Millennialism, Millerites, and Prophecy in Baha'i Discourse

1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-50403-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 284 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Religion

This book explores the role of millennialism, the Millerites, and prophecy in the historical development of the Bahá’í faith, especially in North America. The author demonstrates the importance of the Bahá’í religion to millennialism studies and its connection to certain Protestant American and Shia Islamic modes of thought. Bahá’ís see two millennial visions on far-separated continents, within different religious milieux, and from contrasting social climates, as spiritually and prophetically linked: the Millerites who expected the return of Christ in 1844 CE, and Shii Muslims who expected the Mahdí/Qá’im/Twelfth Imam in 1260 AH/1844 CE.  The chapters in this volume reflect on theories about millennialist movements, the continuum from catastrophic to progressive millennialism, Bahá’í interpretations of biblical prophecy, and Bahá’í efforts to build the “Kingdom of God on earth” under a systematic divine plan. The book highlights the maturation of the Bahá’í community toward a focus on process and a capacity to deal with both catastrophe and progress. It provides scholars of religion with a detailed study of the trajectory in Bahá’í millennial ideas.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Collins, William P.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Östliche Religionen Bahaismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1. The Bahá’í Divine Plan 2. The Millennial Motif 3. Millerism and Its Successors 4. Historicist Exegesis of Time Prophecies 5. Miller’s Exegetical Principles and Time Prophecies 6. The Bábí Movement: Escaping the Shia End-Time Script 7. The Bahá’í Religion: A Progressive Divine Plan 8. The Bahá’í Faith Comes to the United States 9. Bahá’í Time Prophecy Interpretation before 1908 10. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Authoritative Exegesis 11. Bahá’í Time Prophecy Interpretation after 1908 12. The Bahá’í Faith as a Millennialist Movement 13. Bahá’í Expectations: Envisioning the Future vs. Date-Setting 14: To Know the Future 15. From Events to Process

Über Autor(innen)

William P. Collins is retired from the Library of Congress and formerly Librarian of the International Bahá’í Library. He is the author of Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, 1844-1985 and articles on millennialism and Bahá’í history.