Science and Religion: A Necessary Harmony

Opening Prayer

"O GOD the Forgiver! O Heavenly Educator! This assembly is adorned with the mention of thy holy Name. Thy children turn their face towards thy Kingdom, hearts are made happy and souls are comforted.

"Merciful God! cause us to repent of our shortcomings! Accept us in thy heavenly Kingdom and give unto us an abode where there shall be no error. Give us peace; give us knowledge, and open unto us the gates of thy heaven.

"Thou art the Giver of all! Thou art the Forgiver! Thou art the Merciful! Amen."

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Abdu'l-Baha in London, Pages: 24-25)

What is True Science?

Baha'u'llah exhorted us to participate not in such Sciences as begin and end in words:

"God hath relieved you of the ordinance laid down in the Bayan concerning the destruction of books. We have permitted you to read such sciences as are profitable unto you, not such as end in idle disputation; better is this for you, if ye be of them that comprehend."

(Baha'u'llah: No. 77, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, Page: 48)

"It is permissible to study sciences and arts, but such sciences as are useful and would redound to the progress and advancement of the people. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise."

(Baha'u'llah: The Eleventh Glad-Tidings, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Page: 26)

"The Great Being saith: The learned of the day must direct the people to acquire those branches of knowledge which are of use, that both the learned themselves and the generality of mankind may derive benefits therefrom. Such academic pursuits as begin and end in words alone have never been and will never be of any worth. The majority of Persia's learned doctors devote all their lives to the study of a philosophy the ultimate yield of which is nothing but words."

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Page: 169)

Such Sciences as begin and end in words are known in modern English as "Pseudosciences" and include examples such as alchemy, debunked by Baha'u'llah in the Iqan;

"We gathered from his statements that unless a man be deeply versed in them all, he can never attain to a proper understanding of this transcendent and exalted theme. Among the specified sciences were the science of metaphysical abstractions, of alchemy, and natural magic. Such vain and discarded learnings, this man hath regarded as the pre-requisites of the understanding of the sacred and abiding mysteries of divine Knowledge."

(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Page: 186)

"Among the sciences which this pretender hath professed is that of alchemy. We cherish the hope that either a king or a man of preeminent power may call upon him to translate this science from the realm of fancy to the domain of fact and from the plane of mere pretension to that of actual achievement. Would that this unlearned and humble Servant, who never laid any pretension to such things, nor even regarded them as the criterion of true knowledge, might undertake the same task, that thereby the truth might be known and distinguished from falsehood."

(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 189-190)

Shoghi Effendi also explains this term to primarily include theological treatises etc:

"What Baha'u'llah meant primarily with "sciences that begin and end in words" are those theological treatises and commentaries that encumber the human mind rather than help it to attain the truth. The students would devote their life to their study but still attain no where. Baha'u'llah surely never meant to include story writing under such a category; and shorthand and typewriting are both most useful talents very necessary in our present social and economic life. What you could do, and should do, is to use your stories to become a source of inspiration and guidance for those who read them. With such a means at your disposal you can spread the spirit and teachings of the Cause; you can show the evils that exist in society, as well as the way they can be remedied. If you possess a real talent in writing you should consider it as given by God and exert your efforts to use it for the betterment of society.(2)"

(Shoghi Effendi: No. 2224, Writers and Writing, Page: 411)

"Scientific Creationism" and many so called alternative health sciences based often on "metaphysical abstractions" pose good examples of what is called science by some, but in reality are little more than theological treatises that offer no demonstrable, practical benefits.

Science versus Religion

Baha’u’llah has promised that His revelation shall not deviate from demonstrable truth by not disappointing those who are seekers of truth in the following statement.

"Such things have appeared in this Revelation that there is no recourse for either the exponents of science and knowledge or the manifestations of justice and equity other than to recognize them."

