Posted by anon on June 23, 2101 at 18:11:16:

In Reply to: Re: help plz answer (surprising) posted by Munir A. Qureshi on June 20, 2101 at 00:08:56:

Hello Munir! I am sorry about the delay. I just wanted to let you know that I think the topics you bring up are so interesting and they help me as well learn more about the Baha'i Faith. I must also let you know that I often have to do a little research about your questions... so that does really help me to learn more.

It is interesting that the Urdu version would use "peyghambar". In Persian as well that means "prophet". But, I will give my own personal understanding about this.

It is my understanding from this context that "apostles" is not being used to refer to specific people (for examples the examples of Christ). I believe that an apostle is simply one of the early, strong, and faithful believers in any faith. Christ had 12 apostles that are somewhat "officially" recognized... Shoghi Effendi also defined ninteen individuals as Apostles of Baha'u'llah. I have never heard any effect to the station of the Apostles of Christ. All I know is that I understand that Christ established his covenant with Peter making him his successor. The is passage from the Bible that attests to this. But like I said, Baha'is do not believe the Apostles of Christ to have the station of messenger or prophet.

About the nature of Christ, there are many quotes in the Bible about this. Many Christians will say that Christ was God in the flesh. This does not correspond with the Bible though. There are many quotes which I cannot list hear, but I will get my hands on them and post them. Baha'is believe that Christ was a Manifestation of God. By Manifestation of God, we mean that the qualities and Divine Perfections of God are reflected to man through this individual. This person has a human nature and a divine nature. The Messangers of God are subject to tire, hunger, disease, and death. But they reveal the Words of God and manifest or show God's divine attributes.

I probably will not be able to easily find the original text, but I will look.

So yes I do agree, the Letters of the Living were not Prophets or Messengers. They independently sought out the Bab and found his mission through various ways. Some had a dream leading them to Him. So they were followers.

Please write if you have any more questions. My explanations and understandings may not be that great and certainly do not compare to the original writings of Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha. I really enjoy these conversations. Speak to you soon!

-anon

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