Dear Ron,
You wrote:
>1. Many Baha'is believe that some of the Writings expose flaws in the
>theory of evolution, and that to believe that people evolved from
>common ancestors to other primates is wrong.
>and 2. Some Baha'is believe that modern physics is wrong to have
>rejected the concept of an ether.
>Now, to explain once again, I certainly have no problem with what the
>Writings say about those topics, only the interpretations of many
>Baha'is as I explain in the two points above. I don't think the
>Writings are trying to teach us anything about Physics or Biological
>science.
>The crux of my point is that, if the literal interpretation of a
>passage of the Writings is in conflict with science and/or reason,
>then one must look for a symbolic meaning, not a literal one.
I think Tim Nolan has given a very cogent interpretation of the Master's
words on these two subjects.
Tim Nolan wrote:
"As to ether, Abdu'l Baha explicitly says in Some Answered Questinos that
ether is an intellectual reality, not a phenomenal reality. Maxwell's
equations may be relevant to this."
"As to evolution, I know of nothing in the Writings that denies the theory
of physical evolution.
Evolution is about the body, the physical house we live in for a short time.
Evolution has nothing to say about the soul,
which is the reality of a human being. So, when Abdu'l Baha said humans
have always been human, this does not contradict evolution, because Abdu'l
Baha was, in my opinion, talking about the human spiritual reality, not
about the appearance of the physical body."
Dean Betts
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