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Some of these findings involve a measure of speculation, and like all discoveries involving the sciences, new ones can alter or even negate what we thought we previously knew. Yet for many people there is something attractive about the wonder of the universe. One doesn't need a PhD to stand in a field on a clear night and find oneself filled with wonder at the stars in the sky.
There has been a degree of tension over the centuries between some Christians and astronomical discoveries. At one time, Christians accepted the viewpoint of some (not all) ancient Greek astronomers that the earth was at the center of the universe and that the sun, planets and stars orbited the earth. The 16th-century Italian friar and astrologer Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for expressing his belief that the universe was vaster than imagined and that the earth was not the center of creation.
Then there is Galileo, whose complex story is often abbreviated to mere sound bites. (This also is an abbreviation.) Based upon his telescope observations, Galileo promoted the idea of a heliocentric universe. This was in opposition to the "settled" science of his day -- and also opposed by many within the church. While some of his theories were contrary to evidence (e.g., especially regarding tides, but also that planetary orbits were perfect circles), it didn't help that some of his writings were believed to be veiled attacks upon the pope. Although scientists in other parts of Christendom continued to advance heliocentrism, Galileo ran afoul of the Roman Inquisition, and was forced to recant and placed under house arrest (in lieu of imprisonment) for the remainder of his life.
Few Christians today would suggest that the sun orbits the earth, but many believers deny modern scientific assumptions that the universe we observe is nearly 14 billion years old and traces its origins to a phenomenon commonly referred to as the Big Bang. Many believe the creation was accomplished in seven 24-hour days at the foundation of a universe that is only a few thousand years old.
Other Christians have no trouble accepting astronomical developments, recognizing God's hand in these wonders. Yet some worry that these discoveries do not require the presence of a Divine Creator.
In addition, just as interest in matters astronomical peaked a few decades ago with the broadcast of the original version of the television series Cosmos, featuring the late Carl Sagan, so interest has been piqued by the recrafted and remade Cosmos, featuring Neil DeGrasse Tyson, already well-known as the astronomer who "demoted" Pluto. The new Cosmos premiered in March of this year on the Fox network.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Major Discovery: 'Smoking Gun' for Universe's Incredible Big Bang Expansion Found. Space.com
New Dwarf Planet Found at Solar System's Edge, Hints at Possible Faraway 'Planet X.' Space.com
Black Hole Pair Caught in Feeding Frenzy. Yahoo! News
The Big Questions
1. What is the most amazing thing you have learned about God's creation? What did you learn about God in this discovery?
2. What does the Bible tell you about creation?
3. What, in your opinion, is the relationship between the Bible and science? Is there a tension between the discoveries of science and the revelation of scripture? Have your views on this matter changed over the years or stayed the same? If they've changed, describe the changes.
4. What is your understanding of the Big Bang theory? How much confidence do you have in this description of how the universe we observe came to be? How does this explanation fit in with your understanding of God and creation?
5. How do beliefs regarding the age of the universe or the age of the earth rank in relationship with beliefs regarding the bodily resurrection of Jesus or Jesus' nature as both human and divine?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 1:1-2 CEB
When God began to create the heavens and the earth -- the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God's wind swept over the waters ... (For context, read 1:1-5.)
One of the central tensions between scripture and science for some Christians is the apparent contradiction between a seven-day creation and a universe that seems to have been unfolding for billions of years. However, many believe that the Hebrew original of Genesis can legitimately be translated to demonstrate that when God began to direct the current era in which we live, earth and sea were already in existence. There is no question that scripture reveals God as sole creator of the universe, but the first verse of Genesis may acknowledge the passage of untold eons before the beginning of the human story.
Some would say that the purpose of the Genesis account of creation is not to establish a timeline but to distinguish God's divine story from other ancient stories in which the gods had little control over the process of creation. In contrast to myths that suggested that the universe might at any time dissolve back into chaos, God's creation is secure. (Check your favorite translation; those that echo the more traditional translation -- "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" -- often list the alternate translation in a footnote.)
Questions: What is the meaning of the first verse of Genesis in the translation above? How important is maintaining a strict seven-day creation interpretation of scripture to your understanding of the Bible?
Genesis 1:16
God made the two great lights -- the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night -- and the stars. (For context, read 1:14-19.)
The description in Genesis of the major objects in the sky visible to the naked eye was far more significant to those who first heard this verse read aloud (in Old Testament times, Bible reading was largely Bible listening) than it might be to us today. In the ancient world, there was the belief that the stars, also personified as the Fates, controlled the destinies not only of humans but of the gods. The Genesis account establishes that God created and controlled the objects visible in the sky, not the other way around. God creates and controls. God is not controlled.
While most Christians accept as a matter of course God's control over history, there are still some who read their horoscopes to determine how to conduct their lives, or seem to suggest some idea of destiny or fate that trumps free will or even God's will. In addition, during some periods of history, Christians who didn't believe in astrology were considered to be closet atheists, because they denied that God had put the stars in the skies "for signs and for seasons."
Questions: Do you ever check your horoscope? Does it feel to you sometimes as if you have no control over your life and actions? How much do you pay attention to the moon and stars? Could you name off the top of your head the current phase of the moon? Does your view of God's control over history leave room for free will? Do you believe that there are some things that are meant to happen regardless of your choice?
Psalm 19:1, 4-5
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. ... In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. (For context, read 19:1-6.)
