Question:
How do you tell which parts of your religion should be taken literally
and which parts are metaphorical?
Answer: We
may distinguish the literal from the metaphorical by first identifying
three applicable areas from the Bahá’í Faith: (1) Bahá’í history (2)
ritual laws (3) the sacred writings and teachings. (1) Since
its
inception on May 23, 1844 in Shiraz, Iran, with the prophetic
declaration of the Báb (1819-1850), the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh, the
Prophet-Founder (1817-1892), Bahá’ís are fortunate that this youngest
of the world’s religions has been born into the full light of history.
Massive historical records, including photographs, eye-witness
accounts, newspaper reports and government documents have recorded the
birth and development of the Bahá’í Faith. Here we are not dealing with
the metaphorical, but with the story of what really happened.
(2)
Although relatively few ritual laws exist in the Bahá’í Faith, we
should not interpret these laws metaphorically but literally. When
Bahá’u’lláh prescribes ablutions with one of the obligatory prayers, he
does not mean that water should be reduced to just a symbol signifying
purity. He means that you should wash your hands before praying. (3)
Regarding the sacred writings and their teachings, whether in their
ethical, spiritual, or theological dimensions, these teachings should
be taken in their plain sense. Of course, all sacred scripture has a
large metaphorical dimension. Whenever poetic symbolism is present, we
should attempt to discover the inner meaning underlying such symbols.
Mystical writings present special challenges.
Some passages in
the Bahá’í writings may be literal and metaphorical at the same time.
For example, here is the cornerstone of all Bahá’í teaching,
the
oneness of humanity: “The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is
these words: “Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one
branch…So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the
whole earth” (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, p. 288). Aside from the spiritual
and existential truths of Bahá’u’lláh’s statement, anthropology,
biology, and even medicine all demonstrate the unity underlying the
various races despite their cultural differences. But he expresses
poetically the literal truth that humanity is one race through the
metaphor of the tree, its leaves and branches. If we reflect
upon this
symbolism, further evidences of the truth of his statement will come to
mind. -
Jack
McLean
