The pen of Bahá'u'lláh reveres Jesus

Jesus Christ is undoubtedly the most celebrated figure in religious history. In the Hebrew Bible, Christ was foretold as a kinglike savior to be born in Bethlehem. Throughout the New Testament Jesus is proclaimed and glorified. Likewise in Muslim scripture, Jesus is exalted.

Yet among the most beautiful praises of Jesus ever written were from the pen of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith.

Bahá'u'lláh wrote, "Know thou that when the Son of Man (Jesus) yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee."

"The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit."

"We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified... He it is who purified the world."

What is the station of Jesus Christ? According to Bahá'u'lláh, Christ is "exalted above the imaginings of all that dwell on earth."

There are 1,722 references to Jesus or Christ in Bahá'í scripture and many other references that refer to him by other reverent titles. These passages can be found on the Web at www.bahai.org.

To be a Bahá'í, one must believe in Jesus. I attended a Bahá'í conference held at the Baptist convention center in Green Lake, Wis. The speaker asked the audience of about 1,200 Bahá'ís, "Who feels that your love for and understanding of Christ has increased through the Bahá'í Faith?" Every hand went up!

Founded in 1844, the Bahá'í Faith is best known by its timely principles: its call to interfaith peace and reconciliation, its admonition to eliminate all forms of prejudice, its moral guidelines and God-centered prayers as well as its vision for a just and peaceful world.

Less well known is the faith's inseparable connection to Christianity: its satisfying explanations of biblical scripture, its fulfillment of biblical prophecies and its profound, unwavering reverence for Jesus Christ.

I grew up in a Bahá'í family and was taught to revere Jesus as a Bahá'í child. My love for Christ has increased over the years as a Bahá'í.

Unknowingly, many of my Protestant and Catholic friends have assumed that the Bahá'í Faith does not revere Jesus. I hope this article has made clear that the Bahá'í Faith reveres him indeed.

What did Bahá'u'lláh write about having reverence towards Jesus? "Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him (Jesus)."

Crenshaw is a member of the Bahá'í Faith. He lives in Eureka.