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8/14/2019 Bahai Soteriology
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Dimensions of Bah Soteriology: Some Notes on theBah theology of the Salvific and Redemptive role ofBah'-Allh.______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________Stephen Lambden.
Turn to me and you are saved, all ends of theearth!
As I am God and God alone, I swear by myself.. . that every knee
shall bow to me, and every tongue swearloyalty (Isa. 45:22-23.)
. . . the rules of my religion I send forth tolight up every nation (Isa. 2:4.)I now appoint you to bring light to the
nations, that my salvation may reach theworld's end (Isa. 49:6.)
The word soteriology (Gk. sozein = "to save"; soter =
"saviour", "deliverer"; soteria, "salvation") indicates the
theology of the redemption and salvation of human beings. In
Christian terms it is that part of systematic theology which
"seeks to interpret the saving work of Jesus Christ" (Hopper,
1992:452). While Christology indicates the doctrine
respecting that Galilean messianic claimant viewed by
millions as Jesus the Christ (fl. 1st cent CE) and variously
estimated as being human yet "God"-divine, soteriology has
to do with the saving work, status and influence of Jesus
Christ. Soteriology encompasses such doctrines as atonement
(loosely), the salvific consequences Christ's death on the
cross and its effect on the past and future status of "sinful"
individuals. This is related to the doctrine of justification
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which has to do with God's act of declaring or making
somebody "righteous" through the "righteousness" of Christ"
and to that of sanctification (Lat. sanctificare) the making of
someone pure or holy. Closely related are questions include
those of repentance, "sin" and the "forgiveness of sin", the
means of grace and man's final individual destiny which
constitutes personal eschatology.
These above and related concerns and teachings are
central to the faith and attendant theology of many
Christians. Bah's, in communicating their own religion, their
own "theology" of the (Per.) mahar-i ilh (Divine
Manifestation / Divine Theophany), have done little to
articulate Bah soteriological teachings. In Bah dialogue
the relationship of the seeking individual to God is oftencompletely bypassed in favour of a listing of socio-economic
perspectives and global solutions to world problems which
(important though they are) bypass the very rich
soteriological and related Bah doctrines. The latter
doctrines pertain to and highlight the importance of the
abiding search for individual spirituality and intellectual
integrity within and without the universe of Bb-Bah'
discourse.
In presenting their religion to the general public,
contemporary Bahs have generally neglected soteriological
scriptural texts. The personal relationship of the individual
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with God through Bah-Allh and the interior dimensions of
the Way to God, are not often in the forefront of Bah
religious proclamation. What Baha-Allh has accomplished
for collective or individual salvation, for the redemption of
humankind is not frequently articulated even though Baha-
Allh himself frequently voiced these teachings in
innumerable scriptural alw (Tablets) addressed to a wide
variety of individuals, groups and nations. For several
decades, presentations of Bah doctrine have frequently
been impersonal and socio-economically oriented; somewhat
soulless and lacking in the mystical. Varieties of the `twelve
principles (important thought they undoubtedly are) are
often selectively set forth in a depersonalized manner. [1]
This is unfortunate. Bah theological issues need much morescholarly attention.
Bah dialogue sometimes appears too cerebral or
impersonal. The desire not to appear "evangelical" or to act
like "born-again" Christian preachers has consciously or
unconsciously left many western Bah communities unable
to highlight the theology of the inner path of the individual.
There is, a good deal in Bah sacred scripture that bears
upon the question of individual and collective salvation. The
purpose of these notes will be to highlight and in a tentative
manner explore some neglected soteriological-theological
areas of Bah scholarship.
http://www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/03-Biblical-islam-BBst/soteriology.htmhttp://www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/03-Biblical-islam-BBst/soteriology.htm8/14/2019 Bahai Soteriology
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Bahs need not be intimidated by the `born-again
style, the salvation-soteriological language of evangelical
Christians. As it is the case that "In, Protestantism, salvation
is conceived basically in terms of a restoration of a broken
personal relationship [with CHRIST / GOD]" (Harvey
1964:192), Bahs would do well to assure their audience of
the claim to a renewal of personal relationships with God
through Bah-Allh. He, like Christ, offered personal
salvation to his devotees though servitude to humanity in
faith and spirituality. Bah soteriology is closely related to
Islamic especially Sh`-Shaykh -- theology and soteriology
Islamic soteriology
Bah soteriology has its most central roots in Islam
or more specifically in Sh`-Shaykh Islam as it was expressed
in 19th century Qajar Iran. Concern with "sin" and personal
salvation are not very marked in Islam though the Qur'n
does include soteriological terminology and Sh Muslims
make much of the salvific importance of the immaculate
persons of the (Twelver) Imams who are the loci of salvation.
The doctrine of 'original sin' which became central to
Christian thought from the early centuries via the thought of
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Tertullian (d.c. 180 CE), Augustine (d. 430 CE) and others, was
never adopted within the Qur'n or mainstream Islamic
thought Muslims adopted and sometimes articulated a
concept of firah (a qur'nic term see Q. ADD) meaning
(loosely) "innate nature", the pristine, individual proto-faith
infused status of humans at the genesis of their existence.
