GALILEO
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same
God who has endowed us with sense, reason and
intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
—Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
This is a defining song for our band. Galileo Galilei was a scientist/physicist in the 17th century. While Galileo’s own discoveries revolutionized the way we do science today, one of the most controversial beliefs he held was not original to him. Galileo believed that Copernicus had nailed it—the Earth was not the center of the universe. Galileo’s own observations of interplanetary movement led him to believe that the Earth, in fact, revolved around the sun (revolutionary idea, huh?). The Church leaders of the day rejected Galileo’s claims as heretical and demanded that he rescind the statements. They believed that the Bible clearly taught that the Earth was the center. Galileo pleaded with them, “Look into my telescope! I can show you that we are revolving around the sun. All you have to do is look!”* The church leaders didn’t bite. Their response was that the Bible was their authority and they did not need to look at the world around them to know how it worked. They already knew the Truth and it was non-negotiable.
Somehow I find it comical that no serious theologian in modern times would contend the centrality of the Earth to the universe. The Bible, however, didn’t change. What changed was our approach to and understanding of the text and what it said. We realized that the Bible doesn’t make the claim that the Earth was central. Religious scholars of the time read that into the text. OUR understanding was flawed.
This song was written after a discussion with a friend of mine who insisted on doing the same thing that the Roman Catholic Church leaders did so long ago. “We shouldn’t examine our faith,” he said. “We shouldn’t ask questions about what we believe… that shows a lack of faith.” Essentially it boiled down to, “I’ve got it figured out. My position is infallible because my source (the Bible) is infallible.” What my friend failed to consider is that, while the Bible may well be infallible, his approach to the Bible is not.
Too often as Christians we think we, with our finite minds, have an infinite God all figured out. We arrogantly think we can fit him inside our thoughts, contain him in our endless dissertations, and wrap our minds around Him. We fail to realize that it requires a much greater step of faith to ask the difficult questions, believing that there are answers to be found, than to assume our perspective is innately right. In doing this, we place God in a box. I must admit that while this song was written about a discussion with someone else, it also reflects my own transition and continuing journey.
In recent years my view of God has been expanding tremendously to the point that I think putting God in a box is one of the most dishonest things we can do as Christians. What a terrible tragedy to relegate our God absolutely to our own understanding of Him! It is so saddening to say that our Bible does not have relevance to the world as a whole as creation screams to further elaborate on the character of its Creator. The question the song asks, “Are you blind?” is an enduring challenge to not be convinced that our assumptions are infallible simply because they are ours. In doing so we can close our eyes to things that God is trying to reveal about Himself.
Galileo was written to challenge believers out of their comfort zones and re-evaluate the big picture that God has provided to tell His story. The created world is a part of God’s auto-biography. Observe it and marvel at God’s intricacies! This song is a challenge to be still and know that He is God as you continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Never be content. Never have all the answers. Pursue God passionately and humbly with a proper perspective of yourself!
"I think, my Kepler, we will laugh at the extraordinary stupidity of the multitude. What do you say of the leading philosophers here to whom I have offered a thousand times of my own accord to show my studies but who have never consented to look at the planets, moon, or telescope." Letter from Galileo to Kepler. (Koestler, p. 213)
*Not an actual quote of Galileo Galilei
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