Scott,
At 11:40 PM 4/5/2004, you wrote:
>>I would think also he is infallible when he discusses a part of the Writings that
>>allude to a scientific process: i.e. his explanation of the "copper to gold"
>>transmutation NOT just being a spiritual metaphor but a description of a
>>scientifically describably process that was not yet understood in his time. )f
>>course, we understand it now - in a theoretical sense - but he confidently asserted
>>it before science could have upheld it.<<
You are probably referring to this statement:
"Considering that a century ago, nobody knew the nature of matter, and couldn't
split any kind of an atom, it should not surprise the scientist that Abdu'l-Baha
states that copper can be transmuted into gold.
"There may come a time, for all we know, when the mass of many atoms can be
changed by scientists. We have no way of proving or disproving at present the
statement of Abdu'l-Baha. Just because we cannot demonstrate a contention in the
Baha'i Teachings does not mean the contention is not true.
"The same holds true of the statement of Baha'u'llah in the Iqan, regarding
transmutation of copper into gold after seventy years, under certain conditions.
"We as Baha'is must assume that, as He had access to all knowledge, He was
referring to a definite physical condition which theoretically might exist. Because we
don't know what this condition is in scientific terms does not refute Baha'u'llah's
statement at all.
-- From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March
14, 1955, and cited: Lights of Guidance, p.479
I think it is important to focus on what he did *not* say. He did not suggest that
scientists assume, in the context of their work, the validity of a lower (natural)
alchemy. He interpreted these texts as indicating certain possibilities in nature.
Talking about nature and its qualities (elemental transmutation) is different from
providing hypotheses for testing.
Mark A. Foster * http://markfoster.net
"Sacred cows make the best hamburger"
-- Mark Twain and Abbie Hoffman
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