This concept was generally adopted in line with various
Qur'an texts and adth statements attributed to the Prophet
or the Sh` Imams. ADD refs.
From the Arabic triliteral root N-J-W comes the verb
naj / (II) najj = "to escape, be delivered" while from the
verb is formed the noun ,najt = "deliverance
salvation". This verbal noun najt ("salvation") occurs only
once in the Qur'n. God, through the Prophet Muhammad,
calls the people "to salvation" while they call him "to the Fire"
of hell (Qur'n 40:41[44]). The verb najj ("to deliver,
rescue), however, is quite common occurring around 40
times (see Kassis, 837-839). This doubtless reflects the
Christian rooted concern with issues soteriological.
Sh` Soteriology
In Imami Sh` Islam, the recognition of the divinely
appointed Imam is viewed as fundamental to the wellbeing of
humanity and to the attainment of individual salvation.
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Individual salvation demands recognition of the locus of
Reality in the person of the successors of the Prophet
Muhammad who are known as the Imams; for twelver Sh
Muslims the line of twelve Imams extending from the first
Imam `Al ibn Ab lib (d. 40/661) up till the awaited twelfth
messianic Imam or Qim (Ariser), named Imam
Muhammad al-Mahd believd to have been born in the mid 8th
century CE and existing today in ghaybat (occultation)
pending his Christ-like eschatological second coming or
return.
In the oration ascribed to the first Sh` Imam and fourth
Sunn Caliph, `Al son of Ab lib known as the Khubah al-
utunjiyya (Sermon of the Gulf), a distinctly Sh`
soteriology is expressed in the following third paragraph:
O People! turn ye repentantly unto my party
(shi`ah, Sh` Islam) and adhere to a pledge of
fealty unto me. Be persistent in the [Imami
Sh`] religion (al-dn) with the excellence of
certainty (bi-usn al-yaqn). Adhere
steadfastly to the successor [legatee] (wa)
[= Imam `Al himself] of your Prophet (nab,
Muhammad) through whom is your
salvation (najat). By virtue of his love (ubb),
on the [eschatological] Day of Assembling
(yawn al-hashr), is your safe haven [place of
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salvation] (manjt) (K-utunjiyya cited Rajab
al-Burs, Mashriq anwr, 166).
Having said this `Al, as the locus of salvation, makes
numerous elevated claims. They include a Christ-like `I am
saying rooted in the Gospel of John:
I am the hope and I am the One hoped for (cf. Q. 15:3;
18:46).
I am the one who is stationed over the two Gulfs (wqif `al
al-utunjayn)
I am the one who beholds the "two Easts" and the "two
Wests"
(al-maghribayn wa'l-mashriqayn) (cf. Q. 55:17).
I am the Truth
(`-L-Y-U-TH-U-TH-A = Gk. ..[] g , ego eimi
aletheia ) (John 14:6a).
Early Qajar dialogue and Christian soteriology.
In the early-mid Qajar period a number of European
Protestant missionaries and orientalists wrote anti-Islamic
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tracts in which Muhammad and the Quran were denigrated
and the need for salvation through Christ alone underlined.
Henry Martyn (d. 1812) the English translator of the New
Testament into Persian and the German polemicist Carl
Gottlieb Pfander (c.1805-1865) in particular, penned several
works in which evangelical Jesus-centered Christian
perspectives about sin, salvation and judgment, were
propagated amidst anti-Islamic polemic. Translated early into
Persian (1831) and other languages, the latters Mift al-
asrr (Keys to the mysteries) was very much on these lines
and called for Sh` responses as did Pfanders better known
Mzn al-aqq (The Balance of Truth) (Persian, 1836,1839).
Sh mujtahids responded with treatises about the tarf
(corruption) of the Bible and the importance ofimamocentric faith and salvation through the Islamic wilya
(providence) centered in the Prophet Muhammad and his
infallible successors the rightly guided Imams.
ADD
Bb-Bah Soteriology.
This word "salvation" (Ar. najat) and related
Arabic and Persian words are very much present in the
voluminous Arabic and Persian Bb and Bah scripture. In
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fact the presence of weightly soteriological concepts
consonant with a new era of judgment and divine guidance
are common. A few examples from the writings of the Bb and
Bah-Allh will follow with occasional notes.
The Bb QA 68:275,
"God hath written salvation (al-najt) for
such as ride the Ark (al-fulk) with you" (cf.
Qur'n 7:62[64];10:73 [74];26:119;
In Persian Bayn V:5 we read,
"Seek ye refuge in God from whatsoever
might lead you astray from the Source of His
Revelation and hold fast unto His Cord, for
whoso holdeth fast unto His allegiance, he
hath attained and will attain salvation (najt)
in all the worlds" (Per. 58-9; trans. SWB: 85)
The Persian Bayn of the Bb has clear soteriological
dimensions ADD
ADD EGB Index LXXXIX Salvation:
"action in accordance with the precepts of
the Bayn suffices to secure ------ [salvation]
of the Day of Resurrection, VI,8; what ----is
VI,15; how good ----is, VII,2."
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ibid,p.LVII on Bb:"salvation is obtained by
belief in him V,11.
