40 Points on the Bahai Faith

The following 40 points have been designed to help members of the Bahai faith (followers of the prophet Baha-u’llah) to compare some of their teachings with those of the Bible. Each point highlights a Bahai teaching and demonstrates one or more scriptural points that are at odds with that teaching:

  1. The denial of the existence of Satan the Devil. (Matthew 4:1, 2; 1 Peter 5:8)
  2. The belief that evil is a lesser degree of good. (Psalm 97:10)
  3. That there can be many acceptable interpretations of the Bible’s fundamental teachings (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 1:13)
  4. That the Bible is said to be inaccurate in that it contains internal contradictions. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; Matthew 5:18)
  5. The acceptance of the man-made theory of evolution. (Genesis 1:24, 26; Psalm 100:3; Proverbs 20:12)
  6. The false teaching of the immortality of the human soul. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20)
  7. The false teaching that the soul is distinct from the body. (Genesis 2:7)
  8. The false teaching that the dead are conscious somewhere and can be contacted. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Isaiah 8:19, 20)
  9. Baha-u’llah’s claim to be the “prince of this world” (a reference to God’s enemy, Satan — John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)
  10. His claim to be the “helper,” God’s invisible active force, his spirit. (John 16:7, 20:22)
  11. His claim to be Israel’s “Lord of hosts” (Almighty God himself — Psalm 24:1, 10)
  12. The exclusive Divine title “Most High” applied to the Bab (Baha-u’llah’s forerunner). (Psalm 83:18)
  13. The denial of the core Biblical teaching concerning original sin. (Romans 5:12)
  14. That the coming of Baha-u’llah fulfilled the Biblical prophecies concerning the heavenly, invisible, “presence” of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 24:3)
  15. That the nations will achieve international peace. (Jeremiah 6:13, 14; 1 Thessalonians 5:3)
  16. That religion will be the cause of unity. (Luke 12:51)
  17. That the foundation of all religions is one. (Matthew 13:39; 2 Corinthians 6:15)
  18. That God is indefinable and beyond comprehension. (Amos 3:7; Luke 10:22)
  19. That a new prophet abrogates the teachings of the old. (Matthew 5:17, 18)
  20. That Ishmael was sacrificed as a ransom for the sins of the world. (Psalm 49:7, 8; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 10:10)
  21. That God’s creation did not have a beginning. (Provers 8:22-31; Revelation 3:15)
  22. That there were generations before Adam. (Luke 1:3; 3:38; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Jude 14)
  23. That the Biblical account of creation is “symbolic.” (1 Timothy 2:13)
  24. That the resurrection is consistently spiritual in meaning. (Acts 24:15)
  25. That Paradise is the joy of knowing and loving God, and after death, entrance into the Kingdom of God. (Genesis 2:8; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 45:18; John 3:13)
  26. That Hell is a state of alienation from God, loss of his eternal favour. (Acts 2:31)
  27. That no people are to be considered the people of Satan. (John 8:44; 1 Corinthians 4:4)
  28. That Jesus annulled the Jewish laws on divorce and the Sabbath. (Matthew 19:8; 12:12)
  29. That there are many messengers as great as Jesus. (Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9, 10)
  30. That the term of every life is fixed. (Ecclesiastes 9:11; Luke 13:3)
  31. That the “Gentile Times” means that the Jews would be free to return to their homeland. (Galatians 3:28, 29; 4:24-26; Matthew 21:43)
  32. That Christ’s second “advent” or presence is 2300 days after the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (Daniel 8:13, 14)
  33. That the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 began in 457 BCE. (Nehemiah 1:1, 3)
  34. That there is a connection between the ’70 weeks’ prophecy and the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14. (Daniel 9:25, 26)
  35. That Jesus’ second presence means a physical return to earth. (John 14:19; Hebrews 9:24, 28; 2 Corinthians 5:16)
  36. That he will return to a specific earthly location. (Luke 17:24)
  37. That Micah 7:12 applies to the second presence of Christ. (Compare verse 13 with Jeremiah 25:12)
  38. That Jeremiah 49:38 applies to the second presence. (Jeremiah 25: 17, 25)
  39. That Daniel 8:2 applies to the second presence. (The vision concerned ancient Persia and Greece; Daniel was literally in Elam when he saw this vision.)
  40. That Isaiah 35:2 applies in a literal sense to the second presence of Christ. (Jeremiah 50:19, 28; 537 BC — the return of the ancient Jews to their homeland.)