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Resurrection of Christ - What's the evidence for and against a literal resurrection
- Thread starter Dawnofhope
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Trailblazer
Veteran Member
No, Baha'u'llah did not descend from Ishmael:
1559. Bahá’u’lláh was a Descendent of Abraham Through Both Katurah and Sarah—Jesse, Son of Sarah, was the Father of David and Ancestor of Bahá’u’lláh
"Regarding your question concerning the Jesse from whom Bahá’u’lláh is descended: The Master says in 'Some Answered Questions', referring to Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, that these verses apply 'Word for word to Bahá’u’lláh'. He then identifies this Jesse as the father of David in the following words: '…for Joseph was of the descendants of Jesse the father of David…', thus identifying the Jesse of Isaiah, chapter 11, with being the father of David. Bahá’u’lláh is thus the descendant of Jesse, the father of David.
"The Guardian hopes that this will clarify the matter for you. It is a tremendous and fascinating theme, Bahá’u’lláh's connection with the Faith of Judaism, and one which possesses great interest to Jew and Christian alike." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 11, 1942)
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
So then, there is lots of room for Baha'u'llah, since He came to bring salvation:
“Wert thou to consider, for but a little while, the outward works and doings of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, thou wouldst fall down upon the ground, and exclaim: O Thou Who art the Lord of Lords! I testify that Thou art the Lord of all creation, and the Educator of all beings, visible and invisible. I bear witness that Thy power hath encompassed the entire universe, and that the hosts of the earth can never dismay Thee, nor can the dominion of all peoples and nations deter Thee from executing Thy purpose. I confess that Thou hast no desire except the regeneration of the whole world, and the establishment of the unity of its peoples, and the salvation of all them that dwell therein.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 243
“Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental verity, and hath failed to attain this most exalted station, the winds of doubt will agitate him, and the sayings of the infidels will distract his soul. He that hath acknowledged this principle will be endowed with the most perfect constancy. All honor to this all-glorious station, the remembrance of which adorneth every exalted Tablet. Such is the teaching which God bestoweth on you, a teaching that will deliver you from all manner of doubt and perplexity, and enable you to attain unto salvation in both this world and in the next. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 86-87
And Baha'u'llah also came to bring judgment:
“Dost thou believe thou hast the power to frustrate His Will, to hinder Him from executing His judgment, or to deter Him from exercising His sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the heavens or in the earth can resist His Faith? No, by Him Who is the Eternal Truth! Nothing whatsoever in the whole of creation can thwart His Purpose. Cast away, therefore, the mere conceit thou dost follow, for mere conceit can never take the place of truth. Be thou of them that have truly repented and returned to God, the God Who hath created thee, Who hath nourished thee, and made thee a minister among them that profess thy faith.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 220
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
I have the one that confesseth Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.....
Referring to Jesus as the Son of Man, Baha'u'llah wrote:
“We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 86
There is also Truth in Christ being God. Christ is all we can know of God.
Baha'u'llah has explained this fully;
"...Say: Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self but His Self, and in My movement but His Movement, and in My acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Praised. There hath not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself naught could be seen but God.
Beware lest ye speak of duality in regard to My Self, for all the atoms of the earth proclaim that there is none other God but Him, the One, the Single, the Mighty, the Loving. From the beginning that hath no beginning I have proclaimed, from the realm of eternity, that I am God, none other God is there save Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting; and unto the end that hath no end I shall proclaim, amidst the kingdom of names, that I am God, none other God is there beside Me, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Say: Lordship is My Name, whereof I have created manifestations in the world of being, while We Ourself remain sanctified above them, would ye but ponder this truth. And Godhead is My Name, whereof We have created exponents whose power shall encompass the people of the earth and make them true worshippers of God, could ye but recognize it. Thus should ye regard all Our Names, if ye be endued with insight...."
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts | Bahá’í Reference Library
Regards Tony
The Resurrection of the Messengers is from age to age when God chooses to give a Message. The Holy Spirit, known as the Christ, that was in Jesus, is the same that is in Baha'u'llah. If Jesus did not go away, He could not come again.
John 16:7"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."