Now consider the Revelation of the Bayan. If the followers of
the Qur'n had applied to themselves proofs similar to those
which they advance for the non-believers in Islam, not a
single soul would have remained deprived of the Truth, and
on the Day of Resurrection everyone would have attained
salvation (the Bab, SWB: 119)
In the above extract, as elsewhere in his writings, the Bb
makes acceptance of his person and revelation the key to
eschatological salvation.
ADD HERE
Alw (Scriptural Tablets) of Bah-Allh
In part due to Sh` and Christian influences,
soteriological language and motifs are quite common in the
numerous Arabic and Persian alw (scriptural Tablets) of
Bah-Allh. In his Law-i itirq (The Tablet of
Conflagration), popularly known as the Fire Tablet, for
example, Bah-Allh utilizes the motif of the Ark of
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salvation when he supplicates God during a period of
extreme difficulty (the during the early Acre or West Galilean
period c. 1871-2):
Bah is drowning in a sea of tribulation:
Where is the Ark of Thy salvation (ADD) O
Savior of the worlds?
The Law-i Haft Pursish (Tablet of the Seven
Questions)
O [Zoroastrian] HIGH priests! Ears have been given you
that they may hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the
Self-Dependent, and eyes that they may behold Him.
Wherefore flee ye? The Incomparable Friend is manifest. He
speaketh that wherein lieth salvation. Were ye, O highpriests, to discover the perfume of the rose-garden of
understanding, ye would seek none other but Him, and would
recognize, in His new vesture, the All-Wise and Peerless One,
and would 106 turn your eyes from the world and all who
seek it, and would arise to help Him. (Baha'u'llah, The
Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 105)
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In his Law-i Haft Pursish (Tablet of the Seven Questions)
addressed to the Zoroastrian Ustd Javn Mard, "salvation"
(najat) is related to that "wisdom" which is born of spiritual
insight. In response to a fourth question about his latter-day
advent as the expected Zoroastrian messianic Shh Bahrm,
Bah-Allh states that it is "insight" (bn') which leads to
"wisdom" (dn') and results in that true faith which is
salvation. "Keenness of wisdom (dn'-yi khirad; lit. `the
wisdom of wisdom') he further teaches, derives from
"insightful vision" (bn'-yi baar) (see Dary-yi -Danish,
68f). Similar statements are found, among other places, at
the end of Bah'u'llh's first arz (Ornament) where we
read, "in the estimation of men of wisdom (sibn-i ikmat)keenness of understanding (again, dn'-yi khirad) is due to
keenness of vision" (see Tablets of Bahaullah 35 and the
Persian original)..
From the Law-i haft pursish :
"The fourth question: "Our books have announced
the [future] appearance of Shh Bahrm with
manifold signs for the guidance of mankind" :
O friend! "Whatsoever hath been announced in
the Books hath been revealed and made clear.
From every direction the signs have been
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manifested. The Omnipotent One [yazdn] is
calling, in this Day, and announcing the
appearance of the Supreme Heaven [mn-yi
a`am]" (PDC: 77)." The world is illumined by the
lights of His appearance, yet rare indeed are the
eyes endowed with insight. Ask of the one true
God to bestow insight upon His servants. Insight
leadeth to wisdom (dn') and hath ever been the
cause of salvation. Keenness of wisdom (dn'-yi
khirad) is derived from insightful vision. Were the
peoples of the world to gaze with their own eyes,
they would see that the world is, in this Day,
illumined with a new radiance. Say: the Day-Star
of Wisdom (khurshd-i dn') is manifest and the
Sun of Knowledge (ftb-i dnish) evident. Happy
the one who attaineth thereunto, who seeth
clearly and hath recognised Him" ( trans. Shahriar
Razavi , BSB 7:3-4 [June 1992] pp. ADD)
Some further soteriologically significant passages:
O concourse of divines! Be fair, I adjure you
by God, and nullify not the Truth with the
things ye possess. Peruse that which We have
sent down with truth. It will, verily, aid you,
and will draw you nigh unto God, the Mighty,
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the Great. Consider and call to mind how
when Muhammad, the Apostle of God,
appeared, the people denied Him. They
ascribed unto Him what caused the Spirit
(Jesus) to lament in His Most Sublime Station,
and the Faithful Spirit to cry out. Consider,
moreover, the things which befell the
Apostles and Messengers of God before Him,
by reason of what the hands of the unjust
have wrought. We make mention of you for
the sake of God, and remind you of His signs,
and announce unto you the things ordained
for such as are nigh unto Him in the most
sublime Paradise and the all-highest Heaven,and I, verily, am the Announcer, the
Omniscient. He hath come for your salvation,
and hath borne tribulations that ye may
ascend, by the ladder of utterance, unto the
summit of understanding.... Peruse, with
fairness and justice, that which hath been
sent down. It will, verily, exalt you through
the truth, and will cause you to behold the
things from which ye have been withheld, and
will enable you to quaff His sparkling Wine.
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79 (Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of
Baha'u'llah, p. 77)
WE, verily, have come for your sakes,
and have borne the misfortunes of the world
for your salvation. Flee ye the One Who hath
sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened?
