bahais than other groups that call themselves Bahai. The Bahai faith is growing, as I have understood it, though for a while in the west it was stagnating. But in other countries it has been growing, I have heard. But I am not that much interested in statistics, so I may be incorrect.
to me it is illogical that God sends down a succession of Manifestations, and then to stop at a certain place, saying: this is it. The Qur'an acknowledges Jesus and Abraham and Moses, but then it seems to say: well, Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets, so that is it. After the Qur'an no more holy scriptures, no more direct words from God. To me it does not make sense, unless the end of time is close by and humanity will be destroyed, but since that has not happened in about 1400-1500 years (Sunyears) I doubt that the end of humanity is near.
I find the Bahai teaching that Revelation is ongoing, that there is a spring, summer, autumn and winter time in each cycle of a chapter in the book of Revelation making much more sense. Especially since I see a marked difference in how humanity is today and what its requirements and needs are then how it was 1000 years ago or at the time Muhammad ennobled the earth with His footsteps. I also find it very plausible that the revelation of a Manifestation of God, the Words He/She utters which are directly from God, has an effect without people knowing it, realising it, beyond immediate contact with a Manifestation. In other words, that the words uttered have a vibration which affects the world on all kinds of levels, even levels we cannot see or are unaware of (yet).
much love,
janine van rooij
dublin, Ireland.
Gilberto Simpson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 07:17:26 -0800 (PST), louise mchenry
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> Yep.
> but they are not considered bahais. They call themselves Orthodox Bahais.
> Despite that they call themselves Bahai and see themselves as followers of
> Baha;u;llah, yet they have violated the covenant, because if you read what
> is written in the will and testaments you will see that we had the institute
> of the Guardian, but we had not the institute of the UHJ after Shoghi
> Effendi passed away, and that what followed was a logical consequence of the
> Will and Testaments of both Abdu'l-Baha and Baha'u'llah.
Yes. I've heard that before. I've heard Protestants who will say with
a straight face and without stuttering that Catholics are not
Christian. And I know of Wahibis who will say with a straight face and
wi! thout stuttering that there are no sects in Islam and that Shia, or
even traditional Sunni Muslims are not Muslim.
It isn't surprising to me anymore that people can look at the exact
same text and come up with two totally different interpretations. I've
looked more at Catholicism in the past few years to hear there side of
things and as someone who was raised Protestant it is interesting to
see how much of Catholic doctrine actually comes out of the Bible.
"Everyone" thinks their beliefs are obvious. "Just read the book and
you will see".
[2.113] And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow anything (good)
and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything (good) while
they recite the (same) Book. Even thus say those who have no
knowledge, like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on
the day of resurrection in what they differ.
Peace
"My people are hydroponic"
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