The “God of the Gaps” fallacy and the Koran
Showing of the Lightning for fear and hope
Rum-24 And among His Signs, He shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope, and He sends down water from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead: verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.
Do you say “Here, this is a mistake”? Actually, although lightning is a product of a chaotic process, it is indeed a necessity from the point that it is the last step of this chaotic process. However, the striking point here is the wording “showing of lightning to you for both fear and hope is one of God’s signs” denoted in the verse. Frankly, what is “sign” here is not the showing of lightning but the human emotions such as fear and hope caused by the view of lightning. Maybe you think this is a forced interpretation. However, this verse is a part of a section beginning with the 20th verse and continuing till the 25th verse of the sura Rum and if we review these verses carefully, the correctness of our point will be seen obviously. For example, let us look at the 21st verse of the Sura Rum which is one of them:
Rum-21
And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.
Please pay attention to what is said in the Rum/21: “He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs”. What are they if not human emotions? So why do we have to evaluate Rum/24 in another way?
In short, what is “evidence/sign” in this verse is not the lightning itself but the human emotions caused by its view. These emotions are the “designs” of our soul. Eventually, a piece of stone does not feel anything like these against lightning. These are the signs presented by God, not the lightning itself.
Nevertheless, since there may exist the ones who will evaluate the verse with an extremely strict and normative approach, it should be necessary to add the following: pay attention to the expression in the verse regarding the “lightning”: “showing of lightning”... Yes, lightning is the final phase of a series of atmospheric events which became a necessity. However, it is impossible to consider the expression of “showing of lightning” as a necessity. Because, in order to show lightning to a person, that person should have an eye! This expression includes more information than simply avoiding a necessity and emphasizes that vision is also a deisgn of God. Certainly, we are not in a position to assert that an evidence/sign is presented to us through implying our eyes with the expression of “showing of lightning”. However, this is a delicate expression which conveys our feelings when we see lightning... Even one who attempts to evaluate solely the expression of “showing of lightning” may not claim that this is a necessity. In short, it is impossible to find a “gap” in this verse even for such people.
Here, I give the verses Rum/20-25 collectively:
Rum/20-25
Among His Signs in this, that He created you from dust; and then,- behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide)!
And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.
And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know.
And among His Signs is the sleep that ye take by night and by day, and the quest that ye (make for livelihood) out of His Bounty: verily in that are Signs for those who hearken.
And among His Signs, He shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope, and He sends down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead: verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.
And among His Signs is this, that heaven and earth stand by His Command: then when He calls you, by a single call, from the earth, behold, ye (straightway) come forth.