(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Page: 111)

That religion must conform to true science is a significant Báhá’i principle demonstrating the honesty of Báhá’i belief and the challenge that such claimed honesty shall be subject to the independent scrutiny of the seeker because material interpretation is subject to the dictates of science:

"Religion which consists only of rites and ceremonies of prejudice is not the truth.  Let us earnestly endeavour to be the means of uniting religion and science.
"Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, said: `That which is in conformity with science is also in conformity with religion'. Whatever the intelligence of man cannot understand, religion ought not to accept. Religion and science walk hand in hand, and any religion contrary to science is not the truth."
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Paris Talks, Page: 131)

"I say unto you: Weigh carefully in the balance of reason and science everything that is presented to you as religion. If it passes this test, then accept it, for it is truth! If, however, it does not so conform, then reject it, for it is ignorance!"

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Paris Talks, Page: 144)

"Any religious belief which is not conformable with scientific proof and investigation is superstition, for true science is reason and reality, and religion is essentially reality and pure reason; therefore, the two must correspond. Religious teaching which is at variance with science and reason is human invention and imagination unworthy of acceptance, for the antithesis and opposite of knowledge is superstition born of the ignorance of man. If we say religion is opposed to science, we lack knowledge of either true science or true religion, for both are founded upon the premises and conclusions of reason, and both must bear its test."

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, Page: 107)

"How can a man believe to be a fact that which science has proved to be impossible? If he believes in spite of his reason, it is rather ignorant superstition than faith. The true principles of all religions are in conformity with the teachings of science."

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Paris Talks, Page: 141)

"Every religion which is not in accordance with established science is superstition. Religion must be reasonable. If it does not square with reason, it is superstition and without foundation. It is like a mirage, which deceives man by leading him to think it is a body of water. God has endowed man with reason that he may perceive what is true."

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, Page: 63)

"Religion must conform to science and reason; otherwise, it is superstition. God has created man in order that he may perceive the verity of existence and endowed him with mind or reason to discover truth. Therefore, scientific knowledge and religious belief must be conformable to the analysis of this divine faculty in man."

(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, Page: 287)

Science is often the test of a theologians honesty, for often old interpretations (eg. 6000 year old earth) go beyond the scope of the spiritual into the then unknown realms of the material. This requires that in time such fond imaginings be discarded in favour of truth. The book, "Telling Lies for God" by Ian Plimer and published by Random House in 1994, documents one such example. As Shoghi Effendi has suggested above, it is most common for the maintenance of incorrect theological interpretations to be the motivation for the generation of pseudoscience.

Closing Prayer

"In the Name of God, the Most High! Lauded and glorified art Thou, Lord, God Omnipotent! Thou before Whose wisdom the wise falleth short and faileth, before Whose knowledge the learned confesseth his ignorance, before Whose might the strong waxeth weak, before Whose wealth the rich testifieth to his poverty, before Whose light the enlightened is lost in darkness, toward the shrine of Whose knowledge turneth the essence of all understanding and around the sanctuary of Whose presence circle the souls of all mankind.

"How then can I sing and tell of Thine Essence, which the wisdom of the wise and the learning of the learned have failed to comprehend, inasmuch as no man can sing that which he understandeth not, nor recount that unto which he cannot attain, whilst Thou hast been from everlasting the Inaccessible, the Unsearchable. Powerless though I be to rise to the heavens of Thy glory and soar in the realms of Thy knowledge, I can but recount Thy tokens that tell of Thy glorious handiwork.

"By Thy Glory! O Beloved of all hearts, Thou that alone canst still the pangs of yearning for Thee! Though all the dwellers of heaven and earth unite to glorify the least of Thy signs, wherein and whereby Thou hast revealed Thyself, yet would they fail, how much more to praise Thy holy Word, the creator of all Thy tokens.

"All praise and glory be to Thee, Thou of Whom all things have testified that Thou art one and there is none other God but Thee, Who hast been from everlasting exalted above all peer or likeness and to everlasting shalt remain the same. All kings are but Thy servants and all beings, visible and invisible, as naught before Thee. There is none other God but Thee, the Gracious, the Powerful, the Most High."

(Baha'u'llah: Baha'i Prayers (US), Pages: 122-123)