# Resurrection: A Baha'i Perspective

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Mark A. Foster, Resurrection: A Baha'i Perspective, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Resurrection:
> 
> A Bahá'í Perspective
> 
> Mark A. Foster
> 
> 1993
> 
> PREFACE
> 
> This paper will deal with the subject of "resurrection" in the Bahá'í
> teachings, according to my own personal understandings. Any errors should be
> attributed solely to the author.
> 
> Many religious organizations prefer a literal interpretation of religious
> texts (unless the context dictates otherwise). As a sociologist of religion
> (and a Bahá'í), I have dialogued with people from many religious backgrounds
> backgrounds and have found considerable variety (even among different
> denominations representing the same religious tradition) in the manner in which
> texts are "literally" interpreted. Certainly, a strictly literal exegesis does
> not reduce hermeneutic diversity . Regardless of whether one is
> striving to interpret texts literally or figuratively, the place of one's
> assumptions in framing one's style of interpretation cannot be ignored. Really,
> there is no exegesis - only eisegesis. In other words, all interpretation is
> influenced by the conceptual framework of the interpreter. Hermeneutics is
> inevitably a subjective process.
> 
> According to the Bahá'í teachings, the term "resurrection" has several shades
> of meaning. None of them, however, involve the raising of physical bodies. I
> will consider all the usages of the term which I have found in the Bahá'í
> teachings (in no particular order). The concept of resurrection is at the heart
> of progressive Revelation. The Bab wrote, "The stage perfection of everything
> is reached when its resurrection occureth" (Selections from the Writings of the
> Bab, p.107).
> 
> I will discuss four usages of the term "resurrection" in the Bahá'í Writings:
> First, the Resurrection of the Prophet to fulfill His Mission. Second, the
> Resurrection of the Cause of the Manifestation following His ascension, as with
> the biblical Resurrection of the the "body" of Christ. Third, the resurrection
> of each religion through the appearance, and during the Ministry of, the
> following Manifestation/ Prophet of God. And fourth, the resurrections of
> unbelievers to belief. The pre-existent Manifestation comes down from the
> Kingdom of God Manifested into This World and emanates the Kingdom of God
> Revealed - the world of spirit that each of us are invited to enter here and
> now!
> 
> THE RESURRECTIONS OF THE MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD
> 
> With regard to the Resurrection of the Manifestation of God, Bahá'u'lláh wrote,
> "...by `Resurrection' is meant the rise of the Manifestation to proclaim His
> Cause ..." (Kitab-i-Iqan, p.170). And `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's Son,
> explained:
> 
> The resurrections of the Divine Manifestations are not of the body.
> All their states, their conditions, their acts, the things they have
> established, their teachings, their their expressions, their parables, and
> their instructions have a spiritual and divine signification, and have no
> connection with material things. (Some Answered Questions, old ed.,
> p.119)
> 
> When the Manifestation of God begins His Ministry, symbolized, with Moses, by
> the appearance of a Burning Bush, with Zoroaster, by the Sacred Fire, with
> Buddha, by the bo tree, with Jesus, by the dove, with Muhammad, by the angel
> Gabriel, with the Bab (Bahá'u'lláh's Forerunner), by a vision of the Imam
> Husayn (one of the central figures in Shi'ih Islam), and with Bahá'u'lláh, by a
> vision of the Maid of Heaven, He is, figuratively, "resurrected." That is to
> say, He arises to begin His earthly Mission.
> 
> THE RESURRECTIONS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
> 
> The second usage of the term "resurrection" in the Bahá'í teachings pertains to
> the resurrection of the Cause of God. `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote:
> 
> As to the influence of holy Beings and the continuation of Their
> grace to mankind after They have put away Their human form, this is, to
> Bahá'ís, an indisputable fact. Indeed, the flooding grace, the streaming
> splendours of the Holy Manifestations appear after Their ascension from this
> world. The exaltation of the word, the revelation of the power of God, the
> conversion of God- fearing souls, the bestowal of everlasting life - it was
> following the Messiah's martyrdom [crucification of Christ] that all these were
> increased and intensified. In the same way, ever since the ascension of the
> Blessed Beauty [Bahá'u'lláh], the bestowals have been more abundant, the
> spreading light is brighter, the tokens of the Lord's might are more powerful,
> the influence of the Word is much stronger, and it will not be long before the
> motion, the heat, the brilliance, the blessings of the Sun of His reality will
> encompass all the earth.
> 
> ...This is but the early dawn. Consider how, with the CAUSE [emphasis added]
> of Christ, three hundred years had to go by before its great influence was made
> manifest. Today, not sixty years from its birth [note: as of the time this was
> written], the light of this Faith has been shed around this planet. -
> Selections From the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p.65
> 
> And He once again stated:
> 
> ...we say that the meaning of Christ's resurrection is as follows:
> the disciples were troubled and agitated after the martyrdom of Christ. The
> Reality of Christ, which signifies His teachings, his bounties, his
> perfections, and his spiritual power, was hidden and concealed for two or three
> days after his martyrdom, and was not resplendent and manifest. No, rather it
> was lost; for the believers were few in number and were troubled and agitated.
