Sermon Central
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Egyptian Astronomer Ptolemy In The 2nd Century ...
Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010 (message contributor)
Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century postulated that the earth was the center of the universe, that the earth was still, that other planets orbited and other planets rotated, but the earth not. The universe revolved around the earth. It made sense, and people believed it. For 1400 years. Or more. In the 16th century came a man named Nicklaus Copernicus. He started poking around and asking questions:
"Why do some stars appear in the day and others at night?"
"What causes the seasons to change?"
"Does anyone know exactly how far ships can sail before falling off the edge of the earth?"
Copernicus had figured out that not only did the earth itself rotate, it also revolved around the sun. Scandal. The world doesn't revolve around US? This was hard for people to accept. Galileo came along saying the same things - and for advocating these beliefs the church kicked him out and the state put him under house arrest.
Copernicus and Galileo pointed to the sun and said -- "The center of the universe"
Max Lucado in his book It's Not About Me writes "What Copernicus did for the earth, God does for our souls. Tapping the collective shoulder of humanity, he points to the Son - his Son - and says "Behold the center of it all."
When God looks at the center of the universe, he doesn't look at you.
God does not exist to make a big deal out of us. We exist to make a big deal out of him.
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