I agree with this. There can’t be two gods and One God at the same time is a good example. Hinduism for example is often thought of as a polytheistic Faith, although there’s many Hindu’s that are monotheistic and believe that polytheism and idol worship are ideas not present in their Holy Book (Vedas). So, a lot of the differences between the major religions of the world can often be reconciled through interpretation.

There’s another aspect of relativism that the Baha’i Writings refers to, and that’s the idea that mankind is constantly developing and therefore God’s teachings are revealed according to the needs and capacity of mankind.

Purely from a Biblical perspective, we know it’s possible, for example, that God can forbid certain types of foods, as He did in the Old Testament, and then make them Lawful again, as He did in the New Testament. It’s not that God changed His mind, or that the Mosaic and Christian Laws were sent from different gods, but rather because certain teachings have a purpose for a certain time and place. Jesus for example said “I have come not to destroy the Law, but to Fulfill”.

Similarly, Baha’is believe that the central teachings of all the major world religions is One. Jesus described them with two commandments: Love God and Love your fellow man. There’s no major world religion which doesn’t have this Love as its central theme. Baha’is believe that it’s the social teachings that vary over time.

For example, Baha’is believe that Baha’u'llah brought teachings that address the problems of the world today. He taught that all the peoples of the Earth “are the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean”, and that “The Earth is But One Country and Mankind its Citizens”. He taught that “these ruinous wars, these fruitless strifes will disappear, and then will come the Most Great Peace”. It’s difficult to imagine how these teachings would have been received by mankind in bygone ages, when the Americas had yet to be discovered and most people barely left their hometown or country, and so understood little of the concept of Earth and why our Unity is important.

For me, the Baha’i teachings really made so many questions about God and religion fall into place and make sense for the first time. You probably have a local Baha’i community so please consider visiting them; non-Baha’is contact them all the time for questions and to attend devotionals or Ruhi courses etc. so please feel free! Baha’is are forbidden from proselytizing so there’s really nothing to lose! You can also learn more at http://www.bahai.org.

Best wishes for your spiritual journey,
CK