Fear God, O followers of the Spirit (Jesus), and
walk not in the footsteps of every divine that
hath gone far astray... Open the doors of your
hearts. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus) verily,
standeth before them. Wherefore keep ye afar
from Him Who hath purposed to draw you
nigh unto a Resplendent Spot? Say: We, intruth, have opened unto you the gates of the
Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses
in My face? This indeed is naught but a
grievous error. (Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation
of Baha'u'llah, p. 91)
ADD
The Law-i ibn-i dh'ib (Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf).
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In his last major work the Law-i ibn-i dh'ib (Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf, c. 1891 CE) Bah-Allh at one point alludes
to Qayym al-asm LVII when he addresses the antagonistic
Muslim cleric Shaykh Muhammad Taq Najaf (d.1914):
"O Shaykh! Seek thou the
shore of the Most Great
Ocean, and enter, then, the
crimson Ark which God hath
ordained in the Qayym-i-
Asm for the people of Bah.
Verily, it passseth over land
and sea. He that entereth
therein is saved (NJW), and he
that turneth aside perisheth"
(ESW 164, trans. Shoghi
Effendi, 139).
The Kitb-i `ahd (Book of the
Covenant)
The final lines of Bah-Allhs Persian Kitb-i `ahd
(Book of the Covenant) or (more correctly) (Ar.) al-Kitb al-
`Ahd (lit. The Book of My Covenant) contains an explicit
and important reference to Bah soteriology:
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"That which is conducive to
the regeneration of the world
(hayt-i `lam) and the
salvation of the peoples and
kindreds of the earth (najt-i
umam) hath been sent down
from the heaven of the
utterance of Him Who is the
Desire of the world. Give ye a
hearing ear to the counsels of
the Pen of Glory. Better is this
for you than all that is on the
earth. Unto this beareth
witness My glorious and
wondrous Book." (TB:223).
The Crucifixion and Sacrifice of Jesus and the
"Crucifixion" and Sacrifice of Bah-Allh.
From at least the time of his Arabic Jawhir al-asrr
(Gems of the Mysteries) and Persian Kitb-i qn (The Book of
Certitude) (1861-2 CE), Bah-Allh, unlike mainstream Sunn
and Sh` Muslims, cited and commented upon biblical texts
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and accepted the historicity of the crucifixion of Jesus of
Nazareth (d. c. 32 CE). He referred to Jesus in his Book of
Certitude as a Youthful Nazarene (ADD refs.) and pictured
him as one pre-existent and eternal who existed in a state of
sublime, eternal and spiritual sovereignty subsequent to his
actual, historical crucifixion and apparent death on the
cross. Bah'-Allh's rejection of trenchant biblical tarf
("falsification") from the early 1860s meant that he affirmed
Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. In his Kitb-I qn
Jesus crucifixion and ascension in the Quran (4:156-
8).
The above somewhat ambiguous verses of the Quran (4:156-
8]) have been translated by Arberry as follows (transliteration
added):
[156b] and for their [Jewish]
unbelief, and their uttering against
Mary a mighty calamity, [157] and
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for their saying, `We slew (qataln)
the Messiah (al-mas), Jesus son
of Mary (`s ibn Maryam), the
Messenger of God (rasl Allh)
yet they did not slay him (m
qatal-hu), neither crucified him
(wa m alab-h), only a likeness
of that was shown to them
(shubbiha lahum). Those who are
at variance concerning him surely
are in doubt regarding him; they
have no knowledge of him, except
the following surmise;
And they slew him not of acertainty (wa m alab-h ),
[158] no indeed; God raised him
up ( rafa`-hu Allh `ilay-hi) to Him;
God is Almighty, all-Wise.
The above quranic verses are interpreted by many Muslims
to mean that Jesus was not literally crucified several
traditions having it that the unclear (interpretations and
translations of this phrase vary considerably) indicates that another was
crucified in his place (e.g. Judas Iscariot). Bah sources do not
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follow this post-quranic Islamic position but accept the literal
truth of the crucifixion and understand Q. 157 in a way that
does not contradict the biblical accounts of the death of Jesus
upon the cross. `Abd al-Bah has interpreted Q. 4:157 in the
following, non-literal way:
In regard to the verse, which is revealed in
tile Qurn [Koran], That His holiness, Christ,
was not killed and was not crucified [=Q.
4:157], by this is meant the Reality of Christ.
Although they crucified this elemental body,
yet the merciful reality and the heavenly
existence remain eternal and undying, and it
was protected from the obsession and
persecution of the enemies, for Christ is
Eternal and Everlasting (from a `Tablet of
AB* June 8th 1911 to Thornton Chase cited in
English in Star of the West, Vol. 2, No. 7, p.
13).
Such interpretations allows for deep salvific senses to
be given to the crucifixion of Jesus. For Bahs Jesus death on
the cross was of cosmic soteriological import not something
which never took place. Jesus the mahar-I ilh
(Manifestation of God) never ceased to be or died away
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around 33 CE., but from the moment of his physical death
eternally lived and lives on for the enlightened betterment
and spirituality of humankind.
