Christianity & the Baha’i Faith
Jesus and Baha'u'llah
The Baha'i Faith holds Jesus in the highest honour, as a Manifestation of God, one of a series of divine Messengers that includes Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, the Bab, and, most recently, Baha'u'llah. All the Manifestations, Baha'is teach, are essentially one, reflecting the same God for different ages. Christians honour Jesus too, but confess something different and deliberately singular: that he is not one Manifestation among many, but the one and only Son of God, God himself made flesh. One of many, or the unique Son, is the difference at the heart of everything else.
What the Baha'i Faith teaches
Baha'is teach that the great Messengers of history, the Manifestations of God, are essentially one, mirrors each reflecting the same divine light:
Jesus, in this vision, is one of these Manifestations, deeply honoured, perfectly reflecting God for his age, and followed in time by Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah, the Manifestation for the present age.
What Christians believe
Christianity confesses Jesus not as one Manifestation among a series, but as the eternal Word who was God, and who became flesh once for all.
Where they meet
Both hold Jesus in the highest honour, both see him as sent from God and revealing God, and both look to him as a source of light and guidance for the world.
Where they differ
This is the central difference, and we will not blur it. For the Baha'i Faith, Jesus is one Manifestation of God among many, each perfectly reflecting God for an age and followed by later Messengers. For Christianity, Jesus is unique and unrepeatable: not one mirror among several but God the Son in person, the fulness of the Godhead bodily, final and unsurpassed. One of many, or the only Son, is the parting of the ways.
Baha’i quotations are from the writings of Baha’u’llah (the Kitab-i-Iqan, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, and the Tablets of Baha’u’llah) and ’Abdu’l-Baha (Some Answered Questions), as published in the Baha’i Reference Library at bahai.org. Bible: King James Version. Every reference on this page was checked against its source.
The word itself
Mazhar-i-Ilahi (mazhar) → Manifestation of God
A Manifestation of God, in Baha'i teaching, is one of the great Messengers (such as Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah) who perfectly reflects God's attributes for an age. Christians confess Jesus not as one such Manifestation among many, but as the unique Son of God made flesh.
Frequently asked questions
- How do Baha'is view Jesus?
- With deep honour, as a Manifestation of God: one of a series of divine Messengers that includes Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah. Baha'is teach that all the Manifestations are essentially one, reflecting the same God for different ages.
- How is the Christian view of Jesus different?
- Christians confess Jesus not as one Manifestation among many but as unique: the eternal Word who was God and became flesh (John 1:1,14), the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). One of many Messengers, or the one and only incarnate Son, is the central difference between the two faiths.
Come and see
The Baha’i Faith honours Jesus as one of the great Manifestations of God; the Gospel invites you to meet him as the unique Son of God, God himself come near. The most direct way to know Jesus is to read his words for yourself. There is no pressure here.
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