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E = mc^2 where did you get that? Is it in the Koran?

There was a time Islam was open to free inquiry. Reason and science were honored. But, that was a long time ago. Islam turned dogmatic, as it would have to.

Einstein, by the way, said a scientist searches for an answer, believing that there is an answer. This, he said, was essentially religious.

Both parts of what Einstein said are religious: That truth exists. And, that we can discover it. That truth can be known.

Having said these things, I must also say that there are things that are true that cannot be proven. This has been proven. An implication of this is that there is room for belief.

The Koran CANNOT be the revealed literal word of God because it has a flat-earth cosmology. Only scripture that could claim to be revealed would have to be consistent with our understanding, relatively recent, that the universe came into being in a singular event that we call the Big Bang.

That the surface of the earth was originally dark and without form. Then, when the thick clouds started to allow light in, there could be photosynthesis. At a latter time, when the cloud cover assumed their present form, that the creatures of the planet could see that Sun and the moon, etc.

Until recently, we had no idea of the climate history of the planet, or how the Genesis account could be reconciled with it. But, whether the Genesis account was ever intended to be a scientific account or merely a way saying that God, through a series of miracles brought about the universe and our part of it, is not crucial to Judaism and Christianity.

The Bible, to get back to the thread, is only viewed as written by men inspired by God. It is not claimed to be literally true the way a history book or a science textbook is. The Koran IS said to be literally true. This difference is crucial for acceptance of free inquiry, honest differences of opinion, for support for the scientific method, and for the progress of knowledge.