Sunday Sermonette: Natural History

 Psalm 104 is historically important, because it is among the biblical passages the church used to convict Galileo of heresy. He wrote to the Grand Duchess Christina " Astronomers seem to declare what is contrary to Scripture, for they hold the heavens to be spherical, while the Scripture calls it " stretched out like a tent. " (v. 2) He argued that such passages should not be taken literally as scientific findings might discredit them. In fact, verse 5 was specifically cited at his trial. We know now that God is not the explanation for any of the natural phenomena described here, whether accurately or not. Religious fundamentalists cannot accept the discoveries of science, which since Galileo include Darwin, Einstein, and Bohr. We can still view nature with a sense of awe and wonder, but we also know a hell of a lot more about it than people did in 600 BC. 104 Bless theLord, O my soul!OLord my God, thou art very great!Thou art clothed with honor and majesty,2     who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent,3     who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters,who makest the clouds thy chariot,    who ridest on the wings of the wind,4 who makest the winds thy messengers,    fire and flame thy ministers.5 Thou didst set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs