what’s the difference: Baha’i and Christian Science

August 26, 2023

…a 9-minute read

Baha’i

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~ Baha’i is a movement started by an Iranian wool merchant and Shi’ite Muslim to reform Islam
~ many Muslims had been waiting for another prophet to succeed Mohammed
~ in 1844, Mirza Ali Mohammed (1819-1850) claimed to be the one who would herald the coming of that prophet
~ Mohammed became known as “the Bab”, pronounced “bob”, meaning “the gate leading to a new era for man)
~ his followers were called Babists, or Bobis
~ he was executed in 1850 by Muslim zealots who wanted no part of reform
~ Mirza Husayn Ali (1817-1892), took the name Baha’u’llah thirteen years later, and announced that he was the long awaited prophet
~ he began organizing and writing many of the teachings of the new movement, which became known as Baha’i
~ Baha’u’llah’s writings, around 100 – 200 books and papers, eventually were considered inspired
~ one of the most important is The Most Holy Book, which contained laws governing Baha’i
~ when Baha’u’llah died in 1892, his son Abdu’l Baha’ (1844-1921) assumed leadership, instrumental in bringing Baha’i to the US
~ Abdu’l Baha’ led the building of a $2.5 million temple in Wilmette, Illinois
~ Shoghi Effendi, Abdu’l’s grandson took over as Guardian of the Faith
~ Effendi died in 1957 with no appointed successor
~ the first Baha’i Universal House of Justice was elected in 1963
~ this consisted of a nine-person board held to be infallible as it governs the Baha’i faith from world headquarters in Haifa, Isreal

teachings/practices

~ Baha’i is syncretistic, claiming that the world’s major religions are not contradictory or competitive but equally true
~ Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism all agree in basic principle, according to Baha’is, the only differences are “inconsequential details”
~ also teaches that Adam, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad were all equal manifestations of God, each a genuine prophet and each divine, sinless and infallible
~ at the heart of Baha’i teaching is found in the writings and claims of Baha’u’llah who is considered God’s appointed prophet
~ Baha’u’llah did claim to be more important than all previous manifestations, including Jesus, although he never claimed to be God
~ he laid down strict rules about daily worship, including the duty that followers were to wash faces and hands three times a day, turn towards Baha’u’llah tomb and recite the Obligatory Prayer, must repeat daily words “Allah-u-Abha” meaning “God of highest glory, and every March Baha’is must fast from sunup to sundown for 19 days
~ a major goal of Baha’is is unity of mankind
~ by this they mean an international political empire where Baha’ism would be the state religion
~ all nations would give up national sovereignty and allow the Baha’i world super-state rule
~ every human on the planet would be under the Baha’i World Parliament

Baha’i and the Bible

~ the Baha’i view of God is the same strict monotheism of Judaism or Islam – God is one, period; where the Bible references God to a plurality of persons in Himself (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
~ Baha’is see Jesus as just another man whose career as Lord ended when Mohammed founded Islam in the seventh century and categorically reject the Trinity, Jesus’ incarnation, His bodily resurrection and the need for Jesus’ sacrificial blood for atonement
~ Baha’is claim that Baha’u’llah is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of the Holy Spirit; teachings belittle Jesus – reducing Him from God to a “manifestation” whose time has passed
~ Baha’i theologians deny that Christ is the only way to God; their religious truth is relative not absolute, revelation is continuous, never final
~ the key difference is Baha’i syncretism – a type of monism that says that all religions are one and all agree with one another (as long as they give final loyalty to Baha’u’llah)
~ Baha’i teaches some good principals for developing personal integrity but their absolute dependence on works to avoid judgement leaves them relying on obeying Baha’u’llah law to achieve what they call salvation

