Re: 'Abdu'l-Bahá and evolution

Dear Mavaddat,

Kalimat Press (2001) has published a book on this subject called "Evolution
and Baha'i Beliefs" edited by Keven Brown.

Thomas Linard has written a commentary on Brown's paper on 'Abdu'l-Baha and
evelution published in Baha'i Studies Review 12 (the most recent).

Regards,

Daniel


"Mavaddat" <mavaddatastic@xxxxxxxxxxx> skrev i en meddelelse
news:1125174435.394430.140230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> As I was doing some research on the Bahá'í position on evolution, I
> stumbled upon this statement by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in "The Promulgation of
> Universal Peace", p.359, which I find greatly disturbing, if my
> understanding of it is correct:
>
> "The lost link of Darwinian theory is itself a proof that man is not an
> animal. How is it possible to have all the links present and that
> important link absent? Its absence is an indication that man has never
> been an animal. It will never be found."
>
> Firstly, since there is still much discovery to be made in the way of
> paleoanthropology, this line of reasoning seems to present an argument
> from ignorance, which is a logical fallacy. (Especially in this case,
> absence of evidence is not evidence of absence)
>
> Secondly, the denial of a "lost link" seems to be entirely superfluous
> to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's previous reasoning, in which he admits that the
> human essence has been manifest in all of the physical forms of man:
>
> "Throughout this progression there has been a transference of type, a
> conservation of species or kind. Realizing this we may acknowledge the
> fact that at one time man was an inmate of the sea, at another period
> an invertebrate, then a vertebrate and finally a human being standing
> erect." (ibid., 358)
>
> So why say that there will never be a "lost link" found? If it were
> found, it would present no threat to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's formulation of
> evolution, since the human essence is not observable (and therefore not
> subject to denial) by scientists.
>
> Does anyone have or know of a scientifically compatible way to consider
> this statement of 'Abdu'l-Bahá?
>
>



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Relevant Pages

  • =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re:_Abdul-Bah=E1_and_evolution?=
    ... My guess would be that it means that no direct evidence will be ... Its absence is an indication that man has never ... the denial of a "lost link" seems to be entirely superfluous ... since the human essence is not observable (and therefore not ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • =?iso-8859-1?q?Abdul-Bah=E1_and_evolution?=
    ... Its absence is an indication that man has never ... absence of evidence is not evidence of absence) ... the denial of a "lost link" seems to be entirely superfluous ... since the human essence is not observable (and therefore not ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: Pilgrims Notes
    ... is absent or that it will never be found? ... So it seems the Master was referring to the "lost link of the Darwinian Theory". ... "The first answer to this argument is the fact that the animal having preceded man is not a proof of the evolution, change and alteration of the species, nor that man was raised from the animal world to the human world. ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: Pilgrims Notes
    ... is absent or that it will never be found? ... So it seems the Master was referring to the "lost link of the Darwinian Theory". ... "The first answer to this argument is the fact that the animal having preceded man is not a proof of the evolution, change and alteration of the species, nor that man was raised from the animal world to the human world. ...
    (soc.religion.bahai)
  • Re: What effect does power off Sky box overnight have?
    ... In the absence of any supporting scientific evidence, ... evolution of main sequence stars is fully understood. ... giant and envelope the earth and vapourise it. ...
    (uk.tech.digital-tv)