Galileo

Man is indeed a most conceited creature. His actions seem to indicate a belief that everything exists for his benefit. He pollutes and destroys the very world which gives him life. He mercilessly drives entire species of plants and animals to extinction. What gives man the right to destroy what is not even his? This world and everything in it belongs to He who made it, not he who is nothing more than a mere speck upon its surface.

But from the beginning of recorded history, man has seemed to be blind to his true place among God's creation. God does not exist for our sake, but rather we for His. Nevertheless, man has always sought to place himself upon a pedestal. Is not Man the only creation God cares about whatsoever? Did not God created everything for our benefit? This foolish conceit has led all generations of mankind to foolishly rebel against God. But man should realize that his very existence hangs by the thinnest of threads. A thread God can snap any time He chooses.

It is truly amazing how history repeats itself so often and yet no one ever seems to learn the lessons it teaches. In the late fourteenth century, Christopher Columbus was laughed at when he espoused the idea that the world was round. After all, the Bible clearly shows that the earth has four corners. (Revelation 7:1) How could it then be round? Eventually, Columbus got the last laugh. Overwhelming evidence eventually convinced the Christian world that the Bible was not speaking of four literal corners, but of the four cardinal directions.

In the sixteen hundreds, the conceited views of the Christian world, both catholic and protestant, were brought crumbling to the ground. The Ptolemaic view of the universe, which had prevailed longer than Christianity itself, and was almost as sacred, was challenged and eventually proven to be a complete fallacy. Before then, it had always been believed that the earth was the center of the entire universe. The sun, the planets, and even the stars revolved around the earth. Man was God's highest creation and He had placed him at the center of everything. What conceit indeed!

With the use of a simple telescope, Galileo was able to prove that the earth was but one of several planets which revolved around the sun. Of course, all good Christians immediately knew Galileo must be wrong. After all, his findings contradicted the Bible. The Bible clearly shows that it is the sun which moves, and not the earth. "Then spake Joshua to the Lord...`Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.' And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies." (Joshua 10:12-13) "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3)

And would you believe that Galileo even had the nerve to call himself a Christian while he was publishing such blasphemous ideas. Of course the Catholic church was quick to condemn him for his grievous errors. After it became apparent that his damnable doctrine was not going to die down easily, they finally brought a formal charge of heresy against Galileo in 1633. He was tried before the Roman Inquisition, where he publicly recanted his views, after being threatened with torture. Christianity had once again triumphed over the silly imaginings of unlearned and ignorant men. Man was now once again secure in his rightful position at the center of the universe.

It was not long however, before more and more people began to observe the same things Galileo did. They also came to the conclusion that the earth was not the center of the universe. Finally, after seeing that it was no use to hold on to their outdated beliefs, the Christian world began to accept the findings of Galileo and others like him. But again it was not the Bible which was wrong; it was simply man's interpretation of it. It is common practice to refer to the sun as though it moves and the earth as stationary. From our perspective, this is indeed what happens. The Bible simply used “everyday” language to describe the relationship of the earth and sun. It never intended to teach astronomy.

With the notion that the earth was the center of the universe forever dashed, the religious world next advanced the idea that the sun was the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it. But again that has proven to be far from the truth. Where is man really at in the universe? Man is on a small planet, orbiting a rather unimpressive star, which is located near the edge a galaxy which contains billions of other stars. And our galaxy is not nearly as grand as many of the other billions which exist in the great expanse of the cosmos. So where is man really? To put it bluntly, man is right in the middle of nowhere!

Can man’s fragile ego accept this? Can man accept the fact that God has not placed him at the center and built everything else around him? Man must accept it because it is true. Man has always fought such ideas as long as he could. He tries desperately to hold onto the spotlight. But I believe God has a message for us that we have failed to see. He has shown man just how weak and unimportant he really is, by making him less than a grain of sand upon a never ending beach. Or like a drop of water, in an ocean beyond our comprehension.

Man must forget his pride and conceit. He must realize that God does not simply exist to be his God. God was here before man was created and He will continue to live and prosper in the future regardless of the fate of mankind. God’s life does not revolve around man, but rather man’s life revolves around God. We are but a tiny fraction of God's world. Let us keep our own existence in perspective.

The Bible points out to us that man is not the only creation which God is concerned with. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:11) Not just man, but ALL things were created for God's pleasure! We often sell God short on His capacity to enjoy. Again our conceit tells us that we are the only part of His creation from which He receives any joy. How absurd! Is man capable of what God is not? We are but mere amateurs compared to God when it comes to enjoying beauty. Let us not forget we are created in God's image. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)

God gave us but a fraction of His capacity to enjoy beautiful and magnificent things. If man can find such pleasure in the work of his own hands, imagine the pleasure God finds in the wondrous things He has created. There is an entire universe out there from which God can derive pleasure. A universe which contains things that probably exceed the wildest fantasies men have ever had. But if man will never see them, who were they created for? They were created by God for His own pleasure. God does not need man in order to be happy.

So has man at last seen the foolishness of his conceit? Naturally, his pride will not allow him to do such a thing. He continues to desperately hold on to one last shred of hope. He continues to delude himself into believing he is the entire focus of God's existence. Man sits upon his pedestal as he recounts his creation by God. God created the entire universe in just a few days for no other reason than to provide a place for man. Again what conceit!

During the creation "God saw the light, that it was good." (Genesis 1:4) What does it mean that God saw that it was good? Was it that He thought it would please man, or rather that it pleased God? I believe God Himself found pleasure in it. I believe God not only enjoys what He has created, but that He also enjoyed creating it. Man must not allow his pride to tell him he was the only purpose of the creation.

Galileo was not saint in anyone’s appraisal. He was a man who was passionate about what he saw and what he knew from the evidence to be true. The Church should never be afraid of a man who is passionate about the truth. Galileo’s mind may not have been big enough to allow him to understand God, but at least his mind wasn’t small enough to make him think that he did.