Astronomy and the Bible;

(Ann) #1

178 ASTRONOMYANDTHEBIBLE


''Soonerorlaterthesunmustbecomeadarkglobe,
nolongerfieryand radiant,no longerthesourceof
heatandlighttohisfamilyofworlds. Thedazzling
photospheremustloseitsglowingbrightness;andat
lengthour sunwillbe asun nolonger." "One fact
seemsclear,pastthepossibilityofmistake,—thatnot
onlyourlittleearth,notonlythesolarsystem,butthe
wholevaststellarsystem,theuniverseofstars,sofar
aswecanknowanythingaboutit,isachanging,fleet-
ing,dyinguniverse."



''RadiantSuns,"pages30/-^0Q.
Scientists offer these ideas as mere theories and
speculation,andarenotdogmaticaboutthem. They
admitthattheremaybemeansbywhichthesunand
the stars will have their existence continued; there
maybesomewaybywhichtheirlifeisrenewed;but
scientists know nothing of it. Yet they constantly
throwoutcautionsconcerningthisprofoundquestion
ofwhichtheyknowsolittle.
"Inthesemattersoccupyingthedubiousborderland
beyondscientificcertainties,wehave tobe cautious;
wemustbewillingtowait,willingnottobesure. At
best,ouroutlookisverypartial anddim. Thecon-
nectinglinkbetweenusandeachfar-off,glimmering
pointconsistsof onlya few rays oflight. Wecan
watchthose rays; we can subdivide them; we can
analyzethem;wecandecipheralittleofthemakeand
ofthemovements ofthestarornebula from which
theycome,—andyethowsmallisthesumtotalofour
information!"



Id.,page421.
"Maywenot receiveeventheteachingsofscience
astothe'lawsofnature' with theconstantmemory
Free download pdf