Appendix 7
The
Way
6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father
also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
(St. John,
Chapter 14)
More Examples from Other Faiths: The Only Way
BAHA'I, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p.169
1. He that hath Me
not is bereft of all things. Turn ye away from all that is on
earth and seek none else but Me.
BUDDHISM, Dhammapada, 20:274
2. This is the path. There
is no other that leads to vision.
CHRISTIANITY,
John 14:6
3. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me.
HINDUISM, Bhagavad Gita, 18:66
4. Abandoning all duties, come to Me alone for shelter.
ISLAM,
Imam'Ali, Hadith
5. Whoso seeks
guidence elsewhere, God will lead him astray.
ZOROASTRIANISM, The Teachings of the Magi, p.22
6. There is only one
religious way. This one way is that of good thoughts, good
words, and good deeds, the way of heaven, of light and of purity, of
the infinite Creator.
Having
Authority
28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29. For he taught
them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes.
(St. Matthew,
Chapter 7)
Other
Sheep
16. And other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one
shepherd.
(St. John,
Chapter 10)
Return
with a New Name, Quietly and Unexpectedly
12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the
temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon
him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is]
new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will
write upon him] my new name.
(The Revelation of
St. John, Chapter 3)
42. Watch therefore: for
ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43. But know this, that if the goodman of the house
had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched,
and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
(St. Matthew,
Chapter 24)
Standards:
How do we tell? (John 14, 6)
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but
a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them.
(St. Matthew,
7, 15-20)
Say: O leaders of religion! Weigh not
the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst
you, for the Book itself is the
unerring Balance established amongst men. In this most
perfect Balance whatsoever the peoples and kindreds of the earth
possess must be weighed, while the measure of its weight should be
tested according to its own standard, did ye but know it.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 56)
These are the ordinances of God that have been set
down in the Books and Tablets by His Most Exalted Pen. Hold ye
fast unto His statutes and commandments, and be not of those who, following their
idle fancies and vain imaginings, have
clung to the standards fixed by their own selves, and cast
behind their backs the standards laid down by God.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 25)
Other
Prophets
However, the substance and essence of the subject is
this, that there can be no doubt that from everlasting God hath been
invested with the independent sovereignty of His exalted Being, and
unto everlasting He will remain inaccessible in the transcendent
majesty of His holy Essence. No creature hath ever recognized Him as
befitteth His recognition, nor hath any created being ever praised Him
as is worthy of His praise. He is exalted above every name, and
is sanctified from every comparison. Through Him all things are
made known, while too lofty is His reality to be known through anyone
but Him. The process of His creation hath had no beginning and
can have no end, otherwise it would necessitate the cessation of His
celestial grace. God hath
raised up Prophets and revealed Books as numerous as the creatures of
the world, and will continue to do so to everlasting.
(The Bab: Selections
from the Bab, p. 125)
God leaves not His children comfortless, but, when the darkness of winter overshadows
them, then again He sends His Messengers, the Prophets, with a renewal
of the blessed spring. The Sun of Truth appears again on
the horizon of the world shining into the eyes of those who sleep,
awaking them to behold the glory of a new dawn.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Paris Talks, p. 32)
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