110 We Have Permitted You To Read Such Sciences As Are Profitable Unto You Not Such As End In Idle Disputation #77
The Baha'i Writings enjoin the acquisition of knowledge and the study of
the arts and sciences. Baha'is are admonished to respect people of
learning and accomplishment, and are warned against the pursuit of studies
that are productive only of futile wrangling.
In His Tablets Baha'u'llah counsels the believers to study such sciences
and arts as are useful and would further the progress and advancement
of society, and He cautions against sciences which begin with words and
end with words, the pursuit of which leads to idle disputation. Shoghi
Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, likened sciences that begin
with words and end with words to fruitless excursions into metaphysical
hair-splittings, and, in another letter, he explained that what
Baha'u'llah primarily intended by such sciences are those theological
treatises and commentaries that encumber the human mind rather than help
it to attain the truth.
Next:
111 He Who Held Converse With God #80Previous:
109 The Destruction Of Books #77
Informational
