I think you misunderstood. I had suggested that 'Abdu'l-Baha's *station* might be at least as great as those of the lesser prophets, but I never suggested He had that role.
I was referring to what Mark wrote.
I guess it's difficult to understand how 'Abdu'l-Baha couldn't be > a Manifestation.
Well, by the Shi'ite definition of Manifestation which applied to Imams as well as Prophets He might well have been. But gradually the term came to be applied only to those 'endowed with constancy' who revealed a Book. A Book implies something more than merely revealing verses, it implies revealing new Laws.
Well I suppose it was necessary that the definition be changed by the time of 'Abdu'l-Baha, otherwise things could get problematic. In the passage of WOB I quoted earlier today, Shoghi Effendi, in explaining why 'Abdu'l-Baha is not a Prophet, refers to His not possessing a certain reality. Revealing a Book isn't mentioned.
That's probably more a function of who was looking at these Figures. Aside from E.G. Browne we have only Persian accounts of meeting Baha'u'llah whereas American Baha'is came to see Abdu'l-Baha. A Persian is likely to avert their eyes in the presence of someone of much greater stature than themselves. Americans don't do that.
I was, however, reading about people who admitted to having difficulty being able to look at Baha'u'llah's face, and power was mentioned. Hence, it sounded like more than just custom.
Regards,
David
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