Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 12, 2022): Psalm 62

Galileo (1564-1642) championed the concept of Copernican heliocentrism. If you want to impress someone, fit that term into your conversation. Copernican heliocentrism just means that Galileo believed that the Sun is stationary and that the earth and other planets circle the Sun. We now know that even our Sun is not fixed but moving around the center of our galaxy. But the Catholic Church disagreed with Galileo. The church felt that such a belief went directly against the specific teachings in the Bible. The Bible states in several places that the earth was stationary and everything in our universe revolves around us. And one of those places is 1 Chronicles 16:30. The author of Chronicles clearly states that we should "Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved (1 Chronicles 16:30). And so Pope Paul V ordered an investigation of Galileo. And as a result of his research, the Pope met with Galileo in 1616 and commanded him not to teach any form of Copernican heliocentrism from that point forward. And once again, it seemed that faith and science were at odds with each other.

But, part of the problem was that the Bible spoke with the level of knowledge of the first readers, who believed that the earth was still and that the celestial objects moved around them. It seemed to the citizens of the planet at that time that the world was firmly established. We know, or maybe I should say, that most of us understand that the earth spins on its axis as it twirls around the Sun. And yet, even with that secure knowledge, we still talk about the Sun rising and setting, even though we know that the earth is really the one doing the moving. Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu argued, "give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world" (Lao Tzu). But we understand that that is a bit of hyperbole in the statement. It might be true, but we would never have a lever long enough or a fulcrum to move the world. But it is important to understand that Galileo, Lao Tzu, and Chronicles describe the same world, but they approach it from different directions. And there is no contradiction between the ideas.

But, while the earth might be in continual motion around the Sun, God is not. We don't place our hope in the stability of the planet beneath our feet. We set our hope in our God. David says that he is our rock and our fortress. He is our hope of salvation. And if we place our trust in him, we will never be shaken. Chronicles talks about what appears to be true, that the world is firmly established and cannot be moved. But David has struck on the real truth. "Tremble before him, all the earth! God is firmly established; he cannot be moved." And because I find my home in him, I will never be shaken.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 64