Origin of the Baha’i Religion
About 5 million people worldwide adhere to the Baha’i faith, according to Patheos.com, but other sources say there are as many as 7 million around the world.
The religion officially formed in 1863, but a Shiite Muslim man in Iran began paving the way in 1844 by announcing a new prophet was to come – after Muhammad. This man called himself the Báb, meaning “the Gate” in Arabic. This angered the Shiite government, and the Báb was executed in 1850.
One of his followers was also persecuted as the new branch of Islam grew. He took the name, Bahá’u’lláh, meaning, “glory of God,” and was thrown in jail in 1852, where he began to believe he was the prophet the Báb proclaimed would come. In exile, he eventually moved to Istanbul and officially declared to the group he was the prophesied messenger.
In the way that John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, so the Báb (1819–1850) prepared the way for Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892) the founder of Baha’i.
Image by shalender kumar from Pixabay of Bahai Temple in India
Beliefs and Practices of the Baha’i Religion
A fundamental belief of the Baha’i faith is that all peoples and religions will unite into one – the Baha’i religion. Believing in the oneness of humanity and the pursuit of world peace is foundational. Baha’i teaches this world peace is possible through the “abolition of all form of prejudice…[and] the extremes of wealth and poverty,” Bahai.org stated. Other principles that will bring about universal peace, as listed on their website, are equality between men and women, harmony between religion and science, a universal auxiliary language, a world tribunal, justice, and compulsory education.
With an origin date in the mid-19th century, some may say Baha’i is a relatively new religion. But in-line with their goal of uniting all peoples and all religions, “Baha’is believe their faith is the culmination of all religions,” as AllAboutRligion.org stated.
Evangelism and missionary work are integral to Baha’i teachings as well. According to Bahai.org, the purpose of life for Baha’is is two-fold: “to attend to their own spiritual and intellectual growth and to contribute to the transformation of society […] The refinement of one’s inner character and service to humanity are inseparable facets of life.”
As they emphasize and work towards one unified religion, the Baha’i have appropriated some practices and beliefs from other religions. The Economist points out a couple of examples of this.
“Like Islam, it prohibits alcohol,” they said. “The Bahai faith is popular among [Indonesian] Papuan tribes [because] Bahais are more comfortable with their continuing traditional customs than are some Christian missionaries.”
The religion also teaches humans are inherently good and religious truth is revealed progressively, over time.
While Bahá’u’lláh believed his messianic mandate was the unification of the world’s religions, his message was fatally flawed.
3 Significant Flaws of the Baha’i Religion
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
1. Baha’i believes their prophet is a manifestation of God who is greater than Jesus Christ.
First, Baha’is believe that Bahá’u’lláh is a greater manifestation of God than Moses, Muhammad, or the Christian Messiah. Thus the Baha’i thrust toward the unification of all religions is primed for failure.
Islam, the mother religion of Baha'i, would not and could not consider Bahá’u’lláh as a prophet of God greater than Muhammad. Likewise, Christianity is committed to Christ as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6, emphasis added; cf. Acts 4:12).
2. Baha’i teaches Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and others were each messengers and manifestations of God.
Furthermore, Baha’i teaches that every few hundred years the spirit and attributes of divinity are mirrored in a new messenger and manifestation of God. Each revelator reveals as much revelation as the faithful are ready to receive. As such, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius, Christ, Muhammad, and Krishna all paved the way toward the ultimate revelations personified in the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
The fallacy, of course, is that the revelators and their revelations directly conflict with one another. For example, Moses was fiercely monotheistic whereas Zoroaster and Krishna were polytheistic. Likewise, the Qur’an condemns Christ’s claim to be the Son of God as the unforgivable sin of shirk.
Logically, the messengers and manifestations can all be wrong, but they can’t all be right.
3. Baha’i denies the fundamental truths of Christianity.
Finally, Baha’i explicitly denies objective truth claims of Christianity such as the Trinity, virgin birth, incarnation, resurrection, and the second coming of Christ.
Moreover, while the Báb said that Bahá’u’lláh was the quintessential messenger and manifestation of God—the “Best–beloved” and “the Desire of the World”—the Bible states that Christ is “the exact representation of God” (Hebrews 1:3) in whom “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).
For further study, see Francis J. Beckwith, “Baha’i–Christian Dialogue: Some Key Issues Considered,” Christian Research Journal (1989) 11, 3, available through the Christian Research Institute (CRI) at www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/.
This section above was excerpted from Hank Hanegraaff’s blog “What’s Wrong with Baha’i?” on Christianity.com.
Sources:
AllAboutReligion.org, “Beliefs of the Baha’i Faith.”
Britannica, “Baha'i Faith.” The Editors, 2018.
The Economist, “The Bahai faith.” A.V. 2017.
Patheos.com, “Baha’i.”
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Luke Porter
