Our God — Page 138
138 of deception. Of course, even clever people can be deceived, but just because they can be deceived does not mean that they are indeed the victims of deception. This assertion can be credible only if backed up by concrete evidence proving that these people had in fact been involved in some mistake or deception. What is there in the world about which one cannot be deceived? Shall we then declare everything in the world doubtful? We will open the gate for superstition in such a way that nothing will remain certain. Therefore, the burden of proof lies with those who claim that all of these people, testifying to the existence of God, are victims of deception. Otherwise, it would be a childish attempt to refute the testimony of hundreds of thousands of righteous, intelligent personages and no wise man would take it seriously. Therefore, it is insane to turn down the testimony of hundreds of thousands of Prophets from all ages and all nations; they were rec- ognised to be intelligent, righteous, and truthful individuals, who based their testimony on personal experience and not hearsay. To say that their testimony could be a mistaken one is irrational and would not be acceptable to any wise person. Second, self-deception takes place in certain specific situa- tions. An intelligent and sound-minded person may be deceived in matters relating only to opinions and ideas subject to argumen- tation. It is possible that two persons—both sound-minded— may differ on an academic issue, because there is a possibility of misconception in matters involving opinions and argumentation. However, for a sound-minded person with normal perception there is no possibility of deception in matters relating to obser- vation, especially when it concerns something in which he is par- ticularly interested. Accepting the possibility of deception in such