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No, the greatness of Christ does not lie in reviving a body but in restoring the souls of millions for centuries. The evidence of His greatness must be sought in His supreme love and sacrifice, in His character, in His faith, and in the wondrous fruits He brought forth. No one can claim a knowledge and wisdom equal to His, no one can bring forth fruits as fragrant and nourishing as His. (1:17) Jim says, 'I am the greatest man in the world.' 'What makes you so great?' Sally asks. 'Look,' Jim says, 'I can lift a truck with one arm.' 'Does that make you the greatest man?' Sally asks. 'Yes,' Jim responds, 'no one else can do it.' (1:18) A mighty arm is no proof of greatness. Before the astonished eyes of millions of people, the famous magician David Copperfield caused the Statue of Liberty to disappear. He also caused a train surrounded by people holding hands to suddenly vanish. Do these achievements make him a great man? Only a great magician, and no more. (1:19) Aside from this, all those who wrote or left records of the resurrection were believers and sympathizers. Would a jury be able to come to a convincing decision simply by the word of sympathizers? And if they did, how credible would it be to people living 2,000 years later? (1:20) Baha'u'llah and the Bab both performed numerous miracles that are well-documented. Yet the Baha'is refer to them only historically, and not as evidence. (1:21) The purpose of showing the irrelevance of miracles to the mission of Messengers is not to undermine the faith of the believers, many of whom have been taught to base their beliefs primarily on demonstrations of miraculous powers by their Savior and Redeemer, but rather to strengthen their faith and devotion. Recognizing the true standards by which God's Messengers distinguish themselves will only validate our beliefs. It will shift our faith from shaky ground to a firm foundation. It will move the evidence from the world of magic to the world of meaning. It will raise the evidence of divine Mission to such supreme heights that no cult leader, no magician, no impostor, no deceiver can ever approach. (1:22) Under future topics, we will study the true standards of divine mission again. As we shall see, those standards are infinitely more reasonable and reliable than that of miraculous records. (1:23) If miracles are not proofs, then what purpose do they serve? Only this purpose: They can awaken the truth seekers. People will say, 'If someone is capable of doing these wonders, maybe I should look into his claim.' If used for this purpose, miracles serve a positive function: They awaken and move the slumbering masses to investigate the truth. (1:24) We are all attracted and impressed by the glamour of the magical and the miraculous. The popularity of magic throughout history is an evidence of this. As long as we use miracles for inspiration and motivation, we have not done wrong. It is the abuse that must be avoided. (1:25) References: 1. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 122
(1:26)
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