# Conversation with a Christian

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Mohammad Norozi, Conversation with a Christian, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Conversation with a Christian
> A friend of mine who is a devout Christian once wrote to me and asked me the below questions.
> He wanted me to answer them based on the Bahai writings. Below are his questions and my
> comments based on the utterances of Baha’u’llah and The Bab.
> 
> Written by: Mohammad Norozi
> 
> Q1)- Are we judged at the end of our lives? By whom?
> 
> Before attempting to answer this question and any questions that relates to life after death, I must
> admit that our understanding about this subject is very limited. Although there are numerous
> Tablets and writings from Baha’u’llah and Abdul-Baha about this matter, it is still beyond our
> comprehension (because of our limited capacity). Consider the below quotation from Shoghi
> Effendi:
> 
> “You ask an explanation of what happens to us after we leave this world: This is a question which
> none of the Prophets have ever answered in detail, for the very simple reason that you cannot
> convey to a person’s mind something entirely different from everything they have ever
> experienced.” Baha’u’llah’s Teachings on Spiritual Reality, p. 110, 21.4
> 
> I guess our problem is that we always think the other place is a material place. And because of this,
> we always think there would be a physical place that we go after we die and there is someone
> awaiting us to judge us and there are material rewards. If that was the case, then why does
> Baha’u’llah tells us that if He shows us the world beyond, no one wants to stay in this life? So, we
> should understand that these are all spiritual states and not material. Baha’u’llah tells us that the
> soul will progress according to its capacity. Look at the writing below:
> 
> “Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain
> imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will
> of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest
> mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its
> companionship. With them that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it
> hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If any man be told that which
> hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of
> earth below, his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most
> exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station…” Baha’u’llah, et al.(1983, p. 346)
> 
> As Baha’u’llah pointed out in another tablet there are many other worlds in other realms. And
> based on the above quotation the soul, based on its capability/capacity, will progress but within its
> own sphere. Some will occupy a higher station than others.
> So to me, based on the writings, there is no material of physical judge. Of course what we do in this
> life will affect our soul and make it more refined for the next world, but in a spiritual sense/state.
> 
> “One must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next.” Universal
> House of Justice (n.d., p. 119).
> Q2)- By what rules or measure? Behaviour or belief?
> 
> All the tools (call it 10 commandments, 12 principals etc…) that are given to us by These Educators
> (Prophets, Manifestations of God, etc..) are created to educate us and manifest in us what is hidden
> within us. Belief without action is a mere word, and action without belief is stained with desire (earthly
> desire, selfish desire).
> Look at the below quotation:
> “The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can,
> alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom....” , Gleanings
> from the Writings of Baha’u’llah”, Sec. 122, pp. 259–60)
> In another Tablet Baha’u’llah says (I am paraphrasing) that there are hidden gems in our inner mine
> and He only wants to bring them out (or manifest those within us). I would say these are the
> measurements of God. Again these are not material, rather spiritual. Our actions might look physical
> but its effect is spiritual. When I answer the next question about hell and heaven this will become
> more clear.
> 
> Q3)- Does Baha’u’llah plays a role in rescuing us from condemnation?
> 
> Baha’u’llah and other Manifestations of God are Educators, Gardeners, Farmers (in fact one of the
> names of God is Alzare, means the one who cultivates). Although we can never comprehend God and
> He is beyond our imagination, know that these qualities refer to Manifestations of God. Their duty is
> to educate us and grow that prefect seed within us.
> I won’t use the word “condemnation” at all, as God is Merciful and Compassionate. He wants us to
> reach to our outmost capacity and occupy the loftiest place. And His forgiveness is without border
> and bonds. Look at some of the writings below from The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah:
> 
> O Son of Being!
> Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this,
> O servant.
> 
> O Dwellers of My Paradise!
> With the hands of loving-kindness I have planted in the holy garden of paradise the young tree of
> your love and friendship, and have watered it with the goodly showers of My tender grace; now
> that the hour of its fruiting is come, strive that it may be protected, and be not consumed with the
> flame of desire and passion.
> 
> So, Manifestations of God certainly have a big role in our lives, but with conditions that have been
> set out. As Baha’u’llah stated in Kitab Aqdas, it is not sufficient that we recognise God through His
> Manifestations but also we should follow and act on Their commandments.
> At this point I draw your attention to the Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah below:
> O Son of Spirit!
> I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith
> dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou
> enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I moulded thee, how dost thou
> busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within
> thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
> 
> Bahais believe in progressive nature of religion. It means that religion is not static rather in motion
> and not frozen in time. Based on Their mission each of these Manifestations of God at their Own time
> create a new life powered with Their words. Each time They reveal new things based on human
> capacity and understanding. Nothing is absolute but God - Even the word Absolute is inadequate to
> explain His station. Since we are not frozen in time when a new Manifestation comes we should
> accept Him/Her, based on His/Her character and His/Her revealed verses.
> Once the “Word of Muhammad” was heaven, after He Manifested, and upon accepting His mission
> people would enter this heaven.
> 
> Q4)- Does the condemnation, the hell, last forever or is there a relief or rescue?
> Baha’u’llah says:
> 
> “Where is Paradise, and where is Hell?' Say: 'The one is reunion with Me; the other thine own self.”
> Baha'u'llah (1988, p. 132)
> 
> Q5)- Does ones behaviour, now, prepare some better than others for paradise? In
> other words, are there levels of enjoyment in paradise?
> Everything has its own level and degree. I again quote the word of Universal House of Justice (UHJ).
> “One must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next.” Our actions and
> developments in this life have consequences in another life in terms of preparing our soul. A baby
> develops in nine (9) months within the womb’s of his/her mother. Most of the things he/she develops
> might seems useless in his/her sight while in womb but once entered this world he/she will recognise
> how useful those are. This is a simple example but we can deduce many facts from it.
> The other world is not a material world, rather a spiritual state. Ponder how The Bab explains hell
> and heaven. He says that (I am paraphrasing) everything has its own heaven and hell. He further
> explains and says look at this stone. This stone has hell and heaven of its own. When this stone is
> worked on, it will manifest its true and highest quality, that would be the heaven of this stone. He
> says the paradise of a piece of paper is when this paper is designed with outmost beauty and written
> on it with outmost penmanship. Then this piece of paper reaches its own paradise.
> This applies to us as well - when we manifest our innermost truth and when we reach our highest
> and loftiest place, this is when we have attained our paradise. So, you can see that based on The Bab
> theology, hell and heaven are conditions and not a particular place with angels etc..
> The soul will progress according to its capacity. Some will attain higher places and some not. But
> within each sphere they will know about each other. It is like many Worlds of God wrapped over each
> other like onions but with unlimited spaces within each layer.
> Q6)- Do we create our own hell, or does God create it?
> It is important to know God has given us free Will and this is what distinguishes us from other
> creatures. Our will and actions become meaningful when it is for Him. That is, we see
> revelation/effulgence of God in everything - The word Kulu-Shay (All Things) in the Bab’s Writings
> means this. God wants us to recognise our true values, capacity and sublimity. That is why He
> appointed His Educators (Manifestations of God) through the ages to educate us. He wants us to
> reach to our heaven which is our own perfection.
>
> — *Conversation with a Christian (Used by permission of the curator)*