Why do some people believe the Baha'i Faith is a cult?
The Baha'i teaches only good things, equality, unity and etc etc
They say nothing "satanic", or negative to an others religion.
So why do some view the Baha'i faith as a cult?
Educated answers only please.
thanks!
What are you talking about????
They believe 100% in Jesus, and the Holy Bible.
Okay, for Tess:
They believe in Jesus, God, and The Holy Bible.
I do as well.
But they also believe that other MAIN CORE RELIGIONS are typically the same thing. And that the prophets were sent by God. Which, I BELIEVE makes great sense, as if it didn't, 5 billion people would be going to hell for listening to another prophet. Not disliking Jesus, but just having faith in another religion, as deeply as you do in Christianity.
Baha'i is a cult because they reject the truth that Jesus is God (meaning they have a fake "god"), and they reject the truth that the ONLY way to get into heaven and to avoid being sent to hell, is by believing in Jesus alone for salvation (John 3:16). Baha'i cannot pay for your sins. NOTHING can pay for your sins except JESUS, who has ALREADY paid for all your sins. You must believe in Jesus alone for salvation, in order to be saved, that simple!
The truth is that JESUS is God, and Jesus loves you so very much!
Salvation is a FREE GIFT that happens in a split second when you believe in Jesus alone to save you! It is impossible to lose or "leave" salvation (John 6:39-40, 1 John 5:13).
The truth about Jesus is that the only way to be saved and to get into heaven and avoid being sent to eternal hell, is by believing in faith alone that Jesus, who is God, died for our sins on the cross as FULL PAYMENT for all our sins, and then Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe this and you will be in heaven, no matter what!
Please pray now: "Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and You rose from the dead. Thank You for eternal life!" You will be in heaven with Him forever when you die.
I think it's because it's a very obscure religion. I only just found out about it this year (new friend follows it). I don't really see anything cult like about it--it looks like it pretty much takes the best parts of the big five and puts them together.
The Baha'i faith is a mixture of contradictory religious traditions---it's a compromise religion, not necessarily a cult. But if it Leeds you to proper Islam then it's all good.
Baha'i is considered by some to be a "cult" because it doesn't fit their particular requirements to be "not a cult". For some sects, you must believe in the trinity, for some you must believe in only a certain translation of the Bible, and the lists goes on and on. Baha'i was born of the hope of the peaceful religious unification of all peoples but the fact that it takes some of the noble truths of many religions is what gets it in trouble with fundamentalists of several religions. If this is your faith, research it strongly, search yourself, and believe what makes you feel right with your God.
Honestly because its a new religion. Older religions tend to be more dependable, more acceptable in society because it is the religion of their ancestors, their great grandparents, their parents. All they know is that religion so they often reject newer religions as cults. they reject other old religions as misleading or just wrong but they do give even them some credibility. However if its a newer religion its just disregarded or written off as a cult also because newer religions have a bad reputation for being a cult. Alot of new "religions" were found to be cults. Unfortunately people stereotype.
I personally respect the Bahia faith because its a peaceful religion and it has similarity to my liberal Islamic views, but Im a proud Muslim. : )
This is certainly a symptom of end times, that all faiths try to unite, and water down the gospel message to make it of none effect. It is working on many.
'If even an angel of light comes to you with 'another gospel',[then we have preached unto you,let them be accursed".
God does not want His saving message tampered with.
The question was "Why do some people believe the Baha'i Faith is a cult?" And Michael answered it correctly, it is the reason why some people believe the Faith is a cult. What he wrote is not what Baha'is are taught to believe, or how the Bible is understood by most Baha'is and it may not be how the Bible is truly, Divinely, interpreted.
The conclusion many Baha'is come to after reading Baha'u'llah's teachings and 'Abdu'l-Baha's interpretations is comparable to this:
Every Manifestation of God has referred to Himself as "God" because He is the Word of God. In Pure Divine Essence, He is God. Baha'is believe, absolutely, in that sense, Jesus IS God, and it is only through recognition of that Pure Divine Essence that one can enter into the presence of God. Bahai's do believe it is the only way to enter the presence. Baha'is do believe Jesus died for the sins of humanity and that after a short passage of time His Word was recognized and acknowledged by His followers as having never died.
If you are really interested in finding out more about Baha'i beliefs most communities around the world have a study circle on a book called Reflections on the Life of the Spirit. Study of spiritual application to life's questions from a Baha'i perspective.
The Baha'i Faith is called a cult for two major reasons: ignorance and fear. Ignorance is not knowing enough about the Faith to respect it as a legitimate religion, nor knowing enough about the definition of "cult" to properly apply the term. It's also cloaking oneself so thoroughly in a mindset that anything not matching ones narrow definition of religion is automatically branded a cult so as to apply a stigma to it.
Fear is not fear of the Baha'i Faith itself, but fear that (a) it is legitimate, (b) it makes sense, (c) something besides ones own religious views makes sense. It's not so much the fear of "oh no! Baha'is are going to come and take over everything!" (although occasionally there's a little bit of that). Instead it's a fear that something new and revolutionary stands to offer alternatives to a predominant, yet ultimately human and thus imperfect, expression of religion.
The Baha'i Faith matches none of the properties of a cult. Labeling it such is a deliberate, emotionally powerful attempt to stigmatize and DE-legitimize the religion to "the masses" who don't (or won't, or are told not to) do their own investigation.
[p.s. "Senior IC: Darth Ragles": I invite you to read the official Baha'i viewpoint on homosexuality at http://www.bahai.us/Q-A, about 12 questions from the bottom. Also see http://www.bnasaa.org for lengthy quotes and thoughts on homosexuality and the Baha'i Faith. We don't believe "gays are in opposition to god's plan." Instead we believe that homosexuality is a condition that should not be acted upon. There is a distinct difference.]
The Baha'i Faith: A Cult?