Regards Tony
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
I will read it if I ever have time. Meanwhile, just let me say this: Jesus’ body could have been raised up, although I see no point to it. The reason Christians believe it was necessary is twofold: (1) Because if the body had not resurrected it could not have ascended and Jesus could not return in the same body, and (2) Christians believe that the resurrection of Jesus means that they will all get glorified bodies just like they believe Jesus had, as after Jesus returns they will be raised from graves and get these bodies. So even if I conceded to the fact that the body of Jesus rose, I would never believe the ascension or the bodies rising from graves because it is way too far-fetched and goes against science. Let me put it this way; had I never discovered the Baha’i Faith I would not have any religion at all, since I was never looking for a religion, and I cannot say I would believe in God either. I like Buddhism and some beliefs of Hinduism but there are things like reincarnation I could never believe in. The Baha’i version of the afterlife is the only one that makes any sense, all things considered.
I am no history buff so I do not know what happened prior to the Bab and Baha’u’llah coming. Please note however, that it says “these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” but it does not say when these things will come to pass, so it could be any time prior to the coming of the Bab and Baha’u’llah, and in that case the prophecies were fulfilled.
Some of these prophecies and more are in the book entitled Thief in the Night. I parsed out what I thought was most important when I was discussing this with Christians a few years ago, so I have several threads posted on my forum that make it easier to read these prophecies.
These are from Thief in the Night:
I also did a thread on this from what Baha’u’llah wrote:
This is a video I found online. It is only 7 minutes long, so I suggest you watch it:
These are covered in the 3 Promises of Jesus thread I linked to above.Here's some more:
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand...
My interpretation of these verses is that for the elect’s sake (those who recognized Baha'u'llah) the days were shortened so flesh could be saved. If the New Jerusalem prophecies in the OT and the Messianic Age prophecies in the OT are to be fulfilled then the world could not end. So sometimes we have to piece these things together.
The prophecies above are very interesting. They indicate that anyone who says they are Christ are not Christ, so that means Christ has to have another name. To me it also means that if Jesus indeed did what Christians believe He will do, magical things, great signs and wonders, hat could not be the actual return of Christ.
Nowhere does it say that wars and nations rising up against nations will not happen AFTER Christ returns; it only says they will happen before He returns, and we all know that they did, as wars have been a constant in history.
Thanks for sharing those. What you just said makes the most sense. As I said before, there is no reason to believe that the gospel writers would lie, so there had to be another explanation as to why they wrote what they wrote. Baha’u’llah did tell the Muslims that the Bible had not been corrupted except in certain rare instances that He mentioned but not on the resurrection story.
I have a good Christian friend who believes it word for word and his case is that if we do not believe the Bible literally, there is no point believing it at all. It is about 3 1.2 years we have been posting back and forth on various Delphi Forums with only short respites in between. He knows a lot about the Baha’i Faith, but since he is stuck on his own literal interpretations of the Bible, he cannot see past those to who Baha’u’llah was.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
I have not read the entire resurrection story because I never took it seriously as if it happened as recorded, but as I told you in the previous post, even if Jesus did rise from the grave (that would have been a miracle of God) there is no way I am going to believe that the physical body of Jesus floated off into the sky where there is no atmosphere to breathe, and that Jesus is going to come barreling down from the sky on a cloud someday. That is not only because I believe in Baha’u’llah and that the prophecies have been fulfilled, but because I consider it ridiculous. I do not care if it is written in Acts 1, which is not even from the gospels. It does not mean that a body floated up into the sky because someone said “this same Jesus” since that could just as easily mean “this same spirit of Jesus” and not be referring to a physical body.
I do not care if it sounds way too easy. It is the only rational thing to believe. If Jesus shows up I will change my mind, but I am 100% sure that is never going to happen, not ever. I find it rather sad that so many Christians are living a fantasy but there is nothing that can be done about that since God gave everyone fee will. I know it is rather unfathomable to believe that an entire religion got it that wrong, but that is what the Baha’i Faith is saying. Surely we are swimming against the tide, but I would rather do that than go out with the tide.
