Absolute Truth

[TheLightWithin]

That statement by RJM was not correct.

Hinduism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼí_Faith_and_Hinduism

Buddhism:

Buddha - Bahaipedia, an encyclopedia about the Bahá’í Faith

bahaipedia.org

This would require study on the topic.

Regards Tony

Good to know.

 

[RJM]

That statement by RJM was not correct.

Hinduism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼí_Faith_and_Hinduism

Buddhism:

Buddha - Bahaipedia, an encyclopedia about the Bahá’í Faith

bahaipedia.org

This would require study on the topic.

Regards Tony

Fair enough. Thanks. I stand corrected. He had heard of them then, but knew little about them

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

Fair enough. Thanks. I stand corrected. He had heard of them then, but knew little about them

Why make comments you know nothing about?

I do understand you wish to paint Baha'u'llah in a different light than Jesus, but by doing this, does not achieve that.

Regards Tony

 

[RJM]

I do understand you wish to paint Baha'u'llah in a different light than Jesus, but by doing this, does not achieve that.

Mangling the NT to try to make Bahá’u’lláh the same as Jesus doesn’t achieve it either, lol

 

[RJM]

Why make comments you know nothing about?

He may have heard of Hinduism in passing but obviously knew nothing much about it or what they believed.

He didn't mention Buddha. His later family referenced Buddha. And: 'A warning is sounded however that the Buddhist texts that have come down to us do not necessarily represent the exact words or teachings of the Buddha'

ie: They didn't like what they got when they finally learned about Buddha, so declared it 'corrupted'?

(edited to correct)

 

[Modesty]

I can offer that this concept is explained in detail in the Kitab-i-iqan. It explains why the Messages appear to differ, because of the requirements of the age it was given and the people the Message was delivered to. The fundamental spiritual truths remain unchanged. The truths that create unity.

I tried to search for Krishna and Buddha in the document you linked and I couldn't find anything mentioning them and how they fit into Baha'i theology.

 

[TheLightWithin]

I tried to search for Krishna and Buddha in the document you linked and I couldn't find anything mentioning them and how they fit into Baha'i theology.

Indeed, I would like to know more about how Baha'i theology interprets the differing doctrines of various religions. If I understand correctly, Baha'i teaches that all the great religions are valid -? Or true in some details but maybe not all? When I first learned of Baha'i I was intrigued, as it is in alignment with theories I developed on my own as a child. But if I understand correctly Perennialism is something like this as well, and yet Baha'i and Perennialism are not the same. What I'm curious about is how Baha'i reconciles differing views of God(s)/other divine beings, so different in various religions, as well as afterlife doctrines, also so different in varying religions. Does Baha'i reconcile them somehow? Say they are all wrong and offer a new idea proposed as correct? Do Baha'i theologians seek to reinterpret and revise other religions' teachings?

 

[juantoo3]

Christian missionary efforts in China:

Christianity in China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This must be tempered with the Taiping Rebellion:

Taiping Rebellion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The conflict resulted in approximately 20–30 million deaths.[4] The established Qing government won decisively, although at great cost to its fiscal and political structure.

God Worshipping Society - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

According to historical evidence, his first contact with Christian pamphlets occurred in 1836 when he directly received American Congregationalist missionary Edwin Stevens' personal copy of the Good Words to Admonish the Age (by Liang Fa, 1832). He only briefly looked over and did not carefully examine it. Subsequently, Hong claimed to have experienced mystical visions in the wake of his third failure[a] of the imperial examinations in 1837 and after failing for a fourth time in 1843, he sat down to carefully examine the tracts with his distant cousin Feng Yunshan, believing that they were "the key to interpreting his visions" coming to the conclusion that he was "the son of God the Father, Shangdi, and the younger brother of Jesus Christ who had been directed to rid the world of demon worship (that means, submission to the Qing dynasty, according to Xiuquan the Qing were demons that oppressed the Han ethnic majority)."[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Hong Xiuquan developed an entirely new sect of Christianity under the guise of Protestism, leading ultimately to perhaps the most tragic civil war ever fought.

Consequently, China in general holds a wary view of Christianity.

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

He may have heard of Hinduism in passing but obviously knew nothing much about it or what they believed.

He didn't mention Buddha. His later family referenced Buddha. And: 'A warning is sounded however that the Buddhist texts that have come down to us do not necessarily represent the exact words or teachings of the Buddha'

ie: They didn't like what they got when they finally learned about Buddha, so declared it 'corrupted'?

(edited to correct)

Using my logic and reason and that the Baha'i Writings record the station of Buddha as a Messenger from God, I am able to determine that the Word of God as offered by the Buddha has been corrupted, as God has been removed from the vast majority of modern Buddhism. This would indicate that logic and reason is not flawed.

I personally have read quite a few of the available writings, that do reflect that Buddha was a Messenger from God.

Regards Tony

 

[Faithfulservant]

So it's not just Christians that corrupted God's Word to fit your theology. I should be appeased by that maybe? Nah!

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

I tried to search for Krishna and Buddha in the document you linked and I couldn't find anything mentioning them and how they fit into Baha'i theology.

Baha'u'llah has shown in the Kitab-i-iqan how all the Messengers are One with God, that in each age they renew the basic unchangeable virtues and morals God asks of us and also bring a distinct Message and laws suited for the age and people's it is delivered to.

All those Messages have the potential of a Universal acceptance. There is much to discuss in relation to those comments above.

