The Bahai Faith

I'm just curious if anyone here practices the Bahai faith? It seems like a really beautiful religion and I am currently doing research into it, and would just like to know if anyone here practices it. From the official website, these are the core Bahai beliefs:

Among the principles which the Bahá'í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal are

the abandonment of all forms of prejudice
assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men
recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth
the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth
the realization of universal education
the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations
recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge

I doubt the "mission" will ever be fulfilled....there are too many fundamentalist extremist in every religion to ever achieve "world peace".....but the beliefs are really beautiful, and if you read some of the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, some of it seems as if it were written/inspired by Jesus Himself....
14. O SON OF MAN!
Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished, why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory.
15. O SON OF UTTERANCE!
Turn thy face unto Mine and renounce all save Me; for My sovereignty endureth and My dominion perisheth not. If thou seekest another than Me, yea, if thou searchest the universe for evermore, thy quest will be in vain.
16. O SON OF LIGHT!
Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.

Those are from Bahaullahs book "The hidden words".

what do you think?

reply to post by Iason321


I think the Baha'i Faith is a mish-mash of other religions and concepts and lacks the the moral fortitude to agree on what is right and what is wrong. It only determines its moral compass in purely human terms, which if there is a supreme God, is missing the most significant party.

It is designed to be entirely pleasing to us because it denies any sort of spiritual responsibility or duty to a real and absolute God.

It is a flimsy sham of a faith designed for the shallow and gullible.

... bet that will case some ruckus!

During my spiritual investigative days, I was drawn to the Faith as a possible life path. I personally no longer feel this way, but I do not believe it's worthless...personal opinion.

Originally posted by chr0naut
reply to post by Iason321

 

I think the Baha'i Faith is a mish-mash of other religions and concepts and lacks the the moral fortitude to agree on what is right and what is wrong. It only determines its moral compass in purely human terms, which if there is a supreme God, is missing the most significant party.

It is designed to be entirely pleasing to humans because it denies any sort of spiritual responsibility or duty to a real and absolute God.

It is a flimsy sham of a faith designed for the shallow.

Bet that will case some ruckus!

edit on 20/1/2012 by chr0naut because: (no reason given)

In a poetic passage, Bahá'u'lláh described the actions of the moral individual and urged His followers to live accordingly:

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.2

Bahá'u'lláh, like Abraham, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad and the other Divine Messengers who preceded Him, sought to awaken the moral and creative capacities latent in human nature.

Do those writings strike you as being written by someone with a "flimshy sham of faith for the shallow No spiritual duty to a one and absolute God? Bahais believe in a mission to serve God...... how can you bash there whole religion when you know nothing of it?

reply to post by Iason321


I'm supposed to be impressed because Bah-humbug repeated what every other religious leader from Zoroaster to Jesus has said previously?

Nah, sorry.

Which Faith do you subscribe to chrono? Just curious.... I am on a sort of spiritual quest right now. I come from a Catholic background and still a self described Catholic-Christian...... but I have irreconcibale differences with certain Catholic / Christian dogma therefore I am researching different spiritual paths....

Bahai
The religion of the new world order
Happily bringing you the Maitreya
www.youtube.com...
Worth a few minutes of research.

This is even better
www.youtube.com...
and while it all sounds good and noble this Bahai teaching, humanity are not good and noble. Its a set up to control similar to scientology

reply to post by Iason321

2 Timothy 4:3-4:
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Baba-Ganoush specifically cites Jesus (among others), implying that he is in the tradition of Jesus but is ignorant of the fact that he is explicitly spoken against!

I'm sure Muslims have the same to say too, as Mohammed was supposed to be the final prophet. Who then is this Boo-Boo in the scheme of things?

The only answer is that Boom-Shankar is a spiritual fraud who has cherry-picked the things he likes from other faiths and presented it as if it was coherent, complete and a new revelation of truth.

Originally posted by borntowatch
Bahai
The religion of the new world order
Happily bringing you the Maitreya
www.youtube.com...
Worth a few minutes of research.

Well thank you. Tonight was really my first time seriously looking into Bahai, I have glanced over it before but never really delved into it. I am glad I now have perspective from both the positive and negative views of the faith. Some peoples comments on that youtube video were pretty disturbing too. Oh well. I am so sick of labeling myself any faith. My beliefs expand through all faiths, I enjoy and believe deep down in different aspects of all major religions I suppose. I guess im like a Non denominational Christian mutt. Haha. I just cannot bring myself to subscribe to any set of Christian beliefs, I see positive aspects and negative flaws in every denomination.

I have attended and researched the views of Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Pentecostals, even been to a couple LDS services.....I think in the end the message is always the same - Love God, love people, the golden rule, yada yada yada Oh well....maybe the Christian fundies are right and were all gonna burn in hell, lol. Or maybe the Muslims are right and all us followers of Christ will burn. Or maybe the atheists are right and were all delusional and destined for an eternal dirtnap.

