Alastair's Adversaria - A Copernican Revolution in Theology

Starting point is 00:00:00 The following reflection is entitled A Theological Copernican Revolution. It was first published on the Anchored Argosy. We can speak of the sun rising in the east and sinking in the west, doing its circuit of the sky, coming out from behind the clouds, of it being warmer in the summer and cold it in the winter, and perhaps of its being darkened in an eclipse. For many historically, these ways in which the sun appears to us on Earth have been taken as providing a simple account of its reality,

Starting point is 00:00:29 The sun is evidently a powerful heavenly body that moves relative to us going around the Earth. The Copernican revolution, the discovery that we orbit the sun rather than the sun orbiting the earth, was a radical transformation in the way that people viewed both the Earth and the Sun. Rather than the Sun primarily being relative to the Earth, the Earth is primarily relative to the Sun. What appear to be changes in the Sun are principally changes in the Earth's relation to the sun, the result of movements in our orbit, the Earth's turning on its axis, events within our atmosphere, or the moon blocking our view of the sun. We continue to speak in the ways that we always have about the sun's relation to the Earth. Such ways of speaking

Starting point is 00:01:16 are entirely appropriate. However, we also recognize that these ways of speaking only take us so far. They are, in fact, badly erroneous if we press them beyond their proper limits. Indeed, we to do so, we would end up with a profoundly inaccurate and misleading understanding of what the sun actually is and how we stand relative to it. The Copernican revolution reveals the radical relativity and non-fixity of our earthbound vantage point. What seem from our perspective to be marked changes in the behaviour, position and appearance of the sun are, in fact, overwhelmingly changes on our side of the relationship. Of course, this does not alter the experienced reality, of our profound dependence upon and relationship to the sun one bit.

Starting point is 00:02:04 The Copernican Revolution did not stop the cycle of day or night or that of the seasons. The heat of the sun was not cooled upon the discovery of heliocentrism, nor its light dimmed. Indeed, the Copernican Revolution more powerfully revealed to us our dependence upon the sun and its importance as a body in the heavens. A similar revolution occurred in the field of theology, as theologians throughout the history of the church, have recognized that although our lived experience of God is appropriately navigated with language that speaks as though God were responding to us as we might respond to other persons, the uncreated living God who made all things and depends on no creature for his being

Starting point is 00:02:45 does not stand relative to us, but we stand relative to him. There is language in the Bible that speaks of God as if he had body parts, as if he changed his mind, as if he reacted to human actions, or as if he had passions and emotions like a human being. The great theologians of the church have generally recognised that such language is meaningful, much as our language about the sun rising and setting. However, it can become dangerously misleading if it is pressed beyond its proper bounds. When that happens, we can end up with a very distorted conception of God, a God shrunken to the limits of our experiential horizons. Though much of this language is found in the Bible, they were careful to place bounds upon it,

Starting point is 00:03:29 lest God be reduced to an idol on account of it. Just as the sun did not stop shining when Nicholas Copernicus discovered that the earth moved around the sun, rather than vice versa, the church's recognition that God does not stand relative to us as we stand relative to him, did not diminish the reality of God's love. It did not de-legitimate all the biblical language about God, which describes God, relative to our vantage point. However, it has served to humble theologians and to accentuate the exceeding greatness of the living God, teaching us that while our human vantage point is real and important, God is not contained within our horizon. Much that might seem to be change in God

Starting point is 00:04:11 is really the changing of our own shifting vantage point, horizons, and relation to him. It is important to recognize that the movements of the earth do not occasion a change in the sun, and that our experiences of the cycle of day and night and the seasons concern our changeability rather than that of the sun. So classical theisms Copernican revolution in the understanding of God helps us to better understand biblical teaching concerning matters such as the wrath of God, not as concerning changes in him, but as changes in how we stand in relation to the unchanging living God of love. Most Christians instinctively know that much of the biblical language about God involves bodily metaphor or other ways of speaking that should not be pressed beyond their bounds. Where the existence

Starting point is 00:04:59 of such bounds are appreciated and the biblical language is understood within its proper frames, it is trustworthy language, language by which we can confidently live our lives. Pushed beyond these bounds, however, it can lead to confusion, error, and even idolatry. As we grow in maturity, we should ideally grow into a fuller understanding of God's exceeding greatness. Classical Theism and its Copernican revolution in our account of God is not a rejection of the Bible and its language about God, but a recognition of both the highly relative character of our vantage points and horizons, and the ineffable constancy of the love of the living God. Such lines of thinking will obviously raise many further questions. The Copernican revolution

Starting point is 00:05:44 transformed our understanding of the son's relationship to us and changed what it means to say things such as our son. When talking about God's relationship with humanity, it's only appropriate that such a revolution should be met with some caution, less central Christian truths be jettisoned with potentially idolatrous projections. Consequently, a lot of work needs to be done to provide a robust account of the relationship between God and humanity, and to ensure that the biblical witness is not emptied of its proper force. If you'd like to support my work here and elsewhere, you can do so, using the Patreon or PayPal links below. If you're interested in reading this and other reflections like it,

Starting point is 00:06:27 you can do so at the anchored Argosy, the substack that I share with my wife Susanna. Thank you very much for listening. God bless.

Alastair's Adversaria - A Copernican Revolution in Theology

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