I can offer there are no surviving documents by the Bab or Bahá'u'lláh referring directly to Buddhism. The Buddha is tied into the Message given by Baha'u'llah as the appointed succession through Abdul'baha and Shoghi Effendi gave a specific reference to Buddha as a Messenger of God. Abdul'baha was taught by His Father Baha'u'llah, thus his understanding of the Station of the Buddha came from what Baha'u'llah had taught.

Putting that aside, there are many Messengers that have come and their details lost in time, knowledge of the Buddha and Krishna remain, but the accuracy of the recorded Word, obviously given the station of the Buddha, been diminished over time. The Writings of Krishna, still paint Krishna in the same Light as Jesus.

We have been told future historians will make progress in the identification of who were and who may have been Messengers of God. That is, when we practice unity and enlightenment instead or war and death.

Regards Tony

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

So it's not just Christians that corrupted God's Word to fit your theology. I should be appeased by that maybe? Nah!

It is the nature of religion. It is not a difficult concept to accept, yet It does require us to examine our own selves, that maybe we are not the holders of Absolute truths.

The responses we give to this topic, reflect our ability to balance our relative truths.

A perfect example is that this creation is a reflection of the Spirit of God, this creation eminates from the First Cause, the Holy Sprit

So we can learn using metephor to compare this material world to gain deeper Spiritual Insights.

The word has seasons, thus religion has seasons.

A faith is Born, Springtime has arrived, a New Message given. The faith is watered by the vlood of martyr's, it grows and reaches the apex of its perfections, Summer. Man then adds to its meanings we enter autumn and then man makes themselves God and make laws of their own, winter has set in. It is then God's Covernant is renewed, the promisses are fulfilled, another Annointed One is gifted to humamity, spring time has arrived again, the cycle continues from the beginning unto the end.

I am always happy to discuss.

Regards Tony

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

Indeed, I would like to know more about how Baha'i theology interprets the differing doctrines of various religions. If I understand correctly, Baha'i teaches that all the great religions are valid -? Or true in some details but maybe not all? When I first learned of Baha'i I was intrigued, as it is in alignment with theories I developed on my own as a child. But if I understand correctly Perennialism is something like this as well, and yet Baha'i and Perennialism are not the same. What I'm curious about is how Baha'i reconciles differing views of God(s)/other divine beings, so different in various religions, as well as afterlife doctrines, also so different in varying religions. Does Baha'i reconcile them somehow? Say they are all wrong and offer a new idea proposed as correct? Do Baha'i theologians seek to reinterpret and revise other religions' teachings?

Personally I have found the task requires to search out the Gems in each faith.

An example of a teaching that is recorded across faiths is the Golden Rule.

I am happy to explore all fruits from all Faiths, to see if other timeless concepts are applicable across all Faiths.

This will also bring out some difficult subjects on Virtues and Morals, as there are some miral and erhical laws that God also does not change. Another sign of true Prophets, the lawgiver of each age.

Regards Tony

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

Christian missionary efforts in China:

Christianity in China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This must be tempered with the Taiping Rebellion:

Taiping Rebellion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

God Worshipping Society - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hong Xiuquan developed an entirely new sect of Christianity under the guise of Protestism, leading ultimately to perhaps the most tragic civil war ever fought.

Consequently, China in general holds a wary view of Christianity.

To me, this is the key to identifying the vast majority of false prophets. They mostly piggyback off a given faith, they do not have an independent Revelation given to them of God. They remain tied to previous God given Revelations for their theories.

Regards Tony

 

[TheLightWithin]

Using my logic and reason and that the Baha'i Writings record the station of Buddha as a Messenger from God, I am able to determine that the Word of God as offered by the Buddha has been corrupted, as God has been removed from the vast majority of modern Buddhism. This would indicate that logic and reason is not flawed.

I personally have read quite a few of the available writings, that do reflect that Buddha was a Messenger from God.

Regards Tony

Speaking of logic and reason, there's a new thread about that by a new member. Have you seen it? I'm skeptical, but it's interesting.

Explaining how Formal Logic is flawed and how to fix it

Just so all of us are on the same page, here are the 4 laws of Formal Logic: 1. Law of Identity: - Every thing is identical to itself. - A is A (A = A). - This law states that any entity or object is identical to itself; it is the foundation of logical reasoning. 2. Law of Non-Contradiction: -...

www.interfaith.org

 

[juantoo3]

A collection of subjective truths is still subjective truth, not Absolute Truth.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Can one determine a fact in theology? In spiritual matters?

There should be a fact to be determined.

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

A collection of subjective truths is still subjective truth, not Absolute Truth.

I see Faith is about embracing the Absolute (God), in the knowledge we are only capable of subjective understanding.

We are actually Spirit that does not reside in the body, how can we know Absolute Truth when we are still unaware of what we really are? How can we define what is Absolute when our ignorance of it is acknowledged?

I see the apex of our understanding, is being born from the flesh into what is Absolute, the Messengers, sacrificing our will and knowledge unto the Absolute Truth we have been gifted from God. Easy to say, absolutely not so easy to do.

Regards Tony

 

[RJM]

I think God is much greater than that. God meets me where I am, anytime any faith any place regardless so called self-declared messengers blowing oceans of final truth for all humanity the next 800 years to come

 

[Modesty]

morality within evolution

Kindest Regards! I have had a question forming for some time now, and I'm not quite sure if I can yet ask it properly. Forgive me if this doesn't come out right... What place does morality hold within the context of evolutionary theory? Perhaps I would do well to explain somewhat. I...

www.interfaith.org

Thank you- did you link this thread because its related to my question? It's a discussion of common morality in world religions, right?