In various alw (scriptural Tablets) `Abd al-Bah has
stated that the eternal reality of Jesus bestows salvation from
the unseen kingdom of God where he ever shines
resplendent. For Bahs Jesus did not die on the cross but his
Logos-like Reality was lifted up to God. From the many
mansions of the unseen realms through the power of the
Holy Spirit , he continues to inspire to spirituality and to the
progress of civilization.
There follows some annotated passages from select
writings of Bah-Allh which bear upon this theme.
The `Tablet to a Christian Priest of Constantinople
(Law qisss-i narn SL).
The early (-mid.). Edirne [Adrianople] (c. 1864-6?)
Tablet of Bah'-Allh written in response to one of the
"Priests of the Christians" of Constantinople
[Istanbul]) (referred to as the madnat al-kabra Great City)
may have been addressed to ADD IDENTITY It is cited in
the Tablet printed in the 1893 compilation Iqtidarat va chand
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lawh-i digar (Powerful Realities and select other
Tablets) , pp. 78-104 and in the Kitb-I bad` and
elsewhere. Cole has translated and entitled the Iqtidarat
Tablet the "Tablet to the Son" (Law-i Ibn ) though this
phrase occurs in the `Tablet to the Priest of Constantinople
cited therein not in the Tablet he translated.
This `Tablet to a Christian Priest of Constantinople
includes two well-known passages relating to the crucifixion
of Jesus which have close parallels or recensions in the Kitb-i
bad` as well as other Arabic and Persian Tablets of Bah'-
Allh from the Edirne and later West-Galilean (`Akk= Acre)
periods; including, for example, his early Edirne Kitb al-
asm' (Book of Names) ADD refs. (pp.91-95 in Persian). These
paragraphs relating to the crucifixion of Jesus are found inIqtidart, 91and ADD (and INBA 38: [328], etc). and versions
of these texts were included in English translation in
Gleanings XXXVI and XLVII. What follows are the texts
translated by Shoghi Effendi (as identified and printed in the
Persian-Arabic 1984 original language edition of Gleanings
entitled Muntakhabt az athr-I adrat-I Bah-Allh =
section 36 and 47 pp. 62 and 72) which is followed by the
often paraphrastic English translation of Shoghi Effendi along
with a few added transliterated additions:
First Gleanings XXXVI (36)
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In the slightly rewritten-paraphrased translation of Shoghi
Effendi this text reads as follows (as printed in Gleanings
XXXVI):
"Know thou that when the Son [of Man or Mary
or God] (al-ibn = Jesus) . . . yielded up His
breath to God the whole creation wept with a
great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however,
a fresh capacity was infused into all created
things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the
peoples of the earth, are now manifest before
thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages
have uttered, the profoundest learning which
any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the
ablest hands have produced, the influence
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exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but
manifestations of the quickening power
released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive,
and resplendent Spirit" (Baha'u'llah GWB
XXXVII / 85-86; 1892: 93). Cf Cole trans. Add
URL
This important passage does not interpret
the effect of Jesus' crucifixion as an act of
atonement. It does not focus upon the
forgiveness of sin. Rather, it presents Jesus'
selfless sacrificial death as an event of
supreme cosmic importance generating earthlycapacity for creativeness on many levels. It is
not merely focused or centered on tokens of
individual salvation but on the consequences of
the global empowerment and regeneration of
all things; through the power of inspiration in
both the areas of the arts and sciences. For
Bah'-Allh Jesus died a regenerative sacrificial
death, a kind of martyrdom, the redemptive
power of which regenerated all things. The
"death" of the Son of Man-Mary-God on the
cross so diffused the divine grace that a
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greater capacity for progress was universally
realized in accordance with human capacity.
And secondly Gleanings XLVII (47)
In the again slightly rewritten-paraphrased translation of
Shoghi Effendi this text reads (as printed in Gleanings XLVII)
as follows:
O Jews! If ye be intent on
crucifying once again Jesus, the
Spirit [ ] of God, put
Me to death, for He hath once
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more, in My person, been made
manifest unto you. Deal with
Me as ye wish, for I have vowed
to lay down My life in the path
of God. I will fear no one,
though the powers of earth and
heaven be leagued against Me.
Followers of the Gospel!
(mal-al-injl) If ye cherish the
desire to slay Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, seize Me and
put an end to My life, for I am
He, and My Self is His Self (lit.
`This is his essence (dht-ihi).Do unto Me as ye like, for the
deepest longing of Mine heart
is to attain the presence of My
Best-Beloved in His Kingdom of
Glory. Such is the Divine
decree, if ye know it.
Followers of Muhammad!
If it be your wish to riddle with
your shafts the breast of Him
Who hath caused His Book the
Bayn to be sent down unto
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you, lay hands on Me and
persecute Me, for I am His
Well-Beloved, the revelation of
His own Self, though My name
be not His name. I have come
in the shadows of the clouds of
glory, and am invested by God
with invincible sovereignty. He,
verily, is the Truth, the Knower
of things unseen. I, verily,
anticipate from you the
treatment ye have accorded
unto Him that came before Me.
