Gilberto, If I might jump in ...
At 03:22 AM 12/12/2004, you wrote: One would be whether the Bahai claims regarding "Islamic entities" (i.e. Muhammad, the Quran, the imams, hadith, etc.) are true.<< Both Sunnah and Ashyaa claim to follow the legitimate successors to Muhammad. The only reason I accept the Imams is because their authority is established by Baha'u'llah. In terms of the ahadith, those which have been discussed by Baha'u'llah or `Abdu'l-Baha have authority in a Baha'i context. However, this is an entirely different matter from whether a particular hadith accurately reflects the words of Muhammad or His successors. In other words, a citation establishes authenticity in a Baha'i scriptural context. It does nothing to lend, or detract, the historical credence, or absence of it, which might be given to a tradition. >>And secondly, can Bahai claims be fairly described as affirming Islam in a >>positive sense, or do they result in co-opting Islam.<< No religion can be co-opted. They are each distinct divine Revelations. They are, in effect, like Kuhnian paradigms for a particular Dispensation, i.e., the period of time between one Prophet and the next. What may be evaluated as truthful contingent on one Revelation may be judged as false based on an earlier or a later one. Truth is relative. Mark A. Foster * http://markfoster.net "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger" -- Abbie Hoffman __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
