Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

• Genesis 1:1

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

• Colossians 1:16-17

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

• Psalm 19:1

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
    or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

• Job 38:4-7

To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

• Deuteronomy 10:14

“Another consequence of Copernicus’ ideas that was to be seismic in its effect was the removal of man from his privileged position in the universe. We humans were no longer the center of everything. It no longer appeared that everything else revolved around us. When this realization spread it was earthquakelike in its consequences for human attitudes, not least peoples’ attitudes towards religion.
“If no authority could be accepted uncritically this was bound to apply to Copernicus himself. Astronomers who came after him criticized his theory, and checked it against observable reality.”

• Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

The book’s author goes on to say that Danish astronomer Tycho Bache continued the study that Copernicus had started, and he gave his information to German astronomer Johannes Kepler.  From Kepler’s equations, we can compute where the stars were in the sky at a particular hour from a particular vantage point.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Polish astronomer and mathematician.  He is famous for proposing that the earth revolves around the sun.  But, Aristarchus of Samos proposed that, with no specific data, in the third century BC.  But Copernicus was a polyglot and polymath.  He made contributions to economics, medicine, and government administration.  He dabbled in Greek studies.  But his primary contributions were in mathematics and astronomy.  He observed Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.  And he created mathematical data to estimate their location, with some error.  His concept of a heliocentric galaxy (universe)- the sun as the center – was accepted by the pope, but there was some minor pushback, with the concept at the time of earth being the center.

The major attack on his heliocentric concept was when Galileo, having invented a telescope, independent of Hans Lippershey, the Dutch astronomer, who made the first telescope a year or two earlier.  Galileo heard of Lippershey’s invention and improved upon it.  It was Galileo who was attacked by the papacy and the Jesuits who claimed an earth-centric model represented what was in the Bible.  He was forced to recant and remained under house arrest for the rest of his life.

Yet, from the Scriptures above, Christianity should have welcomed the idea of a heliocentric galaxy.  Earth, and especially mankind, should not be considered the center of the universe according to Scripture.  If anything, the center of the universe should be Jesus Christ.

It requires a great deal of hubris to ignore the Scripture that points away from humanity being at the center.  And there is a lot of Scripture that speaks against pride and arrogance.

I think God’s question to Job in Job 38 is the most telling.  No one that adheres to the Big Bang Theory can say they were there when the big bang happened.  And modern Physics (the true science) tells us that we can never get something from nothing.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.