To this all things, verily,witness, if ye be of those who
hearken. O people of the
Bayn! If ye have resolved to
shed the blood of Him Whose
coming the Bb hath
proclaimed, Whose advent
Muhammad hath prophesied,
and Whose Revelation Jesus
Christ Himself hath announced,
behold Me standing, ready and
defenseless, before you. Deal
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with Me after your own
desires." (GWB XLVII pp. 100-
101 trans. SE [original added])
Bah-Allh clearly identifies himself as the return of
Christ ready to suffer as Jesus did the first time.
The Srat al-r (The Surah of the Spirit) ( c. 1866).
This medium length Arabic epistle of Bah'-Allh to an
as yet unidentified `Al was written from Edirne (Adrianople)
around the spring of 1866. It takes its name from the mention
of Jesus, al-r (the Spirit) towards its beginning. Bah'-Allh
mentions that which personified "Satan" (al-Shayn = Mrz
Yay ?) had cast into the hearts of such as had opposed God,
most likely meaning antagonistic (Azal inclined) followers of
the Bb. It appears that he responds in the Srat al-r to
Muslim-Azal notions about the fate of Jesus twisted so as to
imply that Bah'-Allh would be "forgotten" after his death.
"And among the polytheists are
such as assert, `When the Spirit
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(al-r = Jesus) died was his
name perpetuated in the
[earthly] dominion? for it was
reckoned that there existed only
a set number of those who
believed [in him] and were
possessed of manifest certainty.
Say: By God! The Spirit (al-r =
Jesus) never died! Nay, rather he
bestowed immortality on all such
as entered beneath his shadow.
Thus indeed was this matter if
you are among such as [truly]
comprehend. He [Jesus] neverprided himself about anything of
whatsoever he created betwixt
the heavens and the earth. For
all this was created through his
Logos-Speech (qawl) [ as you
would realize] if you be among
such as judge aright. If he prided
himself over anything it was his
pride over his own Logos-Self
(nafs); not in anything aside
from it. All who dwell within the
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kingdoms of the heavens and of
the earth and within the
Omnipotent realm of the
Command and of creation
(jabart al-amr wa'l-khalq) took
pride in it (Jesus' Logos-Self, as
you would realize ) should you
be numbered among the truly
wise." (Athar-i qalam-i a`l,
4:124).
The Srat al-mulk (The Surah of the Dominion)
(1866) AQA-K: 1-70.
In the course of an address to the `Inhabitants of
Constantinople' [Istanbul] and elsewhere in his Srat al-mulk
(Surah of the Dominion) Bah'-Allh expresses his Christ-like
desire to sacrifice himself for the sake of God:
"I have offered up my soul (r)
and my body (jasad) [as a
sacrifice] befor God, the Lord of
all the worlds" (S-Muluk, 24 GWB
LXVI: XX adapted).
Cf. S-Muluk: 30
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ADD FURTHER PASSAGES
The Kitb-i Bad` (Wondrous [Revolutionary]
Book, 1867 CE).
Arguing against an Azal-Bb view of the legitimacy of
dissimulation on the part of Jesus and other messengers of
God in his lengthy Persian Kitb-i Bad` (1867 CE), Bah-Allh
includes the following Arabic words pertinent to Jesus and
the cross that his opponent might progress from the
Kawthar (Fount) of the Bayn of the Beauty of the All-
Merciful to the [Bah] Orchard of Splendours even
specifically mentioning Jesus being nailed upon his beloved
cross:
When he [Jesus] saw the cross (al-alb), he
[willingly] bore it through his own self (bi-
nafsihi) (cf. NT ADD). Then he embraced it,
saying 'Come hither, O my dear cross! I have
awaited thee for thirty and three years,
diligently enquiring after thee for I desire to
die fastened [upon thee] with nails (mufattish
an `alayk) out of love for my sheep (ubb an li-
aghnm). (K-Badi`, mss. 209)
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In his Kitb-i Bad` Bah-Allah states that the
specific text of the Book (na-i kitb = Bible-New
Testament) has it that every day in the [Jerusalem] Temple
the Christian Cause of God (amr-Allh) was publicly taught
by a fearless Jesus. In saying this he was evidently attempting
to counter those who were happy with Mrz Yay as one
fearfully hiding away from society. Mrz Mihd Giln, Bah-
Allhs Azal opponent, as specifically notes in the Kitb-i
bad`, held that Jesus was secreted away in places of retreat
(maqarrh). This Bah-Allh regards as a supremely unjust
estimate of Jesus. Hence his writing the above Arabic
paragraph about Jesus and his welcoming of the cross. In a
subsequent paragraph Bah-Allh also continues by
paraphrasing the Arabic into Persian and stating:
Give ear unto that which he [Jesus] said at
the moment when all the Jews had gathered
to kill that Holy One [Jesus]. When the cross
was presented and the blessed eye fell upon
it he [Jesus] said, `Come! Come! For thirty and
three years I have awaited and yearned for
you. (mss. 209-210).
