#77, The Ball and Chain of Biblical Literalism

#77, The Ball and Chain of Biblical Literalism

By Rev. Alvin Petty, retired area minister

The great scientists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries shared John Calvin’s view that scientific progress in all fields should be regarded as religious activity. Unfortunately not all in the church shared Calvin’s enlightened view. This was the beginning of modernity for the church and its use of the Bible. The part of the church which reacted to scientific progress with worried biblical literalism set a bad pattern which many still follow.

Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) regarded sience as more divine that human. His sun centered solar system (heliocentric)hypothesis was so radical that few people could take it in. Instead of the earth and man being the center of the universe as had been commonly thought, they were just one of many planets rotating around one of many stars. What they thought was a stable world was actually always in rapid motion.

The biblical literalists failed to realize from their perch of religious superiority that

God’s spiritual path we are to walk in has only one constant, change. To make progress in God’s way of life we must be open to change in our understanding of the Bible and science. To neglect science proven findings makes us look foolish in represnting Christ. We must go with the flow of new knowledge which is proven and change our biblical interpretations to match the new insights.

Galileo Galilli (1564-1642) tested the Copernican theory by observing the planets through his telescope. He was silenced by the inquisition and forced to recant, but his uncooperative aggression and provocative temperament contributed also to his condemnation.

At first Catholics and Protestants did not automatically reject the new science. The Pope accepted Copernicus’s theory when he first presented it at the Vatican. And the early Calvinists and Jesuits were very keen on the new science.

But many were upset by the new theories and questioned : How would you reconcile Copernicus’s theory with their literal reading of Genesis? If, as Galileo suggested there was life on the moon, how had these people descended from Adam? How could the revolutions of the earth be squared with Christ’s ascension to heaven? Biblical literalism leads to these kinds of silly questions.

Many opposed the Copernican theory because it made them feel small and insignificant, man and the Church were not the center of the universe. But humility is the source of greatness. We need to realize our interconnectedness with God, others and the universe. We are small but we are a beloved part of the great whole. The Divine Spirit of the universe is in us and flows through us. So though humble we are very significant because of the whole we are connected to.