The ancient Greeks favored a geocentric world not the heliocentric one. They could have chosen either and why they chose a stationary globe earth over a spinning globe circling the sun is something I'm trying to figure out. Any idea's on this?
--Dave
Yes, one thought. We are by nature short-sighted, meaning we think about what's happening to us right now as the most important thing going on. Thus we naturally think we are the center of the universe. As far as I can tell, nothing in God's word requires such a thought--when God made the sun and moon, "the stars also", He didn't tell us how far away they were or whether they are located in concentric circles around us--just that He made them. He placed them in the expanse of heaven. It might be possible to read into that account (provided below) some of our own prejudices, but we should strive not to, as that is adding to scripture. And I believe He wants us to explore His creation to the fullest extent of our observational powers that He gave us.
[Gen 1:14-18 NASB] 14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
With the Copernican model Christian's will have to deal with the "Big Bang", the "evolution" of the universe and multi galaxies theory that have been incorporated into it. This incorporation is coherent with this model but contradictory to the Genesis account.
How many here believe in the Bible and:
1. The Big Bang
2. The evolution of the universe
3. Multi galaxies
--Dave
I appreciate your concerns here! But as Christians we should NEVER be afraid of the truth. I'm not saying that hose things you've listed ARE truth, but observation of the heavens, if we really observe them faithfully and seeking the truth, God WILL be glorified in it.
[Psa 19:1-2] 1 ...The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.
To me, the larger the universe is, the greater God seems, as He made it all, and it is wonderful indeed.
To me, the current scientific theories are attempts to understand things that we currently don't comprehend, but God made it all, made it well, and made it without trial and error.
I don't believe the current scientific theories can hold a candle to the word of God in truth value, but that doesn't mean there's no truth in them. Certainly we don't want to set aside our observations, as we set aside different theories over the years/centuries. If we can't tell what is going on from our observations (even if we don't understand how it works fully), then God gave us powers of observation for no good reason.
Let's talk about your 3 topics:
1. The Big Bang: It astounds me that so many Christians don't like the Big Bang model, as it maintains that the universe had a beginning, that major stuff happened really quickly (within the first few minutes), and that one of the early products was photons--light. All of those things fit nicely with the creation narrative in Gen 1. That doesn't mean that everything about the Big Bang model is correct, but it's sure better than the previous theories, such as an eternal universe.
2. The evolution of the universe: The Bible describes an evolution of the universe. It was not an unguided, random process, but it did evolve from nothing to something over the course of some amount of time.
3. Multi galaxies: I don't understand your concern with this. Why is this a problem for Christians? Others have suggested you meant "multi-universes". I'm not sure why you have a problem with that, either, although some applications of such thoughts are not in line with Christian thought.
In my mind, real observations should lead to real theories about how things work, which can then be tested. We are hampered when we apply our preconceived notions to the task, unless we really allow the bible to guide us in those preconceived notions. That's not always easy, as the side topic of Joshua's long day illustrated.
Scientists, bless their hearts, are seeking truth, but they often do so by making the greatest source of truth taboo. That hampers science. The theory of biological evolution is a case in point. Scientists are awaking from a 150-year biological nap as they see the grandeur of the microscopic side of creation. There are signs that astronomical science is also awakening to the design in the heavens that declare God's works.
Christians have the opportunity to rejoice in the observations of science, even if we don't agree with the interpretations of science. But if we bury our heads in the sand, which I believe the flat earth and fake moon shot conspiracy theories make us do, we bring disgrace on our God and blaspheme His name. Let's not do that.
Christians, of all people, being freed by the truth, should NEVER be afraid of truth.