> The CAUSE [emphasis added] of Christ was like a lifeless body; and, when after
> three days the disciples became assured and steadfast, and began to serve the
> CAUSE [emphasis added] of Christ of Christ, and resolved to spread the divine
> teachings, putting his counsels into practice, and ARISING [emphasis added] to
> serve him,... his religion found life, his teachings and admonitions became
> evident and visible. In other words, the CAUSE [emphasis added] of Christ was
> like a lifeless body, until the life and bounty of the Holy Spirit surrounded
> it. - From a chapter of Some Answered Questions, old edition,
> pp.119-121
> 
> Finally, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote through his
> secretary:
> 
> We do not believe that there was a bodily resurrection after the
> crucifiction of Christ, but that there was a time after His ascension when His
> disciples perceived spiritually his true greatness and realized He was eternal
> in being. This is what has been reported symbolically in the New Testament and
> been misunderstood. His eating with disciples after resurrection is the same
> thing. - High Endeavors: Messages to Alaska, pp.69-70
> 
> This symbolic meaning of resurrection is affirmed by the Apostle Paul:
> 
> Buried with him [Jesus] in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with
> him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the
> dead. - Col. 2:12
> 
> And again:
> 
> ...as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
> even so we also should walk in newness of life. - Rom. 6:4
> 
> The Cause of Christ, the resurrected body of Christ, was then incorporated into
> the early Christian eklesia (in-gathering or church). Paul wrote:
> 
> Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. - I Cor.
> 12:27
> 
> The body of believers, in each Prophetic Dispensation, are the temple, the body
> of the Manifestation, who, collectively, become the earthly representation of
> the Manifestation of God
> 
> THE RESURRECTION OF THE PREVIOUS RELIGION
> 
> During the Ministry of the Manifestation of God, the previous religion is
> perfected. Again, the Bab wrote:
> 
> For example, from the inception of the mission of Jesus - may peace
> be upon Him - till the day of His ascension was the resurrection of Moses. For
> during that period the Revelation of God shown forth through the appearance
> word punished by His word everyone who did not believe; inasmuch as God's
> testimony for that Day was that which He solemnly affirmed in the Gospel. -
> Selections From the Writings of the Bab, passage on pp.106-8
> 
> According to the late Hand of the Cause of God Hasan M. Balyuzi:
> 
> The Bab states that the first one to believe in a Manifestation of
> God is the essence of the achievement of the preceding dispensation; and so,
> `Abdu'l-Bahá...was the most eminent representative of the virtues called forth
> by the Bab. - `Abdu'l-Bahá, p.13
> 
> THE RESURRECTION OF UNBELIEVERS
> 
> Shoghi Effendi wrote:
> 
> Concerning the meaning of `Resurrection': although the term is used
> by Bahá'u'lláh in His Writings,... its meaning is figurative. The tomb is also
> allegorical, i.e., the tomb of unbelief. - Dawn of a New Day: Messages to
> India, p.79
> 
> The Bab explained, briefly, the symbolic meaning of the resurrections of
> unbelievers to faith and steadfastness:
> 
> True resurrection from the sepulcres means to be quickened in
> conformity with His Will, through the power of His utterance. - Selections From
> the Writings of the Bab, p.158
> 
> And again, Shoghi Effendi wrote the following, through his secretary, to the
> Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Racine, Wisconsin:
> 
> ...the spiritual resurrection of man... is...his acceptance of
> Divine Manifestations. - Lights of Guidance, 1988 revised edition, no.1592,
> p.481
> 
> When we accept the Manifestation of God, are "born again," i.e., we are raised
> from "the tomb of unbelief" to a life of faith and service.
> 
> The rapture, or translation, of the church, terms which are never actually used
> in the New Testament, are also references to the resurrections of unbelievers.
> I offer the following quote from the first epistle of the Apostle Paul to the
> Thessolonians. Commentary is included in brackets:
> 
> ...we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who
> are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope [There IS
> hope beyond the grave for those who sleep, i.e., who are dead.]. For if we
> believe that Jesus died and rose again [resurrection of the Cause of Christ],
> even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus
> [Christians, when they leave this world, will be allowed to draw close to the
> Presence, the Will, of God.]. For this we have to say to you by the word of the
> Lord, that we who are alive and remain [in this world] until the coming of the
> Lord Himself [the return of Christ] shall not precede those who have fallen
> asleep [died]. For the Lord [return of Christ] will descend from heaven with a
> shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet [call] of God; and the
> dead in Christ [those Christians who have passed into the Kingdom of God Beyond
> - the next world] shall rise first [have the blessing of being the first to
> arise, from the Kingdom of God Beyond, and bow down to the returned Christ].
> Then we who are alive and remain [still in this world] shall be caught up
> together with them [the great believers who have attained a high station in the
> Kingdom of God Beyond] in the clouds [while still in the physical body] to meet
> the Lord [the return of Christ] in the air [the Kingdom of God, including the
> Kingdom of God Beyond and the Kingdom of God Revealed], and thus we shall ever
> be with the Lord [in the everlasting Kingdom of God]. - I Thes. 4:13-17, New
> American Standard Version
> 
> CONCLUSION
> 
> The enlightened meaning of resurrection, as given in the Bahá'í teachings, is
> not only satisfying to the soul, but it makes a great deal more sense than a
> materialistic explanation focusing on form rather than spirit. Through the
> resurrections of the Manifestations, the Cause of God is exalted and
> unbelievers are raised to eternal life in the higher degrees of purity of the
> Kingdom of God.
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views22729 views since posted 1997; last edit 2025-03-10 06:45 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../foster_resurrection_bahai_perspective;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
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> — *Resurrection: A Baha'i Perspective (Used by permission of the curator)*