Ecclesiastes 1:5-8
The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. ... All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eyes is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. (For context, read 1:5-11.)
In these contrasting scriptures the movement of the sun across the sky (bear in mind, of course, that it is the earth that rotates as it orbits the sun, though it appears to us that the sun is the body in motion) human emotions are assigned to the sun. In the text from Psalm 19, the sun eagerly races across the sky like a bridegroom on his wedding day or a runner who exults in the exertion, while in Ecclesiastes, the author projects his own weariness on the celestial body.
In the story of the ravenous black holes, human malevolence seems to be assigned to these awe-inspiring phenomena. The action of projecting human emotions on non-human creatures and objects is called anthropomorphism.
Questions: How much do we project human emotions on the universe? If we and the universe reflect God's mind, does this make such anthropomorphism acceptable? What human characteristics, rightly or wrongly, do you attribute to God?
Daniel 12:3
Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (For context, read 12:1-4.)
This passage, written in the face of intense persecution, encourages the faithful to endure, because reward will follow for those who hold on. However, our point here is that though this verse is poetically true, it is not strictly scientifically true. Stars die. They go nova, or supernova, or get sucked into black holes, or simply burn out. From our perspective, however, they seem eternal. The seemingly unchanging nature of the heavens made a great impression on the ancients, and no doubt that is reflected in this biblical verse.
Questions: Does the fact that this Bible verse is not strictly true negate its truthfulness? Do biblical passages have to be literally true to be spiritually true? When Jesus tells a fictional story, as he does with the parables, does their lack of historical truth negate their truthfulness?
1 Corinthians 15:40-42
There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. (For context, read 1 Corinthians 15:39-44.)
While writing about the glory of the resurrection, both of Christ and for us, the apostle Paul likens the glories of the various celestial bodies to our own state, which changes from this life to the next. However, one is also reminded that just as there are different qualities of glory associated with the sun, moon and stars, so our own apprehension and appreciation for the heavenly in this life -- and even for heaven itself -- might vary as well.
Questions: In more than one place, the apostle makes the point that believers receive different gifts. What is more fair: that everyone experience everything in exactly the same way, or that believers receive from God what suits them best? Are we perfected so we will all be the same, or do we become perfectly what we were created to be? Explain your answer.
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (For context, read 8:31-39.)
The rulers (sometimes translated "principalities") and powers are considered by some to be angelic figures, and are connected to astronomical or heavenly bodies. Christ is proclaimed the victor over all the ancient gods. There's a mosaic in Mausoleum M under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome sometimes referred to as "Christ Helios." In the Roman Empire the god Apollo was sometimes depicted riding his chariot of the sun. Many believe the artist was depicting Jesus riding the sun chariot, representing the triumph of Christ.
Questions: What does it mean for Christ to be victor over powers and principalities? Do you see Christ in non-Christian settings? There is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere referred to as "The Southern Cross." Discuss or invent a Christian constellation in the night sky you observe.
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to this, from a TWW team member who shared the memory of his first apprehension of the weight of infinity and eternity: "One of my strongest memories from childhood goes back half a century. I am a boy. I am lying on my back on the front lawn. There is a tree nearby, and occasionally one of its branches, tossed about by a spring breeze, intrudes into the picture, but otherwise all I see is blue, blue sky. Reflecting on infinity and eternity and aware of the very tenuous layer of atmosphere between me and infinite space, I realize it is altogether possible for the earth to let go, natural laws suspended, and for me to rise into emptiness forever and ever. It is a startling thought. My fingers grip the lawn tightly, something I will only be aware of later when I feel the gritty dirt underneath my fingernails. The thought is no longer startling. It is now suddenly possible. And staring intently up into the blue, I become aware of an endless stairwell in the sky, with the saints ascending and descending. Up and down, rising and falling, forever and ever, singing, praying, praising. I am a child, so the saints are wearing robes, of course. I believe the stairs I saw were intertwined, or maybe twined and vined, around itself, supporting its own insupportable weight. This is eternity, I thought to myself. Though it has been going on forever, it hasn't really started and is no closer to ending."
Was there ever a moment when you were overwhelmed with the glory of God's universe? When have you really felt the weight of glory in the cosmos?
2. An ancient Anglo-Saxon chronicle mentioned the appearance of a red crucifix visible after sunset in the year A.D. 774. Jonathon Allen, a student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, connected that memory with a strange concentration of carbon-14 in Japanese cedar tree rings around that year. Carbon-14 is associated with cataclysmic cosmic events. What if the two events were connected? What if an interstellar cloud partially blocked the light from a supernova? It might result in red light, shaped like a cross. While the phenomenon itself might not be divinely inspired, it still demonstrates that we who are disciples of Jesus see the cross everywhere. Do you see the cross in the skies, in other people, in our shared suffering and in our triumph? A cross-shaped patch of dust in the sky is a cross in our eyes, when we see Jesus in everything.
Responding to the News
Some would say astronomical discoveries give us an awe-inspiring view of our own place in the universe. In January of this year, the Mars Rover Curiosity took a photograph of the Earth and moon from the surface of the Red Planet. See a video of this photograph of our planet here. Several years ago the astronomer Carl Sagan, host and one of the writers of the original PBS series Cosmos, shared a meditation often called "The Pale Blue Dot," regarding a photograph of Earth taken by one of the Voyager spacecraft. Arrange for your group to listen to and watch that Pale Blue Dot video during your session. Then read Psalm 8 together.
Closing Prayer
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