Learning Journal #9

Yesterday in church, I'll admit to being mildly distracted from everything that was going on, predominantly because I kept relating things that were being talked about (and things that weren't being talked about) to my project. I tried to think of how Renaissance cosmological concepts could be seen in ancient and modern scripture, and found a few interesting parallels.

The first comes from Psalms 8:3-5:

When I consider they heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thous hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honour. 

I'd expect that the reference to man being "a little lower than the angels" was considered particularly in the development of the Great Chain of Being concept. (Note to self: research the development of the Great Chain of Being concept.) What I love about this scripture is that it shows that the question of man's place among God's creations has been asked for ages upon ages. Although it here suggests that man does possess a high position among the creations of God, the humility of recognizing the extensive grandeur of those other creations is apparent. Renaissance cosmology reflected this mutual elevation and lowness within their picture—the earth was as far as one could get from God, and yet it was the central focus of God's attention.

These same concepts have been reiterated over and over by LDS leaders. Yesterday in Relief Society, we discussed President Uchtdorf's talk for the General Relief Society Broadcast, "Forget Me Not." In the talk, President Uchtdorf references Psalms 8, and adds "Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time! He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name—you are the daughters of His kingdom." Then, in General Conference, he delivered a talk called "You Matter to Him." An entire section of the talk referenced man's place within the universe! Here's a huge quote from that talk:

The more we learn about the universe, the more we understand—at least in a small part—what Moses knew. The universe is so large, mysterious, and glorious that it is incomprehensible to the human mind. “Worlds without number have I created,” God said to Moses. The wonders of the night sky are a beautiful testimony of that truth. 

There are few things that have filled me with such breathless awe as flying in the black of night across oceans and continents and looking out my cockpit window upon the infinite glory of millions of stars. 

Astronomers have attempted to count the number of stars in the universe. One group of scientists estimates that the number of stars within range of our telescopes is 10 times greater than all the grains of sand on the world’s beaches and deserts. 

This conclusion has a striking similarity to the declaration of the ancient prophet Enoch: “Were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations. 

Given the vastness of God’s creations, it’s no wonder the great King Benjamin counseled his people to “always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness.”
But even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” 

And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters. 

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.

Ideas inextricably related to Renaissance cosmological concepts are certainly alive and well within the LDS Church. I certainly don't know enough about other Christian denominations to know whether or not this is a belief that we share with them. If it is shared, is it exactly the same? Or are there variations to it? I think I'll certainly have to talk to some clergy about this topic, although it won't be the exact focus of my research.

I know that the Roman Catholic Church during the Renaissance was not overly pleased with Copernicus' theory. Grinnell's article, which was my annotated source today, points out that,

"If one glances for a second at seventeenth-century Catholic theology before returning to its Humanist opposition, one notes that the Roman Catholic Church had placed the Copernican treatise on the 'Index of Prohibited Books' not because of its mathematical simplicity, nor because it contradicted scripture (although this was the official reason), but rather because it presented serious difficulties to Aristotelian cosmology. In the thirteenth century, Saint Thomas Aquinas had reconciled the essentials of Aristotelian cosmology to Augustinian theology, and although Saint Thomas's Summa Theologica was highly controversial (initially condemned both at the University of Paris and at Oxford University), it was finally accepted at the Council of Trent after nearly 20 years of discussion (1545-1563). Having taken so long to agree on an official doctrine (at a time when all of Europe was in turmoil owing to the Protestant Reformation), the Church was eager not to have this doctrine undermined by an astronomical hypothesis of uncertain validity."

I'd like to look more into the Church's response to Copernicus, because it seems that religions eventually accepted the heliocentric view of the universe (though the fight over how it all began is still being hotly contested). How did the early stages of the battle between religion (specifically the Roman Catholic Church) and science really play out? What did Aquinas write in his Summa Theologica? What exactly happened at the Council of Trent? (and a link to records of the council for me to peruse later...)

All of this research is showing me just how much background information there is that I feel like I need to know before I can even begin to look at the actual literary texts that people wrote to respond to the changing universe concept. I certainly won't be able to know all of it before I head off to London. I'm beginning to wonder if there is a way to trim my project question to be even smaller so that I don't risk my brain exploding from information overload (though, if we're discussing ways for one's brain to explode, that'd certainly be one of my top choices). While I want to know as much as I can before I go, I realize that no matter how much I do know, there will always be more information out there that I've missed. Where's the meter that'll tell me I know just enough of all the right stuff? The truth is, there isn't one. I'm just going to have to figure it out by myself, and try to be as prepared as possible (sans-exploded-brains).