In the light of this the Azal apologist Mrz Mihd Giln has
not been able to comprehend the true, elevated station
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(maqm) of Jesus. There have been differences of opinion
regarding the implications of the Gospel and other accounts
of the last days of Jesus. Bah-Allh argues that the Gospels-
Injl have it that Jesus, that Ancient [Pre-Existent] Guileless
One (sdhij-i qidam), was hung on the cross and that Jesus,
the Spirit (al-r) was resigned to the Will of God. After 36
(3X12 hours or loosely 3 days) Bah-Allh further
summarizes and adds that Jesus came alive (zindih shud)
and was lifted up to heaven (ascended to heaven). Islamic
tradition of the people of the Furqn [=Qurn] (Muslims)
he also notes, assert that Jesus was taken up to heaven
before all of this; before his suffering on the cross. Bah-
Allh claimes that God had informed him of the reality of this
matter. Most of the people, however, remain unaware of thetruth of these events.
In the Kitb-i bad` Bah'-Allh also shows his close
relationship with the ascended, celestial Jesus when he
represents Jesus as addressing him so to underline his
fervent eschatological, sacrificial yearning:
`And at this moment this Spirit (al-
r = Jesus) addresseth thee
[Bah'-Allh] and says [speaking as
you]: `Come! Come ye hence! O
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Concourse of deniers [of the truth
of Bah'-Allh] with your swords,
your spears and your arrows! I
indeed do ardently yearn [for
death, the cross] just as He [Jesus]
had ardently yearned. By He in
whose hand is the Self of usayn!
Nay My very Being! exceedingly
strong is my yearning and great
indeed is my expectation [for
sacrificial death] but you fail to
comprehend" (K-Bad` mss, 210).
It is important to note that in the above passage Bah'-Allhequates his Logos-like Being as the Person-Self of usayn, a
component of his own personal name like that of the
martyred third (Twelver) Imam. Like Jesus usayn wa a major
Sh Islamic paragon of sacrifice or martyrdom. Like Jesus
and the third Imam usayn who was martyred at Karbala in
680 CE., Bah'-Allh yearned for sacrifical martyrdom, for
"death" upon the cross of this transient, mortal world. In
many scriptural Tablets Bah'-Allh equates himself with
Imam usayn whose eschatological "return" he claimed to be.
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In the Kitb-I bad` we also read of Bah'-Allh's claim to
be the return of Jesus and invites the Jews to crucify him (
) once again:
"He [Bah'-Allh] at every
moment addresses the
concourse of the Jews (mal' al-
yahd) [saying]: `O Concourse of
vipers! By God! The Promised
One (al-maw`d) hath come
unto you. This is assuredly the
Spirit (al-r = Jesus). If ye be
intent on crucifying him [yet
again] then accomplish that
which ye desire and be not of
those possessed of patience'
In similar fashion in his Kitb-i
bad` Bah'-Allh also addresses
to Christians and Muslims:
The he [Bah'-Allh] addresses
the Concourse of the Gospel
[Christians] (mal' al-injl) and
says: `If ye be intent on
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disputing with Muhammad, the
Apostle of God then this is
assuredly Muhammad among
you. So carry out what you
desire to do to him for he hath
indeed laid down his spirit [life]
in the path of God, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting.' (Mss.
K-Bad`, 93).
The Law-i Sultn addressed to Nair al-Dn Shh
In his largely Persian Law-i Sultn (c. 1868 [70]) addressed
to the Qajar ruler Nir al-Dn Shh (d. 1896), Bah'-Allh at
one point dwells on the rejection of past prophets. He makes
mention of his suffering and yearning desire for sacrificial
crucifixion:
"I have seen, O Shh, in the
path of God what eye hath not
seen nor ear heard.... How
numerous the tribulations which
have rained, and will soon rain,
upon Me! I advance with My face
set towards Him Who is the
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Almighty, the All-Bounteous,
whilst behind Me glideth the
serpent. Mine eyes have rained
down tears until My bed is
drenched. I sorrow not for
Myself, however. By God! Mine
head yearneth for the spear out
of love for its Lord. I never
passed a tree, but Mine heart
addressed it saying: `O would
that thou wert cut down in My
name, and My body crucified
upon thee, in the path of My
Lord!' (text AQA-K: 195 trans. SEcited PDC:42).
ADD PASSAGES
"The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be
bound with chains that mankind may be
released from its bondage, and hath accepted
to be made a prisoner within this most mighty
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Stronghold that the whole world may attain
unto true liberty" (GWB:XX).
Among the many soteriologically oriented themes in the
writings of BA* is his identification with the crucified Jesus.
Like Jesus he was crucified by the peoples of the world and
their corrupt rulers for the sake of humankind and its
attaining salvation or true eternal life. The following
passages from diverse alw (scriptural Tablets) express
aspects of this typological soteriology and its present day,
eschatological implications:
`Abd al-Bah taught that all the messengers or
manifestations of God sacrificed themselves for the sake ofhumanity. They accepted the cross of sacrifice and
persecution for progress and salvation of humankind:
Consider to what extent the love of God makes itself
manifest. Among the signs of His love which appear in the
world are the dawning points of His Manifestations. What an
infinite degree of love is reflected by the divine
Manifestations toward mankind! For the sake of guiding the
people They have willingly forfeited Their lives to resuscitate
human hearts. They have accepted the cross. To enable
human souls to attain the supreme degree of advancement,
They have suffered during Their limited years extreme
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ordeals and difficulties. If Jesus Christ had not possessed love
for the world of humanity, surely He would not have
welcomed the cross. He was crucified for the love of mankind.
