This post covers only one paragraph from the Baha’i Book of Certitude, this paragraph is about Abraham.
Begin Book of Certitude text [all underscoring and emboldening are mine. The underscored portions will be commented upon below.]
[You should read posts 1 and 2 prior to reading this post, as what is in those posts will enable fuller understanding of this post.]
Begin Book of Certitude:
Later, the beauty of the countenance of the Friend of God 8 appeared from behind the veil, and another
standard of divine guidance was hoisted. He invited the people of the earth to the light of
righteousness. The more passionately He exhorted them, the fiercer waxed the envy and
waywardness of the people, except those who wholly detached themselves from all save God, and
ascended on the wings of certainty to the station which God hath exalted beyond the
comprehension of men. It is well known what a host of enemies besieged Him, until at last the
fires of envy and rebellion were kindled against Him. And after the episode of the fire came to
pass, He, the lamp of God amongst men, was, as recorded in all books and chronicles, expelled
from His city. [End Book of Certitude]
Below, my comments are in red, the phrase I am commenting on is from the paragraph above and is in black print:
[A] Friend of God: that is a phrase used to describe Abraham and his relationship to God, that is, the Bible calls Abraham the friend of God
[B] ‘another divine standard was hoisted’ this phrase suggests that Abraham was what the Baha’i Faith calls a ‘manifestation of God,’ that is not how Abraham is portrayed in the Bible. He is portrayed by the following points:
- The father of the faithful – God called him out of his Pagan home country of UR and told him to go ‘where God would reveal to him’ as he traveled. God’s purpose was to call out from the earth a people of His own. This would demonstrate to the Pagan world that there IS a God who created the earth and everything in it. A reading of Genesis will show you that God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. That covenant was applied to Abraham’s son, Isaac, then to his son Jacob, then to the 12 sons of Jacob (the twelve tribes of Israel); God began calling Jacob, Israel in Genesis 32: 22-32. That covenant became the New Covenant when it was ratified via the blood of Christ; all believers are brought into the faith via this covenant and it provides blessings for adherence and curses for disobedience
- The father of all who would believe in Christ by faith: Read Romans 4 and Galatians 3; these New Testament writings explain what happened in Genesis 15, when God made a covenant with Abraham
[C] He invited the people of the earth to the light of righteousness. Shoghi Effendi, by that statement, is twisting scripture around, molding it to his purposes. His purpose is to tell the reader that all divine manifestations have been resisted by human kind. That human kind does not have the understanding to accept these manifestations, except for a few of them…. God certainly is the light of righteousness, Abraham certainly was not such. The only way one becomes a born-again believer is by faith; therein, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them – studying Romans and Galatians could enable one to grasp the meaning of that
Abraham was CALLED BY GOD to establish a people that would testify to the existence of the living God on earth. God made Abraham a believer in Him by REVEALING HIMSELF to Abraham, then He made a covenant with Abraham and promised rewards for obedience and curses for disobedience. Those rewards and curses became much clearer when God amended His covenant at the time of Moses, it thereafter included specific rules. Those are explained with much clarity in Romans 3. Therein the apostle Paul calls the Law of God a standard by which SIN is made very clear. The purpose of the law was to reveal sin, no one can be saved or go to heaven by obeying the law because no one but Christ ever obeyed it in such a manner. If you study the initial 8 chapters of Romans and the book of Galatians, this will become clear. Those sections explain what God did through His covenants with Abraham and Moses.
In this blog, in the CATEGORY of Baha’i Faith, you will find a post that contains a 22-page document that explains the covenants, and shows that Abraham, Moses and Christ are all part of the unfolding of God the Father’s plan of redemption. These figures are not the ‘divine manifestations’ of three world religions like the Baha’i Faith claims in their theory of ‘progressive revelation.’ – Document PDF is attached to this post.
[D] The more passionately He exhorted them, the fiercer waxed the envy and waywardness of the people Shoghi Effendi is, here again, in error. Abraham did NOT go around exhorting others to believe in God; or to believe he was a ‘manifestation’ of God to whose leadership they should presently submit; what I said above about Abraham conveys God’s purposes for having communed with Abraham.
All you have to do to find out whether I am speaking truth is to read the Bible. Go to Bible Hub, read from the NIV and read commentators on it so that you might ascertain the correct meaning of each verse. Or you could buy a study Bible and read the scholarly foot notes to come to the understanding a theologian has of the texts I am citing. That is, I am not expressing my opinions; but have studied and have been learning for the past 18+ years.
[E]… episode of the fire: That is likely a reference to the ‘burning bush’ in Exodus 3:
Exodus 3:3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
[F] …as recorded in all books and chronicles Here again, Shoghi Effendi makes a vague reference to other writings that confirm his points. If you spend an hour reading the 22-page document attached to this post, wherein I wrote against progressive revelation, you will find examples of how God gave credibility to His prophets, messengers, and apostles when HE sent them to give a message to the people from Him. Those were usually miracles, healings, prophecies fulfilled in their presence.
[G]…expelled from His city Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
22-PAGE DOCUMENT AGAINST BAHA’I PROGRESSIVE REVELATION: Covenant with Bible refs.pdf 4.2.20
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