Re: From a non-Bah'ai: re-envisioning progressive revelation



JanetDoe wrote:

I am not a Baha'i, but many of the people in my social circle are (and
devoutly so).  Thus, in the interest of maintaining a connection with
them, I often converse about the Baha'i Faith and the tenets and
perspectives thereof.  From what I have read and heard, I doubt I will
ever become Baha'i, but this does not mean I do not appreciate the aims
of the faith or the wonderful people I've met who are part of it.

One of the reasons for my reluctance to assuming a Baha'i identity lies
in the idea of progressive revelation. Or rather, the manner in which
it is presented. The "grade school" analogy in particular has been a
sore spot for me. 

Of course.

Despite the sincerity and earnestness of the
expression, deep down I often feel a tad insulted.  In a roundabout
way, it insinuates that the beliefs of non-Baha'is are primitive and
irrelevant.


I thought the problem was that it implied that Baha'is are more advanced, rather than the non-Baha'i religions being irrelevant. The upside of the grade school" analogy is that it implies that the whole thing is part of a single system, rather than rants about the need to burn witches or that non-Baha'is are worshipping demons.

For a while, I simply rejected progressive revelation outright.
However, as I've been thinking about it more, a new idea has come to me
about it.  What if progressive revelation, instead of attaching itself
to this idea of human advancement from "low" to "high" (whatever that
is supposed to mean), actually referred to increasing completeness in
our understanding of the divine?

Let me use an analogy.  The typical view of progress is like a ladder,
where each ring goes up, up, up until you reach God (or whatever).  The
view I'm putting forth is more like a pie, where each piece together
creates a more complete vision of the whole.  It is completeness that
is the goal, not "progress."  With the emergence of new faiths and new
ways of perceiving and understanding ourselves and the world(s) around
us, we get a more complete standard of What It's All About.  With this,
it becomes possible for each faith to express itself and contribute to
this wholeness equally and on its own terms.

I'm not sure how receptive the Baha'is I know will be to this idea, but
I'm open to dialogue here and perhaps asking questions that will deepen
our understanding of things.


I think there are really two things going on with progressive revelation and I appreciate that you are hitting the problems with the grade school analogy. On the one hand, man always interprets the revelation, and, in the process, often corrupts it. For example, the story of Adam and Eve was interpreted to imply that women were weak, and not to be trusted with important decisions like 'what's for lunch?' By the time of Christ, the Rabbis were interpreting verses about dedication to G-D to imply that adult children need not concern themselves with supporting infirm parents. By the time of Muhammad, Priests were interpreting statements in the New Testament that God was not essentially One, but really three persons. These sorts of things were not really in the prior revelation, but incorrectly inferred by man. These things do not get corrected by theologians, so a revelation is needed to correct misinterpretation.

On the other hand, society is changing. In addition to correcting truths, the revelation contextualizes itself for the target society. North India 2500 years ago had plenty of religion and theology, maybe even too much and too many gods, and so there was less point in discussing God. Our time is a time of globalization, and we have a revelation which addresses that at this time. Addressing globalization 2500 years ago would be premature.

I don't think that man, with our finite mind, can have a truly complete understanding of God.

I hope this helps.
- Pat

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Irshad Manji - Confessions of a Muslim Dissident
    ... If your belief is that the Bahai revelation is a fuller ... Competition is on the level of egos - not spirit. ... is a fuller Revelation from God". ... to humanity is seeing the process of Revelation of the one true Faith of God ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: Irshad Manji - Confessions of a Muslim Dissident
    ... If your belief is that the Bahai revelation is a fuller ... Egos say something like "my Faith is better than yours"; "I know more than you do because my Faith is a fuller Revelation from God". ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: Irshad Manji - Confessions of a Muslim Dissident
    ... If your belief is that the Bahai revelation is a fuller ... Egos say something like "my Faith is better than yours"; "I know more than you do because my Faith is a fuller Revelation from God". ... And if all the trees on earth were pens and the Ocean, with seven Oceans behind it to add to its, yet would not the Words of Allah be exhausted: for Allah is Exalted in power, Full of Wisdom. ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: Persons are working against the very Spirit of the Revelation
    ... House of Justice to comment further on matters treated in the ... thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so ... individual understanding or interpretation ... non-biased effort to make the Faith comprehensible to a thoughtful ...
    (talk.religion.bahai)
  • Re: What are Bahai Writings?
    ... Like you Douglas I seek understanding from the Word. ... In one sense it is applicable to the One Whom God hath made immune ... the Most Great Infallibility is confined to the One ... Also you say we cannot verify all of His Revelation and then you give   ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)