Perspectives

For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “From a scientific perspective most knowledge tends to move in the direction of the evolution of all matter to the animate and inanimate forms known today, thus discrediting a Divine creation; but in reality lead to a limited understanding of God’s existence.” This is the opening sentence of a term paper I wrote in the eleventh grade, about how differing perspectives of the same events can result in different conclusions. For example:

“The sun will come [up] tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun!” (from the musical, “Annie”). There may be sun, but bet your bottom dollar it won’t come up. Hasn’t since 1543 (LOL), when Copernicus knocked the earth off center stage. Up until that time, following the science meant following the sun as it orbited around the earth. Because up until that time, ever since time was first “Ussher[ed]” in, every day for 5,547 (or so) years, without fail, the sun had “come up” every morning. With that kind of data and observations, the scientific method was more than satisfied. Or so it seemed. But the perspective was wrong.

In 1650, Archbishop James Ussher, using the genealogies of the Bible, and assuming a literal six-day creation postulated that the earth was created on October 23, 4004 B.C. That’s one perspective. Extrapolating back to the “Big Bang,” by measuring the distances and radial velocities of other galaxies as they speed away, cosmologists estimate the age of the universe at 13.77 billion years (plus or minus 59 million years). The month and day have not been determined at this “time” (LOL). That’s another perspective.

I don’t know about 4004 B.C., or 13.77 billion years ago, but I do know that the difference appears to be irreconcilable. Either one or the other (maybe both) appears to be very, very wrong. But I do know that my God is never, ever wrong. If He says (He wrote it in His Book) that He made it all in six days, then that is how it happened. If He has numbered all the stars, “you can bet your bottom dollar” He knows the age of the “rocks” that orbit around them. Especially the third rock from the Sun.

This still leaves us with how do you reconcile the account of the One who is never wrong with the account of the scientists (He created the laws that they study too) that appears to say otherwise? Perhaps if we think about it long enough, the answer will come “up.” Maybe not “tomorrow” (or the next day), but it will come up. But then again, I’m no Einstein. Not even one of his relativities (I mean relatives). Relativity? Something that says two different accounts of time from different perspectives can both be true? Hmmm…

My Advice – I don’t know if the theory of relativity is the answer or not. But I repeat, my God is never, ever wrong. Even if He was (which He is not), He would never put it in writing. So my advice is to believe God. He knows the answer, while our knowledge is limited. If it is something He thinks is important for us to know, He’ll tell us and “clear away the cobwebs” someday. Maybe “tomorrow, tomorrow, [it’s only] a day away!” And He’ll be right. About that, there is no other perspective.