AboutSuzanne Gerstner Expertise I can answer questions on all aspects of the Baha`i Faith, but am most interested in the spiritual teachings of this and other Faiths, and the interconnectedness of all religions. I believe that true religion should bring about love and unity. This is what the world really needs right now and the Baha`i teachings have a lot to offer on this subject.
Experience I've been a Baha'i for the past 23 years and have been answering questions on the newsgroup soc.religion.bahai since 1998.
Education/Credentials BA in Liberal Arts; Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and am currently working on an MA in psychotherapy.
Expert: Suzanne Gerstner Date: 11/20/2006 Subject: the Bahai faith
Question Hello,
Could you briefly summarize to me what the Bahai faith is all about? What are your major doctrines, beliefs, and maybe a brief history of how it got started. Do you believe in a God, and if so, what kind of God?
Answer Hi Sam,
I suppose if you were to sum up the teachings of the Baha'i Faith in one word it would be "unity". The Baha'i Faith teaches that there is just one God who loves everyone on the planet, no matter to what religion they may belong to (or even if they're atheists). God created everyone and loves everyone, and He wants us to be at one with others and to love them too.
So, yes, obviously we do believe in God. We believe that God is beyond anything we mere mortals can truly know, at least in essence, and yet our purpose in life is to learn to know Him and to worship Him. He is the radiance of our hearts. He is the motivating power of the universe. He is the One who has sent all the prophets and Messengers to live among us and teach us of His ways, so that we might be near to Him.
The Baha'i Faith started in the Nineteenth Century in Persian. Baha'u'llah (the Founder of the Baha'i Faith), was born of Persian nobility, so He wasn't easy for the authorities to kill, but He was exiled continuously further away and He reached the Holy Land. He was a prisoner and an exile there for the last 28 years of His life. His "crime" was the same one they crucified Jesus for: saying that He had a message direct from God.
You can read more about the Baha'i Faith and Baha'u'llah at: www.bahai.org
