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The Bible says about God: “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” So, I have to decide whether this statement is just poetic—since it’s in the Psalms—or whether it’s the literal truth.
I’m going for literal truth. Here’s why. First, it has the ring of literal truth. Not only that, it honors Him.
The idea that God knows how many stars there are and has named them, confounds and astounds me. It seems impossible. Astronomers, although they have given names to some notable galaxies, have taken to numbering them, because there are so many. That’s galaxies—not stars. To think that there’s a being who has the ability—the “mental capacity”—to name and number stars, stirs up wonder. It stirs up wonder and praise, for Someone so amazing, logic-defyingly powerful. Telling us that He has named the stars is something as impossible as telling us that He knows how many hairs are on each one of our heads.
Oh, that’s right—He said that, too.
What’s even more astonishing, is that the God we’re talking about here isn’t some energy or some force—it’s Jesus Himself. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
This is the One they crucified.
Amazing.
This is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
Yep. He knows ‘em all.
The current deforestation in this area is visible as razor-sharp political boundaries between countries that allow it and those that protect the rainforest. The climate change is evident again. The talk was fascinating.
The statement that haunts me, though, came at the end of this speech....
Mr Sever told of how he was asked to teach a class at a university... how he was sure it would be overlooked, convinced that young people would not be interested in this new realm of archeology and ecology. Quite the contrary, however, he found that the of few people who took his initial class- half changed their majors to environmental studies and the popularity of the class exploded to where he is now teaching four sections. He says that it reminds him of the 60s- of the enthusiasm for making a difference through the impact we are having on our planet- on our futures.
People our age (my age), he said, often have an optimistic, unconcerned view of the situation... an attitude he attributed to a lack of investment in more than a foreseeable future- the 20 years or so they have left here.....
young people, on the other hand, see the importance and urgency of making a difference for the many years they have ahead of them!
I HAVE been relatively unconcerned... convinced, I thought, that human intelligence will see us through whatever dilemmas we find ourselves facing... that we will find a way to correct and move on. I saw this optimism as one of experience and confidence in the human race.... is it, instead, a product of my own subconscious sense of mortality? Do I discount the impact I could have on a new generation ready to spring into action because I am not concerned for change in my lifetime?
In my classes I have seen students approach environmental issues with a nonchalance and lack of interest.... they look at the information as one more thing to "remember". I have been discouraged at the challenge of convincing them that the green movement is worth their time. The "me" generation seem unconcerned about carbon footprints or potential remedies.
Perhaps I need to devote more energy into sparking the realization that they can each make a difference- that the condition of the world in their lifetime depends on what we do NOW.
Maybe I need to be more concerned about what I can do to make the world a better chance for my grandchildren..... Maybe I need to rethink my optimism.
So. Are we doomed because of this asteroid or because NASA’s math has been bested by a 13-year-old German boy?
From The Age:
“A 13-year-old German schoolboy corrected NASA's estimates on the chances of an asteroid colliding with Earth, a German newspaper reported today, after spotting the boffins had miscalculated.
Nico Marquardt used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a one in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, the Potsdamer Neuerster Nachrichten reported.
NASA had previously estimated the chances at only one in 45,000 but told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that the young whizzkid had got it right.
The schoolboy took into consideration the risk of Apophis running into one or more of the 40,000 satellites orbiting Earth during its path close to the planet on April 13, 2029.
Those satellites travel at 3.07 kilometres a second, at up to 35,880 kilometres above earth - and the Apophis asteroid will pass by earth at a distance of 32,500 kilometres. If the asteroid strikes a satellite in 2029, that will change its trajectory making it hit Earth on its next orbit in 2036.
Both NASA and Marquardt agree that if the asteroid does collide with Earth, it will create a ball of iron and iridium 320 metres wide and weighing 200 billion tonnes, which will crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
The shockwaves from that would create huge tsunami waves, destroying both coastlines and inland areas, whilst creating a thick cloud of dust that would darken the skies indefinitely.
The 13-year old made his discovery as part of a regional science competition for which he submitted a project entitled: ‘Apophis - The Killer Astroid (sic).’”
Here’s the link:
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