Existence of God proof study outlines/Part-whole proof outlines

Outline for Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 17-18[edit]

I. If we accept the supposition that man is but a part of nature, we are confronted by an illogical statement
- A. Man is a part of nature
- B. A part may not be endowed with qualities which are absent in the whole
  - 1. The part may not be possessed of qualities or faculties which are absent in the whole
- C. Man has perception, intelligence, memory, conscious reflection and susceptibility, while nature itself is quite bereft of them
- D. We cannot say that nature is blind, nature is not perceptive, nature is without volition and not alive, and then relegate man to nature and its limitations
II. The truth is that God has given to man certain powers which are supernatural
- A. Man cannot be considered a captive of nature
- B. Man is dominating and controlling nature to his own uses more and more
- C. Man is the very divinity of nature
- D. Materialists themselves make natural laws subservient to their own wish and purpose
III. The proof is complete that in man there is a power beyond the limitations of nature, and that power is the bestowal of God

Outline for Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 79-82[edit]

I. When we carefully investigate the kingdoms of existence and observe the phenomena of the universe about us, we discover the absolute order and perfection of creation
- A. All of these are found subject to universal law, most complete, most perfect
  - 1. The dull minerals in their affinities
  - 2. Plants and vegetables with power of growth
  - 3. Animals in their instinct
  - 4. Man with conscious intellect
  - 5. The heavenly orbs moving obediently through limitless space
- B. That is why a wise philosopher has said, "There is no greater or more perfect system of creation than that which already exists."
- C. We find all phenomena subject to an exact order and under control of universal law
II. The materialists and atheists declare that this order and symmetry is due to nature and its forces
- A. They declare
  - 1. That composition and decomposition which constitute life and existence are exigencies of nature
  - 2. That man himself is an exigency of nature
  - 3. That nature rules and governs creation
  - 4. That all existing things are captives of nature
III. The question is whether the universal law in nature is due to nature or to divine and omnipotent rule
- A. The materialists believe
  - 1. These are exigencies of nature
    - a. For the rain to fall and that unless rain fell the earth would not become verdant
    - b. Combustion is the natural property of fire, therefore, fire burns, and we cannot conceive of fire without its burning
  - 2. They reason that if clouds cause a downpour, if the sun sends forth heat and light and the earth is endowed with capacity, vegetation must inevitably follow
  - 3. Therefore, plant life is a property of these natural forces and is a sign of nature
  - 4. From the premises advanced by materialists, the conclusions are drawn that nature is the ruler and governor of existence and that all virtues and perfections are natural exigencies and outcomes
  - 5. Furthermore, it follows that man is but a part or member of that whereof nature is the whole.
- B. (The divine philosophers argue)
  - 1. Man possesses certain virtues of which nature is deprived
    - a. Man exercises volition and has certain virtues
    - b. Nature is without will
      - 1. An exigency of the sun is the giving of light; it is controlled--it cannot do otherwise than radiate light--but it is not volitional
      - 2. An exigency of the phenomenon of electricity is that it is revealed in sparks and flashes under certain conditions, but it cannot voluntarily furnish illumination
      - 3. An exigency or property of water is humidity; it cannot separate itself from this property by its own will
      - 4. Likewise, all the properties of nature are inherent and obedient, not volitional; therefore, it is philosophically predicated that nature is without volition and innate perception
    - c. Man, who is a part of the universal plan, is possessed of certain qualities whereof nature is devoid
      - 1. Man is intelligent, instinctively and consciously intelligent; nature is not.
      - 2. Man is fortified with memory; nature does not possess it
      - 3. Man is the discoverer of the mysteries of nature; nature is not conscious of those mysteries herself
    - d. It is evident, therefore, that man is dual in aspect: as an animal he is subject to nature, but in his spiritual or conscious being he transcends the world of material existence
      - 1. His spiritual powers, being nobler and higher, possess virtues of which nature intrinsically has no evidence; therefore, they triumph over natural conditions
      - 2. These ideal virtues or powers in man surpass or surround nature, comprehend natural laws and phenomena, penetrate the mysteries of the unknown and invisible and bring them forth into the realm of the known and visible
      - 3. All the existing arts and sciences were once hidden secrets of nature
        a. By his command and control of nature man took them out of the plane of the invisible and revealed them in the plane of visibility, whereas according to the exigencies of nature these secrets should have remained latent and concealed
        
        b. According to the exigencies of nature electricity should be a hidden, mysterious power; but the penetrating intellect of man has discovered it, taken it out of the realm of mystery and made it an obedient human servant
      - 4. In his physical body and its functions man is a captive of nature
        a. For instance, he cannot continue his existence without sleep, an exigency of nature
        
        b. He must partake of food and drink, which nature demands and requires
      - 5. But in his spiritual being and intelligence man dominates and controls nature, the ruler of his physical being
    - e. Notwithstanding this, contrary opinions and materialistic views are set forth which would relegate man completely to physical subservience to nature's laws
      - 1. This is equivalent to saying all of the following which are illogical and impossible
        a. That the comparative degree exceeds the superlative
        
        b. That the imperfect includes the perfect
        
        c. That the pupil surpasses the teacher
    - f. When it is clearly manifest and evident that the intelligence of man, his constructive faculty, his power of penetration and discovery transcend nature, we cannot say he is nature's thrall and captive
      - 1. This would indicate that for man:
        a. he is deprived of the bounties of God
        
        b. he is retrograding toward the station of the animal
        
        c. his keen superintelligence is without function
        
        d. he estimates himself as an animal, without distinction between his own and the animal's kingdom
        1. (Story of 'Abdu'l-Bahá about philosopher who insisted he was no different from an animal while 'Abdu'l-Bahá disputed his idea)
  - 2. (The whole cannot be deprived of what the part possesses)
    - a. A drop cannot be imbued with qualities of which the ocean is completely deprived.
      - 1. The drop is a part; the ocean is the whole
    - b. There could not be a phenomenon of combustion or illumination which the great luminary the sun itself did not manifest
    - c. A stone could not possess inherent properties of which the aggregate mineral kingdom is lacking
      - 1. The fingernail which is a part of human anatomy cannot be endowed with cellular properties of which the brain is deprived
  - 3. The whole (the Creator) cannot be deprived of volition, intelligence, comprehension, and virtues possessed by man

