Astronomy provides another piece of evidence for us. What do we think about the stars in the sky at night? Do we simply admire the vast array of bright stars? Do we think about how far away they are from our earth? How many of us know anything about the constellations that appear before us? No matter what questions we may think about, astronomy provides more evidence that God exists.
A number of years ago, when I visited my older brother, a retired aeronautical engineer for NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, he took me to tour the Space and Rocket Center Museum located near MSFC. During our visit, one of the guides told me that there are billions of stars in our Milky Way galaxy and billions of galaxies in our universe. Recently, I read on the internet that there are reportedly 100 billion galaxies in our universe. To me, that’s mind-boggling. That is enormous–even beyond our comprehension!
This astounding fact raises some major questions for me. First, I wonder if there are other human beings or other beings in other parts of the universe, let alone in our galaxy. It is easy for us to say that there are no other lifeforms in our solar system, but can we say that with any certainty about other galaxies? It seems unreasonable to make that assumption about other parts of the universe. Especially if we haven’t traveled around the universe and actually investigated that question. Rather, it seems quite probable that other lifeforms exist on other planets throughout the universe.
Then, if there are other lifeforms, would it seem logical that some lifeforms may be more advanced than we are and some that may be less advanced than we are? Without even going into space, on earth, we know some people in various countries are quite advanced in Europe, Asia, and South America, as examples. Similarly, there are some tribes who are less advanced in Africa, South America, and Australia, as other examples. It is important to note that these continents have both advanced and less advanced people. No continent is necessarily all one way or all the other. Since we have this kind of diversity among peoples on earth, it seems to make sense that such diversity most likely exists among different planets in different galaxies, as we look at the whole universe. Don’t you think?
When we were babies, from our perspective of life, life essentially revolved around us. As we grew older, we realized that there were other children and adults. We needed to learn how to get along with other children in school and other adults in society. When we learned how to drive cars, we became aware of our need and responsibility to follow the laws of society. Our world grew wider and bigger as we got older and more aware of other peoples’ rights and responsibilities. When we started to travel around our country and around the world, we realized that the world had different cultures, laws, rights, and privileges. In other words, the world grew bigger and more complex. Now, as we look at possible space travel, we anticipate that we will broaden our outlook and understanding even more.
A few years ago, when my wife and I visited Florence, Italy, we learned about Galileo. He shocked the Roman Catholic Church and the intellectuals of his day when he announced that contrary to the belief of most people of his day, the earth revolved around the sun instead of the sun revolving around the earth. He shattered the egocentric viewpoint that most people had in his day. It broadened the horizons of those people. However, it was such a shock that the Pope put Galileo under house arrest and tried to destroy his credibility. The Pope would not tolerate such sacrilegious views and would not allow Galileo to corrupt the thinking of people in general. It is interesting that the scientific view that Galileo espoused outlasted the foolishness that the Pope erroneously supported. While many people know about Galileo, few people remember the name of the Pope who imprisoned the great man in his own house.
As we get older and as life progresses, we look at a bigger and bigger picture of life and existence. We see a broader view and recognize our small thinking is replaced by a bigger truth. What do you think?
If you would like to comment or ask a question, please feel to write to me at garylindberg85@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.
Gary R. Lindberg 