A Bahá'í Perspective on the Origin of Matter
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The Journal of Bahá'í Studies 2, 15-44Abstract: The origin of matter, according to Baha'i teaching, can be explained as a spiritual reality. Although this view is not modern, modern science is also finding that at the most fundamental level "permanent aspects of reality are not particular materials or structures but rather the possible forms of structures, and the rules for their transformation" (Wilczek). The Baha'i Faith teaches that science and religion reveal complementary aspects of one truth. To Baha'is, the Word of God is an actual, albeit transcendent, entity with the power to bring physical reality into being. Its forces directly give rise to the structures and functions of matter. The theory of the four elements. the threefold structure of being, and the necessity of balance to life are also examined.
The origin of matter, according to Baha'i teaching, can be explained as a spiritual reality. Although this view is not modern, modern science is also finding that at the most fundamental level "permanent aspects of reality are not particular materials or structures but rather the possible forms of structures, and the rules for their transformation" (Wilczek). The Baha'i Faith teaches that science and religion reveal complementary aspects of one truth. To Baha'is, the Word of God is an actual, albeit transcendent, entity with the power to bring physical reality into being. Its forces directly give rise to the structures and functions of matter. The theory of the four elements. the threefold structure of being, and the necessity of balance to life are also examined.