Consider the infinite degree of that love. Without love for
humanity John the Baptist would not have offered his life. It
has been likewise with all the Prophets and Holy Souls. If the
Bb had not manifested love for mankind, surely He would not
have offered His breast for a thousand bullets. If Bah'u'llh
had not been aflame with love for humanity, He would not
have willingly accepted forty years' imprisonment all the
divine Manifestations suffered, offered Their lives and blood,
sacrificed Their existence, comfort and all They possessed for
the sake of mankind.
Crucifixion = Martyrdom
Consider how all the Prophets of God were persecuted and
what hardships they experienced. His Holiness Jesus Christ
endured affliction and accepted martyrdom upon the cross in
order to call men to unity and love. What sacrifice could be
greater? He brought the religion of love and fellowship to the
world. .. ( AB cited SW, Vol. 17, p. 285)
Martyrdom makes the spirit of utter dedication to the
service of God so real that it ignites in other hearts a like
flame of divine devotion. The martyrdom of Christ on the
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cross conquered and changed the hearts of untold millions.
(From an Essay of Fail-i Mazandarani in SW, Vol. 14, p. 173)
APPENDICES AND MISCELLANY
What an infinite degree of love is reflected by the divine
Manifestations toward mankind! For the sake of guiding the
people they have willingly forfeited their lives to resuscitate
human hearts. They have accepted the cross. To enable
human souls to attain the supreme degree of advancement,
they have suffered during their limited years extreme ordeals
and difficulties. If His Holiness Jesus Christ had not possessed
love for the world of humanity, surely he would not. have
welcomed the cross. He was crucified for the love of mankind.
Consider the infinite degree of that love. Without love for
humanity, John the Baptist would not have offered his life. It
has been likewise with all the prophets and holy souls. If His
Holiness the Bab had not manifested love for mankind, surely
he would not have offered his life for a thousand bullets. If
His Holiness Baha'u'llah had not been aflame with love for
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humanity he would not have willingly accepted forty years'
imprisonment. (AB* cited from SW, Vol. 17, p. 39).
In the parable of "The Lord of the Vine yard" (Matt. xis 33)
Christ spoke of the prophets of God who were rejected by the
world. He spoke of the coming of 'The Son" who would be
rejected and slain. (Here Jesus was prophesying of His own
rejection by the world and of His crucifixion. Then Jesus
speaks of this "Latter day" coming, saying: "When the Lord,
therefore, of the vineyard carne th what will He do unto those
husband men "They say unto him, lie will miserably destroy
those wicked men and will let out His vineyard unto other
husbandmen, which shall render Him the fruit in their
seasons." This is one of the holy prophecies wherein ispromised the coming of the Mighty Manifestation of God to
the Earth, and the establishment of His Kingdom triumphant
upon earth. (SW, Vol. 4, p. 269).
FROM AN ADDRESS BY 'ABDU'L BAHA IN NEW YORK
"THE DIVINE prophets came to establish the unity of
the Kingdom in human hearts. All of them pro claimed the
glad tidings of the divine bestowals to the world of mankind.
All brought the same message of divine love to the world. His
Holiness Jesus Christ gave his life upon the cross for the unity
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of mankind. Those who believed in him likewise sacrificed life,
honor, possessions, family, everything, that this human world
might be released from the hell of discord, enmity and strife.
His foundation was the oneness of humanity. Only a few were
attracted to him. They were not the kings and rulers of his
time. They were not rich and important people. Some of them
were catchers of fishes. (Star-West, 15:254)
APPENDIX
`Abd al-Bah on the discovery of the cross
Several books have recently been written about the claimed
discovery of the `true cross' of the crucifixion by Helena, the
Christian mother of converted Roman Emperor Constantine(275-337). In a number of talks and tablets AB* commented
on this tradition.
ADD TABLETS AND TEXTS
But at the time of the departure of the Blessed Beauty
there were at least a hundred thousand souls who would
sacrifice their lives for him. These same thoughts that you
have now were also prevalent in Christ's time and so little did
they care for him that it is not even known where he was
buried.
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And three hundred years later, when St. Helen [the
mother of Constantine the Great] went to the Holy Land, some
people, thinking of their own personal benefit, went to her
and said, 'We dug the ground here and found the cross on
which they crucified his holiness, Christ This was the
foundation of the tomb of Christ. It is not even known where
the tombs of Mary and the disciples are. The Catholics say
that the tombs of Paul and Peter are in Rome. Others say
that they are in Antioch. (AB* in SW, Vol. 9, p. 23)
Select Bibliography
Harvey, Van A
1964 A Handbook of Theological Terms.
London: George Allen and Unwin.
Hopper, Jeffery,
1992 `Soteriology' in Musser, Donald, W. &
Joseph L. Price eds. A New Handbook of
Christian Theology' Cambridge: Lutterworth
Press, 452-456.
Kassis, Hanna.
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1983A Concordance of the Qur'an. University
of California Press : Berkeley, Los Angeles,
London.
http://www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/03-Biblical-islam-
BBst/soteriology.htm