I’d be an atheist before I would ever be a Christian believing this fantasy, although I suppose I could be a liberal Christian believing it was all symbolic if I was not a Baha’iIf you believe Jesus is coming back you can go and wait with the Christians. Just count me out for that coming back party.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
To say that the Torah is more authentic than the New Testament is not to say that it IS authentic. I believe that it is more authentic because it is in the authoritative writings of the Baha'i Faith. For example:
From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Know ye that the Torah is that which was revealed in the Tablets to Moses, may peace be upon Him, or that to which He was bidden. But the stories are historical narratives and were written after Moses, may peace be upon Him.
(From a previously untranslated Tablet)
From Letters Written on Behalf of the Guardian:
...The Bible is not wholly authentic, and in this respect is not to be compared with the Qur'an, and should be wholly subordinated to the authentic writings of Bahá'u'lláh.
(28 July 1936 to a National Spiritual Assembly)
...we cannot be sure how much or how little of the four Gospels are accurate and include the words of Christ and His undiluted teachings, all we can be sure of, as Bahá'ís, is that what has been quoted by Bahá'u'lláh and the Master must be absolutely authentic. As many times passages in the Gospel of St. John are quoted we may assume that it is his Gospel and much of it accurate.
(23 January 1944 to an individual believer)
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá states we believe what is in the Bible, He means in substance. Not that we believe every word of it to be taken literally or that every word is the authentic saying of the Prophet.
(11 February 1944 to an individual believer)
We cannot be sure of the authenticity of any of the phrases in the Old or the New Testament. What we can be sure of is when such references or words are cited or quoted in either the Quran or the Bahá'í writings.
(4 July 1947 to an individual believer)
Except for what has been explained by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, we have no way of knowing what various symbolic allusions in the Bible mean.
(31 January 1955 to an individual believer)
The Bible: Extracts on the Old and New Testaments
So, the Torah was revealed to Moses, and I do not believe that Moses actually wrote it in His Own Pen; but the big difference is that nothing in the NT was revealed to Jesus, it was passed down by way of oral tradition. So the NT is much less authentic. Try to separate that from the stories such as Creation, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, Samson and his long hair, Jonah and the big fish, the Hebrews crossing the sea and the sea closing in on the Egyptian army. Notice what Abdu’l-Baha wrote about the Torah, “but the stories are historical narratives and were written after Moses.”
You will have to take that up with the other Baha’is. The Bible is not my area of expertise.
Don’t you think the Jews would know more about who was sacrificed than the Christians?
Maybe you should read this:
Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 9, Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem, pp. 82 (Under 'Ishmael').
The testimony of the former Jew as mentioned hadith literature as quoted in the Encyclopaedia Judaica reads:
Another proof of our speech [i.e., that sacrificed was Ishmael (P)] is reported by Ibn Ishaaq: "Muhammad Ibn Ka'b narrated that 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz sent for a man who had been a Jew then converted to Islam and showed signs of true Islam. [Before his conversion], he was one of their scholars [i.e., he was a Jewish scholar] So he [i.e., 'Umar] asked him: which son did Abraham (P) sacrifice? He replied: 'It is Ishmael(P). By God, O Commander of the Believers, the Jews know that but they envy you - the Arabs.'
Was Isaac or Ishmael to be Sacrificed?
“a rhetorical question is asked when the questioner himself knows the answer already”
“and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—“ 1 John 1:1-2
Again, the word we are looking for is “MANIFESTED” from the Greek word “PHANEROO”, to make visible, clear, manifest, known, that is contrary to gnosticism belief that Christ did not exist at all in the flesh, therefore, there is NO literal crucifixion/death and NO literal resurrection.
Precisely, it means we don't know anything at all until we ask God what we want to know by means of calling "unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not."Jeremiah 33:3That does not mean you know EVERYTHING.
CG Didymus
Veteran Member
Yeah, so you say 1-10 is word for word about Baha'u'llah. What about the rest of the chapter What is it talking about?
Here's Isaiah 11:10-14... 10In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,b from Elam, from Babylonia,c from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. 12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. 13Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. 14They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east.
