Scientific statements or blunders ?
A pre-requisite
Scientific compliance is a pre-requisite for any scripture claiming to be the word of God. The Quran has over 1000 verses dealing with various scientific phenomenon. Various topics like embryological processes, the water cycle, several geological facts are discussed in a great detail in the Quran. All these maintain perfect harmony with modern scientific discoveries. For people interested in learning more we recommend you to read `The Bible, the Quran & modern science' by Dr Maurice Bucalle.
But here we
are going to discuss only the verses of the Bahai scriptures, which the
Bahais claim are modern scientific statements.
Astronomy
Baha'ullah claimed that `every star had planets revolving
round it & every planet had life' !
This is what he has to say -
"Thou hast, moreover, asked Me concerning the nature
of the
celestial spheres...Know thou that every fixed star
hath its own planets,
and every planet its own creatures, whose number no
man can compute."
2. Bahaullah claims that copper, in a span of 70 years would be converted to gold!
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For instance, consider the substance of copper. Were
it to be protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it
would, within the space of seventy years, attain to
the state of gold. There are some, however, who maintain that
copper itself is gold, which by becoming solidified
is in a diseased condition, and hath not therefore reached its own
state.
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Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant,
cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will
traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment.
Could this gold be called copper? Could it be claimed that it hath
not attained the state of gold, whilst the touch-stone
is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from copper?
Moving on to Abdul Baha, he is considered infallible by the Bahais. His statements are believed to be accurate. Bahaullah appointed him as his successor & had this to say about him-
"We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree."
His successor & grandson Shoghi Effandi , while defending some controversial claims to historical knowledge made by Abdul Baha said-
"Historians cannot be sure Socrates did not visit the Holy Land. But believing as we do that `Abdu'l-Bahá had an intuitive knowledge quite different from our own, we accept His authority on this matter...."
This sufficiently proves that Bahais consider him infallible.
Answered questions by Dr Abdul Baha?
Here are some alleged scientific statements that Dr Abdul Baha had to say. See for yourselves.
1. Abdul Baha states that eyesite is due to the blackness of the pupil, which is supposed to attract sunlight!.
According to Abdul Baha, in his book, `Some answered questions', eyesite is due to the blackness of the pupil. This black colour is supposed to attract sunlight & enable us to see.
"...it is known that the pupil of the eye is black
so as to
attract the rays of the sun, for if it were another
color - that
is uniformly white - it would not attract the rays
of the sun"
Here he also
states that if it were of any other colour, it would not have attracted
sunlight & hence we wouldn't be able to see. This is clearly untrue.
Light is generally reflected by white objects and absorbed by black objects.
but it is totally untrue to claim that eyesite is due to our black pupils
& it wouldn't be possible if it were any other colour. Some animals
like flies have red pupils and they aren't blind.
2. Existence of ether
This was a
theory of scientists of the nineteenth century believed in. They believed
in the existence of a subtle fluid in which all that existed was embedded
in. But this theory has been thoroughly rejected now. This is what Abdul
Baha has to say about ether.
"If we wish to deny everything that is not sensible,
then we must
deny the realities which unquestionably exist.
For example, ethereal
matter is not sensible, THOUGH IT HAS AN UNDOUBTED
EXISTENCE
. The power of attraction is not sensible, though
it
certainly exists. From what do we affirm these
existences? From their
signs. THUS THIS LIGHT IS THE VIBRATION OF THAT
ETHEREAL MATTER, AND
FROM THIS VIBRATION WE INFER THE EXISTENCE OF ETHER.
This clearly shows Abdul Baha belived in the existence of ether, which has been disproved today.
3. Atoms are indestructible
Scientific
philosophy has demonstrated that a simple element is indestructible, eternal.
The soul, not being a composition of elements, is, in character, as a simple
element, and therefore cannot cease to exist.
-Paris talks
Here the simple
means `not composed'. Here Abdul Baha says that a simple element or atom
is indestructible. But in nuclear reactors, atom bombs, etc atoms are continually
broken down. Infact, Einstein showed that matter can even be converted
to energy.
In the above examples we see how infalliable Abdul Baha
& Bahaullah really are. We would like our readers to ponder over these
points
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Please do e mail me with your comments & suggestions or if you want me to add something to these pages. The author can be contacted at rihan@mantramail.com