Outline for Some Answered Questions, Chapter 1, pars. 6-7[edit]

I. Some say that human existence is among those things that have appeared in the world of being and that are due to the exigencies of nature
II. Were this true, man would be the branch and nature the root
III. (The root cannot be deprived of what comprises the branch)
IV. It is not possible that there could exist a will, a consciousness, and certain perfections in the branch which are absent in the root
V. (The will, consciousness, and perfections must be present in the Creator)
VI. Hence it is clear that nature, in its very essence, is in the grasp of God’s might
- A. It is that Eternal and Almighty One Who subjects nature to ideal laws and organizing principles, and Who rules over it

Outline for Tablet to Auguste Forel, pars. 7-14[edit]

I. It is indubitable that minerals are endowed with a spirit and life according to the requirements of that stage
- A. This unknown secret, too, hath become known unto the materialists who now maintain that all beings are endowed with life, even as He saith in the Qur'án, `All things are living'.
II. In the vegetable world, too, there is the power of growth, and that power of growth is the spirit
III. In the animal world there is the sense of feeling
IV. In the human world there is an all-embracing power
- A. In all the preceding stages the power of reason is absent, but the soul existeth and revealeth itself
  - 1. The sense of feeling understandeth not the soul whereas
  - 2. The reasoning power of the mind proveth the existence of the soul
- B. In man, however, there is a discovering power that transcendeth the world of nature and controlleth and interfereth with the laws thereof
  - 1. For instance, all minerals, plants and animals are captives of nature
    - a. The sun itself with all its majesty is so subservient to nature that it hath no will of its own and cannot deviate a hair's-breadth from the laws thereof
    - b. In like manner all other beings, whether of the mineral, the vegetable or the animal world, cannot deviate from the laws of nature, nay, all are the slaves thereof
  - 2. Man, however, though in body the captive of nature is yet free in his mind and soul, and hath the mastery over nature
    - a. According to the law of nature man liveth, moveth and hath his being on earth yet his soul and mind interfere with the laws thereof
      - 1. (For example)
        a. Even as the bird he flieth in the air
        
        b. Saileth speedily upon the seas
        
        c. As the fish soundeth the deep and discovereth the things therein
      - 2. Verily this is a grievous defeat inflicted upon the laws of nature.
    - b. So is (it with man and) the power of electrical energy
      - 1. This unruly violent force that cleaveth mountains is yet imprisoned by man within a globe!
      - 2. This is manifestly interfering with the laws of nature
    - c. Likewise man discovereth those hidden secrets of nature that in conformity with the laws thereof must remain concealed, and transfereth them from the invisible plane to the visible
      - 1. This, too, is interfering with the law of nature
    - d. In the same manner he discovereth the inherent properties of things that are the secrets of nature
    - e. Also he bringeth to light the past events that have been lost to memory, and foreseeth by his power of induction future happenings that are as yet unknown
    - f. Furthermore, communication and discovery are limited by the laws of nature to short distances, whereas man, through that inner power of his that discovereth the reality of all things, connecteth the East with the West
      - 1. This, too, is interfering with the laws of nature
    - g. Similarly, according to the law of nature all shadows are fleeting, whereas man fixeth them upon the plate, and this, too, is interference with a law of nature
    - h. Ponder and reflect: all sciences, arts, crafts, inventions and discoveries, have been once the secrets of nature and in conformity with the laws thereof must remain hidden; yet man through his discovering power interfereth with the laws of nature and transfereth these hidden secrets from the invisible to the visible plane
      - 1. This again is interfering with the laws of nature
    - i. In fine, that inner faculty in man, unseen of the eye, wresteth the sword from the hands of nature, and giveth it a grievous blow
      - 1. All other beings, however great, are bereft of such perfections
    - j. Man hath the powers of will and understanding, but nature hath them not **** k. Nature is constrained, man is free
    - l. Nature is bereft of understanding, man understandeth
    - m. Nature is unaware of past events, but man is aware of them
    - n. Nature forecasteth not the future; man by his discerning power seeth that which is to come
    - o. Nature hath no consciousness of itself, man knoweth about all things
V. In like manner the mind proveth the existence of an unseen Reality that embraceth all beings, and that existeth and revealeth itself in all stages, the essence whereof is beyond the grasp of the mind
- A. The part dependeth upon the whole; the part cannot possess perfections whereof the whole is deprived
- B. Man is endowed with perfections (that nature does not have)
- C. Man cannot be but a part of the world of nature
  - 1. These perfections cannot be but manifestations of the world of nature
  - 2. Nature cannot be the originator of these perfections
VI. The lesser kingdoms do not understand the greater ones
- A. Thus the mineral world understandeth neither the nature nor the perfections of the vegetable world
- B. The vegetable world understandeth not the nature of the animal world
- C. Neither the animal world the nature of the reality of man that discovereth and embraceth all things
  - 1. The animal is the captive of nature and cannot transgress the rules and laws thereof