Dearest Ahang electronically the best site I have found for Christians is this site:
http://bci.org/prophecy-fulfilled/ntint.htm New Testament standards of interpretation by Joel Smith ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- How should the Christian teachings be interpreted? Should they be taken literally at face value or do they instead need to be explored for hidden, symbolic meanings? Which viewpoint did Jesus and the founding fathers want us to have? What examples of interpretation did Jesus provide us with? http://bci.org/prophecy-fulfilled/intrprt.htm http://bci.org/prophecy-fulfilled/leaven.htm I Am the Way by Joel Smith ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "I am the way... no one comes to the Father, but by me..." -Jesus in John 14:6 (RSV) Is Jesus the only way to get to heaven? Is Jesus the only way to get to God? This is what many Christians think. When Jesus said "I am the way... no one comes to the Father, but by me" what was he saying? Who was Jesus? What was his relationship with God? Was Jesus God? Or did Jesus speak the words of God? && by your own servant khazeh http://www.breacais.demon.co.uk/abs/bsr03_1/311_abdulbaha_christianity.htm 'Abdu'l-Bah� on Christ and Christianity(1) The text of an interview with Pasteur Monnier on the relationship between the Bah�'� Faith and Christianity, Paris, 17th February, 1913. http://www.planetbahai.org/resources/writings/remostholytableta.html This Tablet is also known as "The Tablet to the Christians" This is the Most Holy Tablet sent down from the holy kingdom unto the one who hath set his face towards the Object of the adoration of the world, He Who hath come from the heaven of eternity, invested with transcendent glory. In the name of the Lord, the Lord of great glory. This is an Epistle from Our presence unto him whom the veils of names have failed to keep back from God, the Creator of earth and heaven, that his eyes may be cheered in the days of his Lord, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. http://www.geocities.com/~quddus/faq.html FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for Seekers with a Christian Background Jesus is enough for me. Why should I be interested in the Baha'i Faith? Are you saying that I'm going to Hell if I don't become a Baha'i? If the Baha'i Faith is so right, why don't the preachers believe it and tell us so? Do you believe in the Bible? But do you follow the Bible? If you know the Bible is God's Word and you claim that Baha'u'llah is God's Messenger, then how can They say different things? Are you saying that God changed His mind? Don't you believe that the Bible is the Only Word of God? So what part of the Bible do you use? How about the moral concepts given in the Bible? But the Bible is so beautiful, so meaningful, such an intrinsic part of my life, how can I consider giving it up? Are you suggesting I give up Jesus? The Baha'i Faith sounds Buddhist to me. (or Jewish or Muslim, etc.) Are you sure it isn't a sect of Buddhism? (or Judaism or Islam) Question Jesus is enough for me. Why should I be interested in the Baha'i Faith? Answer Jesus is enough for me, too. That's why I am a Baha'i. If you love Jesus, then you probably want to try to do what He told you to do. Watch. Pray. Be ready for His Return. You owe it to yourself and to Him to determine for yourself whether He has kept His promise. Of course, I realize some people ask that question as a way of really saying they are comfortable in their church and they don't want to rock the boat. That's perfectly understandable. It would have been understandable if Peter had glanced up from his nets and responded to Jesus, "No thanks, I prefer to stay with my brother and father, just fishing for fish." Question If you know the Bible is God's Word and you claim that Baha'u'llah is God's Messenger, then how can They say different things? Are you saying that God changed His mind? Answer Not at all. God doesn't change. He created humanity to grow and develop, and as a loving Father, He has guided us through all the Ages. You wouldn't give your car keys to your six-year-old son, but you might when he reaches sixteen, if you decide he has sufficiently grown, matured and learned enough to drive the car. God's social laws are intended to guide us through the age we live in and will continue to change as we grow, mature and learn. God doesn't change, but He knows we do, both as individuals and as a civilization, and He changes His laws to fit the times and our degree of maturity. The message God gave us through Moses differed greatly from the simple message He gave through Adam. The message He gave us through Christ "fulfilled" the Law that He gave through Moses. The Bible reports at least four successive Covenants that God made with humanity, each establishing its own laws intended for the age and peoples to whom it is given. Each required us to anticipate the advent of another Covenant, through another Messenger. Back to Top ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Question Don't you believe that the Bible is the Only Word of God? Answer I guess it would make life a lot easier, but there's nothing in the Bible to indicate that we should hold such a belief. In fact, the Bible is quite clear in saying the opposite. The Bible itself was written over many centuries, constitutes 66 individual books by dozens of different writers, and would likely have continued to grow indefinitely