On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 11:02:22 -0600, Mark A. Foster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi, Gilberto, > > At 10:30 AM 1/10/2005, you wrote: > >>And I would suggest that Bahais don't seem to be very worried about all > >>those other figures they are implicitly saying "no" to.<< > > In one sense, none of that matters. What God expects of His servants is to > recognize His Messenger in the age He appears. > > Other claimants to a title may be inspired or have a particular spiritual > function to perform. God only knows. >
But even Iblis and the Dajjal have a "particular spiritual function", no? > As I said before, I accept that these individuals have whatever name or > position they claim in the context of their "structurization" or socially > constructed paradigm. It is not mine to judge whether God is using them for > some purpose. > I think that's an idea that I have a hard time getting my head around. I mean, consider the fact that the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad say that he was the Mahdi. The Nation of Islam says that Fard Muhammad was the Mahdi. In the late 1800s in Sudan there arose a leader who was considered to be the Mahdi (I think the followers of Malachi Z. York still follow the claim). And that one claiming to be Maitreya associated with Share International also claims to be the Mahdi. So there are all these claims. Aren't they mutually exclusive? In what sense can you accept all the above, while on top of that saying that the Bab (another title, in reality) really is the Mahdi? Do you accept all the claims equally or is one more real than the other? And isn't it possible for someone to claim to be the Mahdi, have a bunch of people believe him (or her) but then be lying or mistaken? Peace Gilberto "My people are hydroponic" __________________________________________________ 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:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu 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