It is easy to take a verse or two and make a claim. For Baha'is, even 10 verses, but Isaiah didn't stop at verse 10. How does the rest apply to Baha'u'llah? The ambiguity of mountains is an issue also. Mt. Zion is mentioned an awful lot. As far as I know, Zion refers to Jerusalem. I think prophesies say Jesus will come back to Jerusalem. So how do you tie in Baha'u'llah with all the prophesies that mention Zion or Jerusalem?
CG Didymus
Veteran Member
For someone who says they don't know much about the Bible, you sure come up with a lot of Bible verses. But this "new name" thing don't work. Baha'u'llah is the third "new name". What happened to Muhammad and the Bab? And that makes Baha'u'llah the "fourth coming of Christ" after Muhammad and the Bab. If all the focus is on the second coming then that should be Muhammad, right?
CG Didymus
Veteran Member
From Acts 1:Based on the Bible the evidence is overwhelming and sufficient that Baha’u’llah is true.
I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
From Acts 2:22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Based on NT evidence Jesus was raised physically from the dead, which would make Baha'u'llah's claims untrue. Or, Luke is lying, 'cause he says Jesus appeared with "convincing" proofs that he was alive. And then Jesus says "in a few days" they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So that contradicts Baha'i claims that Baha'u'llah was the promised "Spirit of Truth" and "Comforter". Then it is Peter being quoted as saying that God raised Jesus from the dead and that is was impossible for death to hold him. That contradicts the Baha'i view that Jesus died physically and stayed dead and only his spirit lived on.
Why play your "symbolic" game with all this? Baha'is contradict what is claimed in the NT. If it is all phony, say so. If the NT isn't based on fact, then say so. Why continue to claim the resurrection is only symbolic when the NT clearly presents it as a real event? What is weird is Baha'i come so close to saying it is all false by saying it is not as "authentic" as other Scripture. What does that mean? That it is only partially false?
One Baha'i says that things were embellished and based on oral traditions before the gospels got written. Sure, I can believe that. So people made up story, embellished them, and by the time it got written down, it was a long way from being accurate. So doesn't that make the NT the product of fallible men and not "God's Word"? In fact Baha'is have said that lots of Scriptures of religions have been changed and have lost the original teachings of the prophet/manifestation. So, essentially, you are saying you don't believe the Scriptures of the other religions, including the NT, are accurate. So what is it? Is the NT the truth? Is it God's Word? Or, just a fantasy story written by men about a legendary character named Jesus? Except of course the prophesies. They obviously are true, because they point right to Baha'u'llah. Everything else is questionable and needs to taken with a little bit of salt and a lot of symbolism.
If one wishes to avoid there being anything from outside intruding on the material world, what justifies bringing God into the picture at all?
According to mainstream Christianity, the physical resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in human history, being the validation of the promise of future resurrection and reward. Without a miracle like the bodily resurrection of Jesus what reason is there to believe it is God’s doing and that a future resurrection, judgment and reward for the righteous will happen? That is why the bodily resurrection is important. Without that it is too vague and uncertain and no good reason to believe.
As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:2-5,
And in 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 Paul makes clear the that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then there will be no general resurrection.
How will this resurrection be accomplished? The physical body will be changed into a spiritual one, leaving no dead body behind.
1 Corinthians 15 :35-38, 42-46
The dead body becomes the living spiritual body. Paul’s analogy of the body being sown like a seed and being raised up as a plant makes this clear.
The word used by Paul for ‘resurrected” (and by others throughout the NT) is egeirō[/QUOTE] which is to raise up. The primary meaning is to wake from sleep or from death or to physically rise, as from a bed. Figurative meanings are well down the list.
All four Gospels refer to the empty tomb and all but Mark describe Jesus as being in a bodily form. Iit is not a corruptible mortal body but a spiritual one, capable of appearing or vanishing suddenly. Yet a body nonetheless capable of being touched and capable of eating. Even in Mark, where no one sees the risen Jesus, he has gone to Galilee where the disciples are to meet him, suggesting a substantial form. (Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-20, Luke 24-1-53, John 20:1, John 21: 1--13)
It is clear that in the NT, the resurrection of Jesus is actual and bodily.
But Baha’I ignores that and makes it all symbolic.
