Progressive revelation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Baha'i like to compare the individual "manifestations of God" with the different links of a chain, with each pearl representing a cycle of revelation and the chain as a whole for the great Adamite cycle. The founder of the religion Baha'u'llah says: "Observe with your inner eye the chain of successive revelations that connects the manifestations of Adam with that of Bab." ( Baha'u'llah, Gleaning, ch. 31 )

Progressive revelation or progressive divine revelation is a theological term from Bahaitum , which outlines the idea that divine revelation is not a singular event, but takes place progressively and relative to its time (and the respective culture).

Baha'i see various revelations and the religions of religious history that refer to them as different stages of an indivisible, eternal, lasting and evolutionarily developing religion of divine origin. The Bahaitum itself sees itself as part of this development and at the same time as the eschatological fulfillment of all previous revelations.

Revelation is both cyclical and progressive. Every manifestation of God brings divine teachings according to the spiritual capacity of the people in their time. Therefore, religious truth is relative in relation to its recipients, not absolute. The revelations of the manifestations of God include, on the one hand, eternal truths, such as some unalterable fundamental moral and spiritual statements, and, on the other hand, certain messages adapted for the spiritual development of human society. Since humanity is thus evolving civilizationally and spiritually, this is the progressive part of the revelation.

The cycles of successive manifestations of God are compared to the passage of the seasons. The appearance of a new manifestation of God is like the invigorating spring. After a period of positive development, the summer, the decline follows, the autumn, in which the followers of the religion begin to no longer follow the original spirit of revelation, but only to follow external traditions. Finally, in winter, religion is reduced almost entirely to unreflective imitation, which can also lead to the rejection of the new manifestation of God.

In addition to these cycles, which relate to the divine sending of the individual manifestations and their effect, the Bahaitum knows even larger cycles, which include several manifestations of God. Two of these cycles are named in the writings of the Baha'i. The prophetic cycle, also known as the Adamite cycle, and the fulfilling cycle, usually called the Baha'i cycle.

Manifestations of God of the prophetic cycle that clearly emerge from the literature are Adam , Abraham , Mose , Zarathustra , Krishna , Siddhartha Gautama , Jesus Christ and Mohammed . However, further manifestations in this cycle are not excluded, at least before Mohammed. Since God never leaves people without guidance, there must have already been manifestations of God (albeit unknown by name) before Adam and there must have been others after Mohammed, even if he closes the great prophetic cycle as the “seal of the prophets”.

After Mohammed, the Baha'i know two other manifestations of God: the Bab and Baha'u'llah . They are the first two manifestations of God in the cycle of fulfillment, which began with the proclamation of the Bab in 1844 and is said to last at least 500,000 years. Also on Baha'u'llah many other manifestations of God will follow within this period at intervals of about 1,000 years and continue the sequence of the small cycles of revelation.

literature

  • Peter Smith: Art. Manifestations of God . ; Peter Smith: Art. Progressive Revelation . in: Peter Smith: A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith . Oneworld-Publications, Oxford 1999, ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6 , pp. 231; 276-7 .
  • 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, 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 ).
  • Shoghi Effendi : The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Letters from Shoghi Effendi . Bahá'í-Verlag, Hofheim 1977, ISBN 3-87037-087-4 ( online ).