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Alternatives - to Original Sin:
From 'Abdul-Baha: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1co 15:22) "Adam is the cause of man's physical life; but the reality of Christ - that is to say, the Word of God - is the cause of spiritual life.. But the mass of the Christians believe that, as Adam ate of the forbidden tree, He sinned in that He disobeyed, and that the disastrous consequences of this disobedience have been transmitted as a heritage and have remained among His descendants. Hence Adam became the cause of the death of humanity. This explanation is unreasonable and evidently wrong, for it means that all men, even the Prophets and the Messengers of God.. have become without reason guilty sinners." (saq 120) see
From Bahá'u'lláh: O Son of Spirit! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created." (hwd 9:2) see
Humans are inherently noble: "A mine rich in gems of inestimable value" (tbh 161:3) We can choose to polish these gems and express our true nature, or we can ignore our true selves and fall into degradation. Bahá'ís consider the Bible divine, and believe that there is a deeper meaning to the verses which support the Christian idea of original sin.. see
From Harper's Bible Dictionary: "There is no passage in the Bible that directly teaches such a doctrine. Paul (rom 5:12) related the sinful condition of the human race to the original transgression of Adam, insisting at the same time, however, that the result of sin (death) "spread to all people" not simply because of Adam's sin but "because all people sinned. (Harper's p. 955)[-ed] see
From the Bible: "a son who sees all the sins which his father has done.. and does not do likewise.. he shall not die for his father's iniquity.." (eze 18:14-17) see
"The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father.. the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." (eze 18:19-20) see
"The righteous judgment of God.. will render to every man according to his deeds." (rom 2:5-6) see
The Bahá'í interpretation of Paul's story affirms what Paul said, that we were re-created in the likeness of Christ through a mercy which required the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and this was the meaning of Jesus when he claimed to fulfill the Law in its entirety.
"It is often difficult to have a discussion with Christians: not only because they are split up into many schools of thought and belief, and because everything to do with Christianity is a matter for multiple dispute within the Churches; but above all because their eye for the parallels in religious history is blurred by their sense of uniqueness and exclusiveness and their belief that the Christians are a "chosen people." This prevents any real insight into the facts. (ls 60:2) see
The originality of a religion.. lies less in the proclamation of new ideas never thought of before than in the impulses transforming men and women, in the creative, formative power of the word of God and in the judgment on the superseded religions.. Early Christianity and Islam in particular are testimonies to these impulses, which are behind religious concepts and imperatives both new and old. The ideas alone could not have produced the victorious campaign through which these religions conquered the world." (ls 61:1) see
What about the resulting attitude of modern Christians toward their fellow religions: "Can sympathy and deep understanding be expected from a church.. for a phenomenon which claims to be a revelation of God to mankind and therefore seems to rival the Christianity represented by the Church? Merely to ask the question is to answer in the negative. Someone who is accustomed to think only in the hidebound categories of a dogmatic system that demands exclusiveness, someone who throughout his life has inveighed even against other Christian denominations, directly they deviate from his credal dogmas, can certainly be expected to give a rigid "no" when challenged from outside. Churchmen just cannot see the rival great religions as other than "lies" or at best as attempts at self-redemption which are human and therefore doomed to failure, as tissues of truth, half-truth, error, superstition, illusion and charlatanry, as.. a mass of "general religious concepts and general human hopes and expectations"-- in short as an amalgam of disparate elements. This blindness is a fact which has to be accepted.." (ls 56:1) see
".. Bahá'u'lláh teaches (that) all the revealed religions are of divine origin and there is therefore an essential unity between the religions, if the revelation of God is a cyclically recurring, progressive process, if the purpose of revelation has always been the same, the education of the human race, then there can be no essential contradictions between the religions on questions about the purpose of their revelations. For God does not contradict Himself." (ls 86:1) see
"If religions contradict each other on questions independent of the turn of events on earth and the development of man and society, the contradictions go back to the individual centrifugal developments which all religions have been through, to the erosions of history. The criterion of judgment will always be the most recent revelation of God. For the purification of the religions is one reason, among others, why whenever it has pleased God, "the gates of mercy have been opened" "till the end which has no end. " God Himself reforms, by speaking again to mankind at the end of a cycle of revelation. That is why the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is at the same time a judgment on the old religions. It is, as he testifies, "the right path" whereby "truth shall be distinguished from error and the wisdom of every command shall be tested. " It separates the thorns and thistles from the grain, the true and authentic from the untrue and false, the pure divine teaching from the human additions and misunderstandings: "Verily, the day of ingathering is come, and all things have been separated from each other. He hath stored away that which He chose in the vessels of justice, and cast into fire that which befitteth it. " (Bahá'u'lláh- Tablet to Pope Pius Ix) (ls 86:2) see
And that "Through his sacrifice we were saved, not through our own merits, but through the grace of God. We were freed from the law which kept us under the weight of sin, and death." (see mat 5:17-18 and rom 7:4-6) see
As stated above, on the surface these teachings suggest a linear progression from the fall of Adam, to the final redemption via the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. However, there are alternate conclusions to be made. Consider the following story told by Jesus:
"Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame. ' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. ' And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house- for I have five brothers- that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment. ' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. ' But he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' But he said to him, 'if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead." (luk 16:22-31) see
It is clear from this passage that before the time of Jesus, there was already a distinction between Hades (Hell), the place where the rich man was consigned, and a heavenly place where Lazarus was consigned.
So how are these contradictory ideas of salvation, 'being reliant on a specific event in history', as opposed to the above account of 'salvation which happened well before the time of Jesus'? Most Christians place an enormous emphasis on the historical Jesus, even though Jesus stated that the "Christ" has been around for eternity.
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad". The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am". (joh 8:56-58) see
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. " (joh 1:1-5) see
This passage clearly establishes Christ as an eternal spiritual presence. One that was around long before Jesus' body was ever born into the world. His life, which was evident in the original Word, was also the light of men from the very beginning.
God is "Spirit" and "Love".
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. " (joh 4:24) see
"The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. " (1jo 4:8) see
It makes sense to view the "Christ" in much the same manner.
Here is one logical way to understand the historical nature and redeeming act of Jesus in the context of the eternal nature of "Christ" and "Spirit". Consider the following explanation given by Bahá'u'lláh on the nature of the prophets and manifestations of God.
"It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of Being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendor! Wherefore, should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I am the return of all the Prophets," He, verily, speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established'. (gwb 153:1). see
The other station is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation, and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a predestined revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfills a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular Revelation. Even as He saith: "Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others. To some God hath spoken, some He hath raised and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We gave manifest signs, and We strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit."(gwb 52:2). see
It is because of this difference in their station and mission that the words and utterances flowing from these Well Springs of Divine knowledge appear to diverge and differ. Otherwise, in the eyes of them that are initiated into the mysteries of Divine wisdom, all their utterances are, in reality, but the expressions of one Truth. As most of the people have failed to appreciate those stations to which We have referred, they, therefore, feel perplexed and dismayed at the varying utterances pronounced by Manifestations that are essentially one and the same." (gwb 53:1) [please read note '43'] see
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