FerventGodSeeker said:
It is certainly set apart from Baha'i if you believe God ceases to God because He takes on human form. This is one of the most central tenets of Christianity; that God loves us so much that He Himself got down in the dirt with us, appeared in lowly form as a humble servant, and literally died for us, subsequently rising from the grave to defeat death. I don't hear that message coming from Baha'i.
FGS
Hi FGS,
As Art said, this is not a tenant held by all denominations of Christianity. Why is that, if, as you say it's one of the most central? Perhaps it deserves a closer look.
How did that belief come to be a central tenant? imho it stems from Jesus saying "I and the Father are one", but that alone is neglecting to take into consideration that Jesus also said "the Father is greater than I". imho, it's neglected because the second seems to contradict the first. How can that be? God cannot contradict Himself. So there must be something more to it. Some deeper principle that people have glossed over because they can't wrap their minds around it's implications and understand it.
I believe that both of these statements are true.
Jesus and the Father are One in essence, as Jesus only taught what He was given by God to share with us. Jesus' voice is God's voice, given to us through the Holy Spirit.
That is how we can recognize God. through His voice. Not through a physical human body. "...today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart..." Psalms 95:7-8
"the Father is greater than I" ...so if Jesus and the Father are One. How can the Father be greater?
Baha'u'llah says something similar...
"When I contemplate, O my God, the relationship that bindeth
me to Thee, I am moved to proclaim to all created things "verily
I am God"; and when I consider my own self, lo, I find it
coarser than clay!" - (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 234)
As i understand it, the Messengers of God have a twofold station, that of a human being (albeit a completely selfless one), and that of the Voice of God. That is why it is so easy to misunderstand the seeming contradictions between some of their statements. They speak to us from both of their stations. Two distinctly different stations. When they speak of their sufferings, and the tests and challenges they face, they are speaking as a man. When they speak with power and authority, that is the Voice of God speaking via the Holy Spirit through them.
God is so far beyond anything we can conceive. God in His infinite mercy sends us guidance through a perfect human temple, in a way that we can grasp according to our capacity, not His. If God were to show us His full glory, humanity would be dumbfounded and cease to exist. Gradually God is educating mankind to understand our own true nature as spiritual beings. We are on the thresh-hold of maturity. All of religious history has been leading up to this point.
Of course, this is simply my own humble understanding of something i will never fully comprehend.
Have a great day!
-Amy