Three Eras of Cosmology GOD AND THE WORLD Three Eras of Cosmology

SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES COSMOLOGY THREE ERAS ANCIENT MODERN POST-MODERN CHALLENGES TO MODERN COSMOLOGY GOD’S ROLE IN NATURAL EVENTS FOUR SOURCES OF CONFLICT ARISTOTLE DESCARTES, DARWIN & EVOLUTION SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES

COSMOLOGY story, ideas, or discourse about the order of everything Related words: cosmos, universe

QUESTIONS OF COSMOLOGY What is the universe made of? Is it changing? Or static? Is it good, bad, or neutral? How did it all begin? What is the place of humans in it? What is God’s (0r the gods’) role in it?

SOURCES OF COSMOLOGY For most of human history: Religion, myth, philosophy, observation In recent history one most influential source: SCIENCE

WHY STUDY COSMOLOGY? Not just an academic or historical concern. Christians believe God is all-powerful and good Christians believe God has a plan, is guiding everything according to the plan

How can we understand these beliefs in light of what we know about the world today?

COSMOLOGY AND GOD’S ROLE NATURAL EVENTS: THREE ERAS ANCIENT (400 BC – 1600) MODERN (1600 – 1950) POST-MODERN (1950 – present)

ANCIENT COSMOLOGY

ANCIENT COSMOLOGY PAGANISM: GREEK PHILOSOPHY: JUDEO-CHRISTIAN: Every natural event has a divine cause GREEK PHILOSOPHY: Most natural events have a divine, but less direct cause: chain of cause & effect JUDEO-CHRISTIAN: God is separate from nature, but God’s plan can be seen in causes and effects of nature

ARISTOTLE AND GREEK PHILOSOPHY

CAUSE AND EFFECT The idea of cause and effect: an example The cause can be known in its effect: e.g. hearing The metaphor of “imprint” Chains of cause and effect The First Cause: God the creator?

GOD’S ROLE IN NATURAL EVENTS God is the artist/maker the work manifests the plan or idea of the maker God is the commander Nature’s consistency and order manifest its obedience to Gods’ command

NATURE IN ANCIENT COSMOLOGY Nature is responsive to God’s command Oriented toward a goal set by God Can only do what God wills it to do (Nature can prove that God exists!)

THE ADVENT OF SCIENCE AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN ERA Transition to the modern cosmology THE ADVENT OF SCIENCE AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN ERA

DESCARTES AND CARTESIAN METHOD Rene Descartes (d. 1650)

CARTESIAN METHOD Radical Doubt Concern with certainty: “I think; therefore, I am” Mathematical science: cartesian coordinates Rejection of ancient proofs of God’s existence

ARISTOTLE VS NEWTON

SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES TO THE ANCIENT COSMOLOGY ASTRONOMY: Order in stars/planets due to mathematically determined relationships BIRTH OF PHYSICS: Newton and Gravity – the discovery of force

Sir Isaac Newton (d. 1727) F = 𝑚1 𝑚2 𝑑² 𝑔 -11 g = 6.6 x 10

MODERN COSMOLOGY

GOD’S ROLE IN NATURAL EVENTS God reduced to designer/ “clock-maker” After set-up, no role but watching God is lawmaker, His laws of nature direct everything Occasional role in “miracles”

NATURE IN MODERN COSMOLOGY Nature’s obedience now seen as blind force Order is now mechanistic Mechanism and forces operate independently once set in motion Physical nature is devoid of spirit Can we know the maker? Do we need him?