The argument "He is God!" may work with those who believe in God parting seas or doing other cute miracles, but since harmony of faith and science is enjoined upon us, let's look for rational explanations.
Let's do a little geometry to help understand why a military commander wouldn't arraying rows of 250 men to execute the Bab. As I mentioned earlier, if 750 men were used, then each row had to be about 210 yards long. Let's assume that the firing squad stood 40 yards from the Bab. Further, let's assume that the Bab was positioned in the mid-point of the firing squad. Now imagine a triangle with a side 105 and another side of 40 yards. That means the hypotenuse would be: square-root of (105^2 + 40^2) = square-root of ( 12625) = 112 yards. That is, the soldier at the end of each row would be 112 from the Bab. I don't know what sort of muskets they were equipped with, but my guess is that they had Russian guns, which at the time would be .58 or .54 caliber guns with a range of about 120-150 yards. So, attempting to reach a target at 112 yards with such a gun is bit foolish and no commander would allow it. The problem is more complicated than that since the radial accuracy has to be considered. When it came to accuracy (or lack of "bias"), 1840's Russian-made muskets had an error band of 3 inches/10 yard. That is, if one tried to hit a target at 10 yards, typically you hit within 3 inches to either side (assuming perfect conditions). But if you tried a target at 20 yards, then the error band would be 6 inches (i.e. on the average you'll hit an range of plus or minus 6 inches). So to hit a target at 112 yards, that would mean an error range of 32 inches to either side. That is, you can aim at a target at 112 yards, but on the average you'll hit only within 32 inches of the target to either side, and that's assuming the best of conditions and no shaking hands, etc. A simple exercise is to imagine that you're standing at a corner of a football field trying to hit the diagonally opposite corner of the field. It's next to impossible with an old musket and the regiment's commander would know that and would not be wasting his resources. Regards, ahang. Please respond to "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc: Subject: Re: Martyrdom of the Bab This communication is for use by the intended recipient and contains information that may be privileged, confidential or copyrighted under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby formally notified that any use, copying or distribution of this e-mail, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this e-mail from your system. Unless explicitly and conspicuously designated as "E-Contract Intended", this e-mail does not constitute a contract offer, a contract amendment, or an acceptance of a contract offer. This e-mail does not constitute a consent to the use of sender's contact information for direct marketing purposes or for transfers of data to third parties. Francais Deutsch Italiano Espanol Portugues Japanese Chinese Korean www.invista.com/email_disclaimer.shtml
>Are there other theories?
He is God!
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