At the baptism of Jesus, a voice from heaven says “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Marl 1:11) This ties into Paul’s theme of Jesus as the Son of God as a pre-existing supernatural being. The Christian view is that this makes Jesus more than a manifestation/mirror of God. Jesus is himself divine in a way the other Baha’i Manifestations never were.
Jesus existed before being born as a human. Jesus is a divine figure who came from heaven. That is what scripture says.
Philippians 2:6-8
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
John 6:32-33
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
John 6:62-63
What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
John 8:58-59
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Colossians 1:16-17
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Hebrews 1:2
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Jesus is the Son of Man, a figure who comes from heaven in Daniel 7:13. There are far too many to quote. Follow this link if you want to see them.
In the Christian scriptures, Jesus is connected to God in a way that no other Baha’I manifestation ever was. Jesus is a divine being who came from heaven, went back to heaven and will return again at the end of days to judge everyone, meting out reward of punishment as appropriate.[/URL]
This is an obvious reference to Paul who likens baptism with the Holy Spirit as connecting with the death and resurrection of Jesus. If there was no resurrection of Jesus, the metaphor does not work. Paul had made it clear that bodily resurrection with transformation into a spiritual form is what he means by resurrection. See the discussion of 1 Corinthians 5 above. It is not simply when the soul leaves the body. That is clearly not the case, since the resurrection of Jesus did not happen until the third day after the death of Jesus. This reiterates that Jesus rose in bodily form, leaving an empty tomb behind.
Anyway, ‘the Spirit gives life’ says that the spirit is the agent of giving life. It says nothing about what form that life will take.
Your Greatest Proof is seriously lacking. It does not prove anything like what you want it to say.
It is obvious from these two passages that it is the former Attributes of the Spirit seen in Elijah, that was returned in John and John was not Elijah in the Flesh. As such it is the Spirit that Resurrects.
Whatever was seen by Mary and the Disciples was an event that cement their hearts in the Spirit of the Love of Christ, to prepare us as It was to happen again in the future;
Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts."
Elijah always comes first.
Luke 1:17 "And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Regards Tony[/QUOTE]
I do not see how references to John the Baptist as Elijah proves anything relative to the idea of spiritual only resurrection. Luke 1 has it that John was born a few months before Jesus. If John were literally Elijah, that would be a case of reincarnation, not resurrection. Obviously not Elijah in the flesh or he would have arrived by flaming chariot. It is never clear if John is supposed to be understood as embodying the literal spirit (soul) of Elijah (as in reincarnation) or simply carrying out the role of Elijah in announcing the arrival of the Messiah. The reincarnation angle has a problem since Elijah is presumed not to have died, having been taken alive into heaven. We are then left with John the Baptist fulfilling the role of Elijah in presaging and identifying the Messiah.
I do not see any evidence at all in these quotes that the resurrection is only spiritual, which is what I had asked. I do see in the NT, which I have extensively quoted or referenced above, is that Jesus was unique and divine in his own right in a way not applicable to any of the other Manifestations put forward by Baha’i.
Let me be clear. As far as I am concerned, you can follow (or invent) any religion you want, as long as no one gets hurt. But to say that the NT supports what Baha’i claims is simply untrue.
The Greatest Proof is not lacking. The greatest proof is that Christ has returned as promised and explained all this in detail.
The greatest error is man has become a worshiper of the Flesh in neglect of embracing the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit being the First Message and will be the Last Mesage.
This is a full explanation on how God appears to humanity and how God raises up His Messengers - Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Íqán
This is Christ speaking to us in this day, the question is do we have eyes that will see and ears that will hear?
As you have said, there is no harm as a Baha'i is a true lover of Christ, we will turn the other cheek as we learn war no more and do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
With that, the Risen Christ is in my heart and is my very life, I do not wait His return, I embrace it, and ask for strength to live it.
Stay well and happy, regards always Tony.
Yet people cling to Flesh having to be a core belief. They allow a few passages in the bible to cement in their minds what God Must do to be the right God. That mistake is proved in the history of the Scriptures, I need not argue the fact.
They make of their understandings their God and neglect what is given from God.
Thus when a Christ comes and tries to show them they are mistaken, their views trump and persecute the Christ. This has always been our way, it has not changed in this day.
Regards Tony