Christian Science

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~ Christian Science is the mother of the mind sciences family of religions (Religious Science, the Unity School of Christianity, many New Age groups)
~ arose out of the religious and intellectual ferment of the 19th century, which included everything from adaptation of Hindu beliefs and New England Transcendentalism by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau to experimentation with hypnotism, occult metaphysics, mental healing and attempts to contact the dead
~ Mary Baker (Eddy): born in 1821 to strict Congregationalists, was frequently ill as a child
– at 21 she married her first husband who died seven months later
– married Asa Eddy at 56, after her second marriage failed – Asa died five years later
– she accused her former students of mentally poisoning her husband
– Eddy is heralded as the discoverer and founder of Christian Science
– her claims don’t hold up though: her teachings are dependent on her association with Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, a metaphysical healer from Maine; her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures steals passages almost verbatim from Quimby’s book; modern historians also prove that Eddy plagiarized other authors’ works; her claim of being healed after reading the Bible after a near death injury was proven false
~ Eddy was an energetic leader and great promoter
~ founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston in 1879
~ by the time of her passing in 1910 there were approximately 1 million members worldwide

teachings/practices

~ interpret the Bible from the perspective of a belief system that rejects the idea of a Creator God who is infinite, personal, good and qualitatively distinct
~ teaches that God “is not a person, God is a principle”
~ teaches that “there is no life, truth, intelligence, or substance in matter
~ All is Infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, God is all in all
~ “man is not material, he is spiritual”
~ there is no reality to the physical world – therefore, it’s only a small step to the conclusion that evil, sin, disease, sickness, and death are mere “illusions of the Mortal mind”
~ Christian Science denial of reality of the physical is similar to Hindu pantheism, reducing God to an impersonal force
~ the material world is mere illusion; the practical outlook of evil, sin, disease, sickness, have no objective existence – “it’s all in your mind”
~ material medicine is not necessary

What’s the difference?

~ the biblical worldview teaches that the infinite and personal God created the physical universe outside of Himself
~ what He created is real and originally good
~ according to the Bible, evil, death, disease, sickness, are results of the Fall
~ Christian Science denies the validity of the science of medicine/ a biblical worldview welcomes the advances of medical science (keep in mind, this was written before COVID and the vaccination epidemic)
~ Christian Science says that the Bible must be interpreted through the higher and final revelation of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Keys to the Scripture
~ Christian Scientists claim that healings using Christian Science methods “prove” that Christian Science is authentic/ The Bible clearly states that false prophets could perform miracles and lead people away from God
~ Christian Science teaches that “the theory of three persons in one God” suggests polytheism, rather than the ever-present I Am – Jesus Christ is not God, but is the Son of God/ the Bible clearly states that Jesus was God in the flesh, there is no contradiction between saying Jesus is God and Jesus is the Son of God, because of the doctrine of the Trinity
~ Christian Science claims that “God is the principle of man, and the principle of man remaining perfect, its idea or reflection remains perfect/ the Bible teaches that men and women are created by God, are qualitatively different from God and we are far from perfect
~ Christian Science says that “the material blood of Christ was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed on the cross than when it was flowing in His veins/the central truth of the Gospel is the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
~ Christian Science teaches that “the sinner makes his own hell by doing evil, and the saint his own heaven by doing right”, man as God’s idea is already saved with as everlasting salvation/the Bible strongly warns that sin leads to death and separation from God and that we are not “already saved” but in desperate need of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection
~ Christian Science denies that the Holy Spirit is the third “person” of the Trinity, because God is impersonal/in the Gospel of John, it is stated that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and Christ to be with believers
~ Christian Science denies prayer…”The mere habit of pleading with the divine Mind, as one pleads with a human being, perpetuates the belief in God as humanly circumscribed – an error which impedes spiritual growth.”/in the Bible we are told to pray always, without ceasing about everything, God wants us to communicate with Him

“The sick are not healed merely by declaring there is no sickness, but by knowing that there is none.”
~ Eddy

Psalm 147: 1-6 (NKJV)
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
² The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
⁴ He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
⁶ The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

source: So What’s The Difference by Fritz Ridenour

…I personally don’t believe in religion, not as it has been defined in society. All it is, is a tool to divide us. I grew up a Baptist and went to a Christian school. To this day I have questions, but I still believe – and I keep looking for answers. Having faith that God is in control and believing that He sent His son to die for our sins is all that is needed to be saved. One doesn’t need to pray on the rosary, live a life of celibacy, or not eat certain foods to be saved. Jesus paid it all!

27 Famous Christian Scientists: ranker.com… Marilyn Monroe, Ellen DeGeneres, Elizabeth Taylor, Robin Williams, Audrey Hepburn make the list…some were raised in the religion, but converted to a different religion as adults

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thanks for stopping by!!