Hi Gilberto,
>What has to be true in order for two religions to be "independent"?<
Hmmm... I'm not sure I have the best definition, but I'll try.
I think a religion is independent if its Founder claims to have a revelation direct from the Divine Reality, that is, God. A religion is independent if the Founder claims authority to change the laws of the previous religion. In the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah has changed the calendar, the Qiblih, the obligatory prayers, the law of fasting, and other matters.
As I see it, there is actually only one religion, the religion of God. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah all taught this one religion, but they expressed the teachings in stages. So, for example, Jesus did not forbid drinking wine, but Muhammad did. Muhammad did not provide a written
explicit covenant regarding His successor, but Baha'u'llah did. The fundamental principles of religion are eternal, but their mode of _expression_ changes from one revelation to another.
Because there is only one religion, it is natural that there are similarities among the various revelations. All the divinely revealed religions are connected; it could not be otherwise.
Tim Nolan
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