had the Church not chosen to put a cap on it in the Fourth Century after Christ. Confusion arose when the Church leaders placed the Revelation According to St. John at the end of the collection. John had ended the Apocalypse with a curse on any man who adds to or takes away from his book. Since all 66 books are published between two covers in one volume, many Christians too easily fall prey to the claim that John's curse referred to the whole Bible and, therefore, there can be no other Word of God. If that were so, then the Bishops of the Church that canonised the Bible would have been the first cursed because they discarded a number of texts that probably were around when John wrote his book, and added some that John might never have seen. Also, many Christians tend to overlook the fact that John provided the curse for "any man," not for God Himself. Some people use for their evidence the Word of God found in Deuteronomy 4:2. There, God tells us not to add to or take away from His commandments. Some Christians seem to think that God Himself is forbidden from saying more. If that were so, then we would have nothing beyond the Pentateuch, the Books of Moses. Certainly, there would be no New Testament. I wouldn't presume to tell God that He's not allowed to reveal Himself, and I don't think either John or God Himself intended to, either. Baha'is believe God did reveal Himself through Baha'u'llah. Not a word of either the Book of Revelation or the entire Bible, has been altered, added or deleted by either God or man (at least not through the Baha'i Faith). Instead, God has increased His bountiful guidance to humanity in many volumes of Baha'i Scripture, including establishing an entirely new Covenant with all of humanity. Baha'is, in keeping with that Covenant, have worked diligently for more than a century and a half to make that bounty available to everyone. Ahang you are very lucky to have this great opportunity Indeed thou didst grasp the significance of rendering assistance unto God and didst arise to achieve this through the power of wisdom and utterance. Say: To assist Me is to teach My Cause. This is a theme with which whole Tablets are laden. This is the changeless commandment of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Comprehend this, O ye men of insight. (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Page: 196) http://bci.org/fvbahai/teaching.htm#christian http://home.houston.rr.com/matthewlevine/bahai_flash.swf Flash animation to interest Christians in studying the Bah�'� Faith. This is downloadable as well, and may be used for teaching purposes. http://www.connect.net/georgen/Bible.htm Bah�'� Biblical Reference, by George Norwood http://www.bahaindex.com/documents/1844.html a brilliant essay Christ's Promises Fulfilled Christian Expectations >From around 1800 on through the 1850's there arose the strongest possible conviction among many throughout the Christian world that they were living in the "end times" prophesied in the Bible. They were right. Theologians, scholars, preachers and congregants of virtually every denomination began to assert that the prophecies of the Scriptures were rapidly approaching their awesome culmination and that the long-awaited Second Advent of Jesus Christ was drawing near. Robert Gale, in his book,The Urgent Voice writes, "Like a tidal wave the movement swept over the land. From city to city, from village to village, and into remote country places it went..." Leroy Froom, a Christian scholar and author of one of the most extensive works on the Advent Awakening of the l9th century wrote:"...beginning about 1810, just after the French Revolution...a simultaneous study of the 2300 years [of Dan. 8:14] and the impending judgment hour broke out in the various countries of Christendom. On both sides of the Atlantic, and in different lands, men were led independently to similar conclusions. Not one or two voices, but a swelling chorus proclaimed the approaching terminus of the 2300 years as the message of prophecy for the hour." Another Christian, Joseph A. Sweiss, wrote back in the early 1800's "We may be pretty confident that we shall reach the consummation before the end of this century." Still another, the Rev. Dr. A.J.Gorden affirmed to an audience at a conference convened for the discussion of prophecy that "the terminal periods mentioned in Scripture "are running out under our own eyes." Hundreds of authors proclaimed the same hope. These students of prophecy all affirmed that according to well-established methods of biblical interpretation, a chronology of events was evident in the prophecies of Scripture, a chronology that pointed to the mid-nineteenth century as the probable time of fulfillment. A good many of them pinpointed the year 1844 as the year of Christ's return. And they were right ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ahang Rabbani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 06 August 2003 11:52 Subject: Pamphlet for Christians > > I'm overseas and have ran into a situation where I need a pamphlet suitable > for devout Christians. If you happen to have something electronically that > you could email me in the next day, that would be super good. > > Also, I want to share a copy of Baha'u'llah's Lawh-i Aqdas with this new > seeker. Does anyone have a good intro that I could pass along with it? > > Thanks in advance, > ahang. ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