Damnit, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.....

Originally posted by chr0naut
reply to post by Iason321

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Baba-Ganoush specifically cites Jesus (among others), implying that he is in the tradition of Jesus but is ignorant of the fact that he is explicitly spoken against!

I'm sure Muslims have the same to say too, as Mohammed was supposed to be the final prophet. Who then is this Boo-Boo in the scheme of things?

The only answer is that Boom-Shankar is a spiritual fraud who has cherry-picked the things he likes from other faiths and presented it as if it was coherent, complete and a new revelation of truth.

edit on 20/1/2012 by chr0naut because: (no reason given)

I just have to say, i am right now lmao at the names you came up with. "baba-ganoush, booboo, Boom Shankar". hahahahhahaha. That post made my night. And that verse you posted was beautiful. See, I know Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I just dont agree with Catholic and fundie beliefs that everybody is condemned to hell and you need a priest to forgive you , etc etc. I dont wanna go on and on about all the different problems I have with Catholicism and mainstream Christian belief in general, cus that would be a whole new thread!

Originally posted by Iason321
Which Faith do you subscribe to chrono? Just curious.... I am on a sort of spiritual quest right now. I come from a Catholic background and still a self described Catholic-Christian...... but I have irreconcibale differences with certain Catholic / Christian dogma therefore I am researching different spiritual paths....

I personally would classify myself as a fairly radical Christian. Perhaps with leanings towards Kabbalah as a mystical understanding and Pentecostalism as an expression of my search/praise, but not in regards to where they disagree with observed reality (mine) and with established Christian doctrine.

I also see that much in the Bible hints at things that are only conceivable at this late stage of history, concepts like a hive-mind of humanity and artificial intelligences and advanced Physics concepts. (Strange how bronze-age shepherds keep coming up with concepts that don't actually become common memes until millennia later. )

Anyway, my path is not your path. That much I know. It's just cool that we can walk alongside each other for a moment.

Originally posted by Iason321

Originally posted by borntowatch
Bahai
The religion of the new world order
Happily bringing you the Maitreya
www.youtube.com...
Worth a few minutes of research.

Well thank you. Tonight was really my first time seriously looking into Bahai, I have glanced over it before but never really delved into it. I am glad I now have perspective from both the positive and negative views of the faith. Some peoples comments on that youtube video were pretty disturbing too. Oh well. I am so sick of labeling myself any faith. My beliefs expand through all faiths, I enjoy and believe deep down in different aspects of all major religions I suppose. I guess im like a Non denominational Christian mutt. Haha. I just cannot bring myself to subscribe to any set of Christian beliefs, I see positive aspects and negative flaws in every denomination.

I have attended and researched the views of Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Pentecostals, even been to a couple LDS services.....I think in the end the message is always the same - Love God, love people, the golden rule, yada yada yada

Oh well....maybe the Christian fundies are right and were all gonna burn in hell, lol. Or maybe the Muslims are right and all us followers of Christ will burn. Or maybe the atheists are right and were all delusional and destined for an eternal dirtnap.

Damnit, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.....

Well being a fundy of sorts...
All a true Christian has to do is start by accepting Jesus died on the cross to forgive their sins. Not much more to it.
From there just find a church that teaches the bible. King James Version of the bible is the best.
I have attended AOG church, Baptist church, Church Of Christ, and Presbyterian over the past 20 years personally and can vouch for most of those denominations.
I have nothing against any of those denominations. I have moved houses a few times so have moved churches.
The important factor is teaching from the bible only.
Mormons have their own bible as do the Jehovah witnesses, as for Catholics? Who knows how they work out what they believe.
Bahai sounds a lot like scientology

as for being a religionist,(i think i made this word up because i study alot of different religions!) i find this one real cool.love of man and earth. basically respect the creator and yourself,and respect for everything else will follow.
love is all,and all is love - if you learn how to love!
i know a few people of this belief,but like mainstream beliefs,they don't seem to practice,or have that much of an interest. kinda sad for it is a beatifull belief. ba'hai is arabic for glory,no?
many teachers(jesus,buddah,mohammad,etc...)many lessons,one outcome - love & peace!
nice post. perhaps you should look into Zoraster. he was also a persian teacher
peace & respect

reply to post by Iason321


I have been an active member of the Baha'i community for over forty years. The goals, as you say, are for the next thousand years. Noticable progress is already being made on them in the Baha'i community, but every person starts at a different place and no one has the right to judge another.

As far as Baha'i being a collections of parts of other religions, that may just appear so on the surface. Many principles and teachings appear in similar forms in most divinely revealed religions. Why should they not also appear in Baha'i? All divinely revealed relgions are inspired by the same source.

