Evolving Religion

Religion, like everything else, is rarely static. As environment and culture changes, so too does religion. Sometimes the change remains internal, reforming the religion into something similar yet new. Sometimes it creates a break with its parent and becomes a religious entity unto itself.

Judeo-Christianity is rife with such evolution. Jesus strove to change Judaism, but his followers ended up following the new path of Christianity, based on his teachings. The teachings of both Christianity and Judaism influenced the formation of Islam 600 years later. 1200 years afters that, the Baha'i Faith came into existence in the same general region of the world.

The Baha'i Faith differs itself from Christianity and Islam by an important point. Christianity and Islam view their central prophet as the last of the prophets. Baha'is, however, recognize their foundational prophet as merely the most recent in a string of prophets, whose teachings will eventually be updated, revised and added to by future prophets.