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Fullness of the Bahá’í Revelation |
The Bahá’í Revelation is unprecedented and unique among
the faiths of the world by reason of the fullness and completeness
of its authentic records. The recorded words that can with
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certainty be attributed to Christ, to Moses, to Zoroaster, to
Buddha, to Krishna, are very few, and leave many modern
questions of great practical importance unanswered. Many of
the teachings commonly attributed to these religious Founders
are of doubtful authenticity, and some are evidently accretions
of later date. The Muḥammadans possess in the Qur’án, and
in a large store of traditions, a much fuller record of the life
and teachings of their Prophet, but Muḥammad Himself,
though inspired, was illiterate, as were most of His early followers.
The methods employed for recording and spreading
His teachings were in many respects unsatisfactory, and the
authenticity of many of the traditions is very doubtful. As a
result, differences of interpretation and conflicting opinions
have cause divisions and dissensions in Islam, as in all
previous religious communities.
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On the other hand, both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh wrote
copiously and with great eloquence and power. As both were
debarred from public speaking and spent most of Their lives
(after the declaration of Their mission) in prison, They devoted
a large proportion of Their time to writing, with the
result that in richness of authentic scriptures the Bahá’í Revelation
is unapproached by any of its predecessors. Clear and full
expositions are given of many truths which were but dimly
foreshadowed in previous revelations, and the eternal principles
of truth, which all the Prophets have taught, have been
applied to the problems which are facing the world today—problems of the utmost complexity and difficulty, many of
which had not arisen in the days of former Prophets. It is evident
that this full record of authentic revelation must have a
powerful effect in preventing misunderstandings in the future
and in clearing up those misunderstandings of the past which
have kept the various sects asunder.
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