What continues to amaze me the most is that nothing is contradictory, nothing does not make sense. I may not understand something at first, but prayer, meditation and more study have helped me understand. Some things can only be understood when they are practiced. The decision making process of consultation, for instance, cannot be understood until experienced. Then it is awesome.

It is that process which enables Baha'is of wildly divergent backgrounds to work together, find common workable solutions to the process they face. It is awesome.

Baha'is don't teach anything they don't practice. There is no preaching, and we are forbidden to accept money from anyone outside the Baha'i community unless it is used for humanitarian purposes. How many other religions refuse money???

I think it is worth investigating.

I have participated in Baha'i community events and activities not only in my hometown, home state, other parts of the country and several other countries. There are differences, of course, but the consistancy of character devotion and motivation is surprising. There is something new on the planet.

I looked into the Baha'i faith almost 20 yrs ago and was enamored by it at first... i even went as far as to declare my faith but, I came from a lifestyle that was radically different..i did drugs, i smoked like a fish and drank like a chimney... fought in pubs and was mixed up in various other things i cant mention in public ... or ever... and this juxt opposed attitude to life made it impossible for me to stay without bringing the faith into some disrepute, so in good faith i left if only to honour the people i met and respect their religious/spiritual and life values.

I found the Baha'i's a beautiful people especially the Persian families living in and around Birmingham UK.. their patience and deep natural spiritual wisdom and honesty was/is something very refreshing ( if you get the chance to go to a Naw Ruz celebration please go..persian food is absalutely amazing ) but a few things confused me...

Im lead to believe that they accept the virgin birth of Jesus... of this though im still unsure.

They preach equality of men and women yet the inner council ( the Universal House of Justice ) of the faith forbids any woman to be accepted within and the reasons they give i don't understand...

A few others come to mind but these are personal so i'm going to keep those to myself for the time being..

I personally found it an inspiring religion but personal experiences with other faiths has made me staunchly anti religionist...having said that if you are of that mind set its well worth investigating this new faith that seems for the most part based on common sense and a belief that humankind can indeed better itself...

So to the person looking all i can say is take your time..ask questions and keep your mind open in the full knowledge that you keep an open and honest dialog with the creator you'll find your way home eventually

Originally posted by Iason321
Which Faith do you subscribe to chrono? Just curious.... I am on a sort of spiritual quest right now. I come from a Catholic background and still a self described Catholic-Christian...... but I have irreconcibale differences with certain Catholic / Christian dogma therefore I am researching different spiritual paths....

There is no path.
God is at hand.
Seeking is separation from God.
Understanding that you are always Seeking is Truth or Reality.

All dogma is false.

I went to a Bahai meeting and the Leader there was
able to raise the energy level of the room. He claimed to be
in contact with the Bahullah on the spiritual plane , they seemed
like nice people with nice ideas. Presumably the Bahullah was
an Enlightened Guru.
A living SAT Guru can open your chakras and raise your level of
consciousness to some degree if you can find one.

This explains spirituality.

I dono but if bahai' is true( which means Islam is true,Bahai' is something like a continuation of Islam,correct me if I am wrong) ,why would Prophet Muhammad said that there are no prophets or apostles after him??? And that the Qur'an will remain uncorrupted??? I mean if G-d really wants to introduce a new religion ,Prophet Muhammad wouldn't say there are no prophets or apostles after him right??Btw,whatd oes Bahai' says about things prohibited in Islam for example drawing animate figures??

Originally posted by chr0naut
reply to post by Iason321

 

I think the Baha'i Faith is a mish-mash of other religions and concepts and lacks the the moral fortitude to agree on what is right and what is wrong. It only determines its moral compass in purely human terms, which if there is a supreme God, is missing the most significant party.

It is designed to be entirely pleasing to us because it denies any sort of spiritual responsibility or duty to a real and absolute God.

It is a flimsy sham of a faith designed for the shallow and gullible.

The same can be said of Christianity.

Q: Do Baha'is believe in Satan? A: No, Baha'is do not believe in the existence of any Being who is the embodiment of evil, or in evil as an independent force. In the Baha'i Writings, the terms "Satan" and "satanic" are used metaphorically to refer to the lower, base, selfish side of human beings, in contrast to their higher, virtuous, selfless side. Thus, the capacity for good or evil originates in man himself.

This is my main issue with the Baha's faith, if you have an enemy who's sole goal is to kill you spiritually, and you do not acknowledge that enemy, you are doomed to failure.

I read some "Bah-Humbug" literature once, and was struck at how simple-minded it seemed.

Whatever.

I recall that Jesus said that if we were told later that He is in the upper rooms, don't believe it, and if He was in the desert, don't go there. "Bah-Humbug" has nothing to add or improve or edify, except perhaps, to hold a mirror up to us so that we can see what is lacking (like love, etc) in our own religious practices.