Devil: Difference between revisions

In the [[Bahá'í Faith]], a malevolent, superhuman entity such as a ''devil'' or ''satan'' is not believed to exist.<ref name="smith">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= satan |year= 2000 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |id= ISBN 1-85168-184-1 |pages= 304}}</ref>  These terms do, however, appear in the Bahá'í writings, where they are used as metaphors for the base nature of man.  Human beings are seen to have [[free will]], and are thus able to turn towards God and develop spiritual qualities or turn away from God and become immersed in their self-centered desires.  Individuals who follow the temptations of the self and do not develop spiritual virtues are often described in the Bahá'í writings with the word ''satanic''.<ref name="smith"/>  The Bahá'í writings also state that the devil is a metaphor for the "insistent self" or "lower self" which is a self-serving inclination within each individual.  Those who follow their lower nature are also described as followers of "the Evil One".<ref>{{cite book |author = Bahá'u'lláh |authorlink = Bahá'u'lláh |origyear = 1873-92 |year = 1994 |title = Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |isbn = 0877431744 |url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TB/tb-8.html#pg87 |chapter = Tablet of the World | pages = 87}}</ref><ref>Shoghi Effendi quoted in {{cite book |author = Compilations |editor = Hornby, Helen (Ed.) |year = 1983 |title = Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India |isbn = 8185091463 |url = http://bahai-library.com/hornby_lights_guidance_2&chapter=4#n1738| pages = 513}}</ref>