Manifestation of God
Manifestation of God ( Baha'i transcription maẓhar-i-iláhí ) is a theological term from the Baha'itum , which outlines their model of divine revelation . Alternatively, Bahā'ī also use the terms revelator or founder of religion .
For Baha'i, the essence of God is not recognizable, therefore he sends his messengers, the manifestations of God, who are his representatives on earth. They are theophanes , mirrors that reflect God's glory and reveal his attributes. However, they are not incarnations of God or his essence, but emanations , nevertheless they represent the divine presence towards people. They offer people the sole access to divine knowledge and divine mercy .
They reveal the divine law and are in the possession of the "greatest infallibility" and free from sin. They appear to mankind as successive divine teachers, from which the Baha'i teaching of the Progressive Revelation results.
Even if there is no definitive list of manifestations in the writings of the Baha'i, Adam is found as the first known manifestation of God, followed by Abraham , Mose , Zarathustra , Krishna , Siddhartha Gautama , Jesus Christ , Mohammed , the Bab and finally Baha'ullah , the founder of the Baha'i religion. However, this is not an exclusivist enumeration, but a list of the manifestations of God certainly known to the Baha'i. In practice, Baha'i tend to be inclusive . Baha'ullah is by no means considered the last manifestation of God, but others will follow him as well, but at the earliest 1,000 years after his public announcement of his mission.
The manifestations of God have sovereignty over heaven and earth. Each of them is the return of all previous manifestations of God and, with their appearance, brings a judgment that separates the believers from the unbelievers. You initiate a positive and invigorating transformation in the life of your followers and in their societies, which gives unity, peace, courage and certainty. This great importance of the manifestations of God for the Baha'i explains that Bahau'llah established recognition and obedience to the manifestations of God as an inseparable first commandment in his Most Holy Book . From this point of view, a rebellion against a manifestation of God is also a rebellion against all others and ultimately also against God.
The nature of the manifestations of God has two levels: on the one hand, they share their quality as carriers of the divine message and all proclaim the same faith; on the other hand, each of them has its own mission, a specific message and an individual human form Personality. From this, Baha'i explain the, for them only external, differences between the various religions and proclaim their mystical unity.
literature
- Peter Smith: Art. Manifestations of God . in: Peter Smith: A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith . Oneworld-Publications, Oxford 1999, ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6 , pp. 231 .
- Nicola Towfigh: Creation and Revelation from the perspective of the Bahá'í religion . Georg-Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim, Zurich, New York 1989, ISBN 3-487-09140-2 .
- Bahá'í International Community: Who are the Prophets? 2008 ( online ).
- Bahá'í International Community: Bahá'u'lláh: Manifestation of God . 2008 ( online ).
- Bahá'í International Community: The Oneness of Religion . 2008 ( online ).
- Baha'u'llah: The Book of Certainty . Kitáb-i-Íqán . 4th edition. Bahá'í-Verlag, Hofheim 2004, ISBN 3-87037-362-8 ( online ).
- Baha'u'llah, Shoghi Effendi : harvesting grain . A selection from the writings of Baha'u'llah, compiled and translated into English by Shoghi Effendi . 5th edition. Bahá'í-Verlag, Hofheim 2003, ISBN 3-87037-379-2 ( online ).
- Baha'u'llah: Kitáb-i-Aqdas . The holiest book . Bahá'í-Verlag, Hofheim 2000, ISBN 3-87037-379-2 ( online ).