Scientific Facts in the Koran

[FireGarden]

I see that a little bit diffrent, i think, its like with Nostradamus, after the fact its pretty easy to interpret everything vague written into something that confirms the fact.

in short its a pile of rubish.

but how do i explain that in a non offensive way to him?

Perhaps you could use the interpretations of other Muslims. eg: regarding embryology, you might use the quote of Yusuf Ali in this article:
http://skepticwiki.org/index.php/Islam's_Embryology_Claim

I've found that it has worked a few times -- even without reference to Galen or other scientists who lived before the Quran.

 

[DC]

he brought up a funny story wich i am now searching for.
an british scientist was sent to mecca to get a peace of the stone and analyse it.
that scientist claimed then the stone is not from this univers or something like that and converted to Islam
he also mentioned the British government sent him ^^

 

[DC]

Perhaps you could use the interpretations of other Muslims. eg: regarding embryology, you might use the quote of Yusuf Ali in this article:
http://skepticwiki.org/index.php/Islam's_Embryology_Claim

I've found that it has worked a few times -- even without reference to Galen or other scientists who lived before the Quran.

good link, thanks

 

[sphenisc]

The Koran states quite clearly that the sun revolves around the earth as the moon revolves around the earth

perhaps you should tell your friend that if hes got a dictionary he should use it by looking up Astronomy and seeing what it is

None of the verses you quote say that.. or even mention the earth.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

he also told me, Allah created the world and the skies in only 7 days, i answered thats impossible, he then said, well 7 Allah days can be millions of years for humans.

It could, but then again it could be six seconds. The simplest explanation is that those in the medieval era believed it to be six days, with no metaphor hidden within it.

i then directly asked him if he is a Creationist, if allah created everything like it is today, he said no, he belives in evolution. but Allah cause evolution.

It's a superfluous God then. Imagine explaining exactly what causes you to develop smallpox, down to the last detail, and then still stressing that God causes the rash, the fever, the nausea. He's superfluous.

 

[DC]

It could, but then again it could be six seconds. The simplest explanation is that those in the medieval era believed it to be six days, with no metaphor hidden within it.



It's a superfluous God then. Imagine explaining exactly what causes you to develop smallpox, down to the last detail, and then still stressing that God causes the rash, the fever, the nausea. He's superfluous.

thats just to create a balance of good and evil

 

[Undesired Walrus]

he brought up a funny story wich i am now searching for.
an british scientist was sent to mecca to get a peace of the stone and analyse it.
that scientist claimed then the stone is not from this univers or something like that and converted to Islam
he also mentioned the British government sent him ^^

Not from this universe?? How the hell did he work that out? Did he ever publish these earth-shattering (Or Universe-shattering) findings in a journal?

When your mate makes these extraordinary claims, make sure you ask him for extraordinary evidence.

 

[Pardalis]

I tell my friends they are full of crap all the time when it is justified. You should be able to tell things like that to friends, and they should be able to take it.

If you fear for your life then maybe he's not such a friend after all.

 

[I Ratant]

ISTR a virulent Koran defender saying that no one knew of the mixing of river water and sea water out from the mouths of rivers until it was mentioned in that book.
As if there weren't 50,000 years of human venturings out to see before 640 AD, when that "fact" would be discovered any number of times.

 

[DC]

I tell my friends they are full of crap all the time when it is justified. You should be able to tell things like that to friends, and they should be able to take it.

If you fear for your life then maybe he's not such a friend after all.

yes i totaly fear that he will behead me..........

 

[FireGarden]

yes i totaly fear that he will behead me..........

Are you humouring Pardalis because you're afraid he'll get violent?

 

[Beerina]

he brought up a funny story wich i am now searching for.
an british scientist was sent to mecca to get a peace of the stone and analyse it.
that scientist claimed then the stone is not from this univers or something like that and converted to Islam
he also mentioned the British government sent him ^^

Odd, most people believe they are deliberately not letting it be analyzed because they'll just look like idiots for worshiping a "stone from the sky" that's just a mundane meteorite, however spectacular and scary it was to the scientifically illiterate (and pre-one-world-media) locals when it landed centuries (millenia?) earlier.

 

[Beerina]

ISTR a virulent Koran defender saying that no one knew of the mixing of river water and sea water out from the mouths of rivers until it was mentioned in that book.
As if there weren't 50,000 years of human venturings out to see before 640 AD, when that "fact" would be discovered any number of times.

What about the millions of people over the centuries in sea-based villages at the corner of a big river and the ocean?

What exactly were they supposed to think was happening to a bunch of fresh water gushing out into a salty sea?

 

[DC]

Are you humouring Pardalis because you're afraid he'll get violent?

 

[xXMoshtradamusXx]

a friend of mine. a really nice guy, countered to my Atheism that all those Scientific Facts i talk about are actually described in the Koran.

So i took a look at it, and indeed with extremly much interpretation and ignoring other nonsence in the book, one can indeed belive they talk about the science we know today.

for him this is pure evidence that God wrote it, and not humans, as there was no way they had that knowledge back then.

I see that a little bit diffrent, i think, its like with Nostradamus, after the fact its pretty easy to interpret everything vague written into something that confirms the fact.

in short its a pile of rubish.

but how do i explain that in a non offensive way to him?

Remember one thing, Arabic society pre-crusades was one of the most advanced societies on the planet. They invented Algebra afterall...
Along with an early version of the Astrolabe if I'm not mistaken.
It wouldn't shock me at all to know their knowledge level would be shocking for the time period. They've really regressed since Christianity's holy wars.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

I tell my friends they are full of crap all the time when it is justified. You should be able to tell things like that to friends, and they should be able to take it.

If you fear for your life then maybe he's not such a friend after all.

Did I miss teh sarcasm?

 

[headscratcher4]

When I was younger, I was very interested in the Koran...until I read the where Mohamad had a vision wherein God allowed him to violate the law applicable to every other muslim and to have more than one wife. How convienent. How Joseph Smith of him. After that, I figured it was a display of how Mohamad was just like every religious fakier from every cornor of the earth.

 

[I Ratant]

What about the millions of people over the centuries in sea-based villages at the corner of a big river and the ocean?

What exactly were they supposed to think was happening to a bunch of fresh water gushing out into a salty sea?

.
That's the crux of the situation.
When you swallow the holy book without question, that truly means "without question".
One is prohibited from thinking beyond the story and wondering about the real world.
It's a way too easy cop-out to avoid the pain of thinking at all.

 

[Robin]

Don't forget that the Qu'ran explicitly states that some of it should be treated as allegorical.

 

[gtc]

Everyone at my work was sent a copy of a booklet from Egypt containing these same arguments. I haven't read it yet.