Covenant (religion)
In religion, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. The concept, central to the Abrahamic religions, is derived from the biblical covenants, notably from the Abrahamic covenant. Christianity asserts that God made an additional covenant through Jesus Christ, called the "new covenant".
A covenant in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. A covenant is a type of agreement analogous to a contractual condition. The covenantor makes a promise to a covenantee to do (affirmative covenant) or not do some action (negative covenant).
Bahá'í Faith[edit]
In the Bahá'í Faith, a religious covenant is considered a binding agreement between God and humans wherein a certain behavior is required of individuals and in return God guarantees certain blessings. For Bahá'ís there are two distinct covenants: a Greater Covenant which is made between every prophet or messenger from God and his followers concerning the next divine teacher to come; and a Lesser Covenant that concerns successorship of authority within the religion after the prophet dies.[36]
According to Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in the greater covenant God promises to always send divine teachers to instruct humankind in a process known as progressive revelation.[37] Bahá'ís believe prophecies pertaining to God's greater covenant are found in the scriptures of all religions, and each messenger from God specifically prophesies about the next one to come.[36] For their part in the greater covenant, the followers of each religion have a duty to investigate with an open mind whether a person who claims to be the promised messenger of their faith does, or does not, spiritually fulfill relevant prophecies.[36]
To differentiate it from God's eternal greater covenant with humankind, Bahá'ís refer to a manifestation's agreement with his followers regarding whom they should turn to and obey immediately after his passing as the lesser covenant.[36] Two distinctive features of the Bahá'í lesser covenant, which is referred to within the Bahá'í Faith as the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, are that it is explicit and also conveyed in authenticated written documents.[38] Bahá'ís consider Bahá'u'lláh's covenant as unique in religious history, and the most powerful means for ensuring the spiritual health of the Faith's adherents, and their enduring unity and complete protection from any efforts to foment dissension or to create schism.[36]
Other religions[edit]
In Indo-Iranian religious tradition, Mithra-Mitra is the hypostasis of covenant, and hence keeper and protector of moral, social and interpersonal relationships, including love and friendship. In living Zoroastrianism, which is one of the two primary developments of Indo-Iranian religious tradition, Mithra is by extension a judge, protecting agreements by ensuring that individuals who break one do not enter Heaven.