So are you saying that if God interact with this world, there would not he all the evil pain and suffering are so rampant in this world? I believe that despite God sending Messengers telling us how we should live, some people chose to ignore those messages and not follow them so that is why there is evil in the world, since evil is caused by man and the choices he makes and acts he commits, given man has free will to do either good or evil. There is other suffering in the world that is not caused by man’s choices and actions, and we are simply forced to endure this kind of suffering because we have no choice. Man is forced to endure them because thye are our fate.
“Some things are subject to the free will of man, such as justice, equity, tyranny and injustice, in other words, good and evil actions; it is evident and clear that these actions are, for the most part, left to the will of man. But there are certain things to which man is forced and compelled, such as sleep, death, sickness, decline of power, injuries and misfortunes; these are not subject to the will of man, and he is not responsible for them, for he is compelled to endure them. But in the choice of good and bad actions he is free, and he commits them according to his own will.” Some Answered Questions, p. 248.
Well, thanks for all that information. I do not have much time to study these days but I learn a lot from reading what people post on the forum.
It is interesting you mention extinction because Baha’u’llah wrote that God could afford to dispense with all His creatures if He wanted to. God has no needs since God is totally self-sufficient and self-subsisting so God does not need humans for anything. The only reason God reveals anything through Messengers is for human benefit, and it does not affect God if we choose to reject His Messengers, it only affects us.
So if God had wanted us to go extinct He has had plenty of time to make that happen. I believe that could have been our fate if God had not sent Baha’u’llah. I believe that everything that we see now that is heading in a positive direction is the result of His Revelation, even though most people are not even aware of it let alone believing in it. I believe that a new world order is slowing rising and eventually it will replace the old world order. This is what is referred to as the Kingdom of God on earth in the Bible.
Jesus asked for us to pray for the Kingdom to come, Jesus never said he was coming to build it, as Christians believe. That belief is based upon a misunderstanding of the Bible. Christians take certain verses and interpret them to mean what they want them to mean, because they so want Jesus to return, but that is not even what the verses say at all. Thus Christians have completely misconstrued the meaning of the Bible, which is actually very accurate regarding what will happen in the ends times.
Christians believe that Jesus is going to return and wave His magic wand and fix everything that is wrong in this world, all the things that humans have messed up over the centuries and that Jesus will build the Kingdom of God on earth. By contrast, Baha’is believe that humans will build the Kingdom of God on earth by following the blueprint instructions Baha’u’llah laid out.
“The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 136
“Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 7
I do agree that what happens to Christianity is controlled by political forces and other actions of men, not by God. If God had His way, Christianity would be no more. This is all IMHO. I believe that Christianity will eventually be phased out but this won’t happen overnight because humans move slowly and God does not interfere in human free will decisions.
Maybe you do not know this, but Islam is now the fastest growing religion in the world and by the year 2060 it will overtake Christianity. The Baha’i Faith is right behind Islam as the second fastest growing religion in the world.
The growth rates of the Abrahamic religions from 1910-2010 were as follows: Judaism .11%, Christianity 1.32%, Islam 1.97%, and Baha’i Faith 3.54%.
From 2000-2010 Islam became the fastest growing religion (1.86 %) and the Baha’i Faith was the second fastest growing religion (1.72%). Christianity is trailing behind at 1.31%.
Statistics from:
Growth of religion - Wikipedia
The growth rates of the Baha’i Faith were higher than Islam from 1910 to 2010 because it includes the “formative age” of the Baha’i Faith (1921-1944)
FOURTH PERIOD: THE INCEPTION OF THE FORMATIVE AGE OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH 1921–1944
Growth of the Baha’i Faith has slowed down since the year 2000 because the new goal is consolidation and community building, so the emphasis is not spreading the Faith all over the world as it was before in the 20th century.
Christians cannot stop this process no matter how many adjustments they make in order to try to make Christianity more attractive because it was ordained by God. Christianity is a dying religion, but since it is still the largest religion in the world, it will take a long time before it dies out altogether.
The Baha’i Faith is still very small, as are all new religions, and there are logical reasons for that. One of these reasons is that religious people cling to the religions of the past and believe they have the one true religion. This is true of Judaism and Christianity, less do Islam, because Muslims recognize all the true religions that preceded Islam.
It is stated somewhere in the Baha’i Writings that when Christians start outright and vicious attacks on the Baha’i Faith that is when the Baha’i Faith will start to grow exponentially, because it will be brought to the forefront and be known by everyone, unlike now. Mind you, Christians already attack the Baha’i Faith online, on websites and in forums, but that is small potatoes compared to what will happen in the future, and as far as I am concerned that cannot happen soon enough, because I am ready.