Baha’i

Neha SrinivasanArthur Schuertzmann

Concept of God

• Only one God, who is the creator of all beings

• Humanity is a special, unique creation

• God reveals his will through Divine Messengers

http://payvand.com/1388/?p=2999

Basic Beliefs

• All of the Messengers came from God, and so all of their respective religious systems are part of a single divine plan created by God

• 3 core principles: unity of God, religion, humankind

http://immaculateheart98.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/is-jesus-christ-god/

http://media.photobucket.com/image/moses+/mattukenobaka/motivation/moses-moses-mountain-lol-demotivati.jpg

http://clouddragon.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/depicting-the-prophet-mohammed/

http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2010/06/inspirational-quotes-by-lord-buddha.html

Sacred Texts

• Writings of the Bab, Baha’u’llah• Abdul Bahá, Shoghi Effendi• Universal House of Justice

http://books.bahai.us/gleanings-from-the-writings-of-bahaullah

http://bahaikipedia.org/Selected_Writings_of_Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99u%E2%80%99ll%C3%A1h

View of the Afterlife

• Everyone has a soul, connected to physical body

• Souls develop important qualities in physical world (needed for afterlife)

• Heaven = nearness to God• Hell = distance from God

http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptafterlife.html

Rules

• Praying mandatory– “I bear witness, O my God, that Thou has

created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”

• Drugs, alcohol forbidden• Marriage highly valued• No active participation in politics

http://fashionista1988.wordpress.com/category/personal/

Appeal of Baha’i

• Believe in one united world• Accept all faiths/people

http://www.franksinger.com/cd001/owt_unity.htm

Works Cited• "Baha'i Beliefs about the Afterlife - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions,

Comparative Religion – Just the Facts on the World's Religions. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.religionfacts.com/bahai/beliefs/afterlife.htm>.

• The Baha'i Faith - The International Website of the Baha'is of the World. Office of Public Information of the Baha'i International Community. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://bahai.org>. 

• Breuilly, Elizabeth, Joanne O'Brien, and Martin Palmer. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions, & Festivals. New York: Facts on File, 1997. Print.

• "The Shrine of Baha'u'llah - Acre, Israel." Bahai.org. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://news.bahai.org/documentlibrary/643/ShrineOfBahaullah.pdf>.

• Wikipedia. Wikimedia and Mediawiki, 5 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1'%C3%AD_Faith>.

• http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=18738325 (picture of Lotus Temple)