The one who is of the
earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
I recently engaged in an internet discussion about SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. I took a skeptical stand upon the research and wondered what impulse drives this quest.
Every time an astrophysicist reports a new discovery some
ingenuous reporter asks, “But is there life there? Is it intelligent?” The exoplanet
is invariably so far away we could never communicate with it in less than a
thousand years. Prospects of exploration, trade, immigration or emigration or intergalactic federations are
beyond the ridiculous.
What are they looking for? I certainly appreciate the search
for knowledge and that may well be what most scientists want, but the public which
sponsors the research wants something else. Raised on Buck Rogers, ET, Star Trek
and Star Wars they expect to find some Presence to inhabit and fill the
Vastness of the Universe. If Earth is the only mote of dust in the universe
with intelligent life the rest seems to be an enormous wasteland.
I don’t think so. I see the Lord Jesus ascending to sit at God’s
right hand and satisfy the craving of the stars for meaning and purpose. The scriptures
are full of references to nature’s delight in God’s presence. The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and all creation is dancing for joy.
If Saint Therese de Lisieux could be satisfied with being a little flower in Jesus' garden, surely the stars and galaxies will be delighted at God's admiring gaze. "God saw that it was good."
Today’s thinkers suppose that, before Copernicus and
Galileo, men thought of the universe as geocentric. The Earth was the center of
creation. But, as Dava Sobel has pointed out, medieval Europeans didn’t see it
that way at all. The heavens were God’s throne; the earth, his footstool. Our world
was mostly an unpleasant slum of sin and crime.
Saint John’s gospel has a three-dimensional geography, not a
flat earth. God is in heaven and he has sent his Son to live among us. He is
from above and those born again are no longer of earth. They too are sent from
above.
SETI-type people lost faith in Jesus a long time ago but cannot stop themselves from looking elsewhere. Not content with the sorry spectacle of human depravity, they
look for a wise, intelligent, beneficent Presence among the stars. They seem
remarkably sanguine about the possibility that an alien intelligence might be
as insensitive and rapacious as we are with each other.
Christians can assure them the One whom you seek has not hidden himself up there. He is right here
on Earth, living among us. For what great
nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? (Deuteronomy
4:7)
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.