Open Your Eyes

By Ansar Khan

Open Your Eyes

The central idea of this book is to provide awareness concerning the incorrect way in which we choose our religions, and how in doing so, we waste our lives.
This book will make you re-examine your religion and the way you view it, while simultaneously motivating you to take science more seriously.
In addition, this book deals with the many scientific errors found in the scriptures of various religions.
This book is for everyone; you do not need a degree in science to understand it. If viewed from the correct perspective, as intended, this book can change your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496998750

Ansar Khan

Dr. Khan is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Lalbaba College, Howrah, India. His research incorporates simulation and numerical modeling of global climatic events including urban climate and microclimatic variation using the state-of-the-art Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and Regional Climate Model (RegCM). A key focus of his research is searching for appropriate mitigation strategies and technologies to decrease the overheating of tropical urban areas while also decreasing energy consumption and protecting health. He has commendable expertise in handling data and implementing models in many software platforms. His research contribution has been recognized by some leading researchers in the domain of urban climate research.

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© 2014 Ansar Khan. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   12/11/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9592-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9874-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9875-0 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1   The World as We Perceive It

Chapter 2   Religion – Are We Biased?

Chapter 3   Blind Faith

Chapter 4   Are Religions Different?

Chapter 5   Science and the Glorious Quran

Chapter 6   Without Religion, We Can Make a Better World

References and Resources

Preface

The purpose of this book is to make everyone understand how we make the most important decision of our lives – choosing our religion – without first thinking and understanding the truth. More specifically, we must understand that our decisions regarding religion are biased towards our parents’ religion and that we waste our lives by not choosing the correct path. It is worth our time and energy to read, understand, search, and then choose the right path. Otherwise, we will be doomed here or in life after death.

I am a student of science and philosophy, and I have searched for the answers to the world’s mysteries for the fourteen years. This book offers a way to remove the blindfold from your eyes so that you can see the truth in a better way. As far as possible, I kept my approach neutral and tried to incorporate new ideas that can help you understand the truth about life. You don’t have to stop your work or education to seek truth. You just need to do some time management and utilize your unproductive time in a better way so that you can have some time to study and explore different scriptures and science altogether.

In reference to science, I am not talking about an unapproved hypothesis that can be changed once tested scientifically. By science, I mean those confirmed facts which are already established through experiments and put forward by scientists after thorough investigation. Those theories which are confirmed through evidence pass the test of time and are true on earth at observable conditions. For example, Newton’s laws, the shapes of celestial objects, heliocentric theory (instead of geocentric theory), colour of the so-called sky, meteorites and so-called shooting stars (which were believed for ages), parthenogenesis, prehistoric life and fossils, precipitation (how it rains, snows, etc.), the history of the sun (how it has kept shining for billions years), evolution, spinning of earth on its axis, embryology, climate (how and why there are different seasons in different places), solar and lunar eclipses, the orbits of the planets, the motion of the sun and other stars in the galaxy, the dynamic universe (instead of a static universe), the geological age of earth, and so on and so forth. Clearly, the foregoing represents a wide array of scientific information, but, in general, these are all facts which most contemporary scientists worldwide accept.

To make this book more and more thought provoking, I pose more questions than answers. Each question asked triggers the mind to think and explore. When I was a youngster, I was fascinated by science and wanted to be a physicist. But as I grew up, science books assured me that scientists had already discovered everything we need to discover; there was no room or necessity for more Newtons and Einsteins. Thus, I chose a career in technology and became an engineer. My passion for understanding nature was quenched by family problems. It was when I started doubting faith that I rekindled my thirst for knowledge. This time, my desire was so immense that I wanted to learn every discipline – science, history, art, philosophy, religion. I am fortunate to be living in an era of information technology. The Internet gives us access to all the information we could possibly seek.

This book is divided into six interconnected chapters which are required for the understanding of it. I have no intention to hurt the feelings of anyone; nevertheless, if you feel offended, it is not because I have used offensive language but because of the topic of the book itself, which is quite sensitive – and even mild criticism can make some people feel offended. I tried to use simple language and hard arguments. The writing approach I used is designed for both religious and non-religious persons, and the book discusses various topics. In order to keep the discussion concise, I generally mention only the three most popular religions (based on the number of followers of each of these faiths worldwide): Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

Sometimes I wish there could be a true religion and a true, merciful, loving, and just Almighty Lord. It would make life much simpler and more dependable. But this is wishful thinking. Perhaps it is the reason why humans, from the early stages of our development, have believed in some form of God.

All things perish; truth alone remains.

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: I have no intention to hurt the feelings of anyone; nevertheless if you feel offended, it is not because I have used offensive language but because of the topic of the book itself, which is quite sensitive – and even mild criticism can make some people feel offended.]

Chapter 1

The World as We Perceive It

We are living on an insignificantly small planet, orbiting around a medium-size star in a galaxy similar to billions of other galaxies. Yet most of us believe that we are the product of intelligent design and that there is a creator who created everything! For most of us, the easiest approach to learn about reality is to find it in an outdated book claiming to have divine revelations. Only a few take the complicated but more rational approach, which is to go out, observe, work hard, make a hypothesis based on available evidence, and conduct an experiment to test it.

Most of the human beings living in this world want to live their lives without knowing whether the paths they have chosen are correct – or not. They give more value to chance than to hard work. Only a few take pains to understand reality as it exists, based on facts, and these few improve our understanding of nature and the universe. They are called scientists. Scientists are ordinary peoples with extraordinary willpower. We all watch things happening around us, but scientists observe. This careful observation makes them different from others.

It is difficult for us to assimilate any idea that we cannot observe or experience on earth. For example, the idea of the earth being spherical and spinning on its axis, or the idea of a universe without discernible boundaries, boggles most of us! Similarly, the idea of immortality, and the ideas of the existence of matter or God without having first been created, bothers us. It is much easier to accept the existence of matter as a non-living thing than to visualize an intelligent, living, all-powerful God. Still, people accept the most uncertain way, just to satisfy the blind faith embedded in them by their parents and society before they attained the ability of critical thinking. We might have to abandon our common sense before we try to understand how the universe works. Common sense can make us understand a phenomenon happening on the surface of the earth. But when we talk about outer space or subatomic particles which are beyond our normal visible range, we must leave aside common sense, which is already deceptive because it originates on an infinitesimally small portion of the universe. Fortunately, with the advancements in technology, we have new tools to examine things beyond the visible spectrum – such as infrared and ultraviolet rays, which our eyes can’t see but which scientific instruments can detect. On the other hand, there is religion, which, unlike science, is based purely on faith. Adherents of such faith are only interested in salvation, without making any enquiry of the religion in which they believe.

Redemption

The salvation of billions of human beings around the world depends on their understanding of truth and reality. The truth, not as we perceive it, but as it actually exists. If we collectively and honestly try to find the truth, we can unravel the mysteries of the world. The reason we should strive to find the truth is vital for all of us. And the reason is simple. It will save us from wasting our precious lives (time, effort, and money); in fact, we might even destroy lives by following false paths or religions. There are so many deeply religious people (in all different religions) who devote their entire lives to the cause of religion, without knowing the truth and without having slightest doubt that they might be wrong by following a fake religion. They waste not only their own lives but also the lives of those who depend on them, because they leave aside their families or preach false beliefs to them. Most of these religious people spend a lot of time in devotion, but they certainly never find time to enquire about their religion. Religious people believe in whatever they have been taught, without realizing that they are in a state of illusion.

To figure out why people never realize their religion is wrong, we first have to understand how the human mind works. Our thinking mainly depends on two things:

1. Our brain, which is governed by our genes.

2. Our surroundings, which are governed by our religious faith, society, education, and parents’ teaching and behaviour towards us.

When we are born, we have no idea about this world and how we came into it. The very first things which influence us are our parents, religion, and society. All children are immediately labelled by their religion, and for