Pondering the Infinite, Part 1

During my annual Fiction Fast, I read Secrets of Infinity: 150 Answers to an Enigma, edited by Antonio Lamua. There are different sections, such as mathematics, science, and art. This series of posts will focus on the section regarding philosophy. It never ceases to amaze me that men of the world, men of science and deep thought, can come so close to the bull’s-eye but miss the truth by a mile.

Nicolaus Copernicus is famous for introducing the heliocentric view of the universe to a society that believed the earth was in fact the center of all things. We now know, of course, that the sun is the center of our solar system, neither the center of the galaxy nor the universe, but prior to Copernicus’s studies in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the technology they had available, their views were not in any way backwards or primitive. They took information from what they could observe, used mathematical equations that give high school students in advanced math classes headaches, and placed it all into their worldview. In the 1400s, everyone in Europe, save a small percentage of Jews and Muslims, worshiped God via the Catholic Church; their worldview stated God created all things for His glory and man is made in His image.

The idea that the earth, the only life-supporting planet, was the center of the universe was not an unreasonable one. They could not see Neptune, let alone Pluto, and Alpha Centauri was just a speck in the sky, not first noted or named until 1592.

But as always happens when one’s foundation is shaken, the Church (and I am casting no aspersions on the Catholic faith, because Protestants in that same position probably would have reacted the same way) reacted with fear, defensiveness, and anger. How dare anyone contradict our idea that the earth is the center? The Bible says man is made in God’s image and is above all other creatures, so of course we are the center!

I would say, if the people of the day had looked truthfully at the new information, they would have still seen a universe that supported the existence of a Creator, and really their beliefs were not being challenged at all. Putting the Sun as the center only reinforces that God, as our Light, is our center: without it we have no life. And as more and more has become known about our solar system, we see that the earth is the only planet capable of sustaining life, neither too close nor too far from the Sun, with an atmosphere containing the perfect balance of basic gases like nitrogen and oxygen and carbon dioxide.

As we learn more and more about our galaxy and our universe, does it again shake our foundation? I say not! Again, it proves the existence of a Creator, for a universe that is ever-expanding, in physical properties and solely in our minds, must still be contained by something bigger, grander, and more infinite.