Devil Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Baháʼí Faith == In the [[Baháʼí 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 |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/304 304] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/304 }}</ref> These terms do, however, appear in the Baháʼí writings, where they are used as metaphors for the lower 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 Baháʼí writings with the word ''satanic''.<ref name="smith" /> The Baháʼí 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|author2=Baháʼuʼlláh| author-link = Bahá'u'lláh| title = Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas| url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TB/tb-8.html#pg87| orig-year = 1873–92| year = 1994| publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust| location = Wilmette, Illinois, US| isbn = 0-87743-174-4| page = 87| chapter = Tablet of the World }}</ref><ref>Shoghi Effendi quoted in {{cite book| last = Hornby| first = Helen| title = Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File| url = http://bahai-library.com/hornby_lights_guidance_2&chapter=4#n1738| year = 1983| publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India| isbn = 81-85091-46-3| page = 513| editor = Hornby, Helen}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page