12/25/2008 - 

The Planets: Earth, the Crown Jewel, Part 10 (of 10)

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published his masterwork of astronomy, De revolutionibus orbium coelestiu On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, thereby giving the world its first “scientifically-based” case for heliocentrism. Though it took others, particularly the Catholic Church, more time to come around to Copernicus’ way of thinking, today it is universally acknowledged that Earth is not the physical center of the solar system—but it looks to be the focal point of the spiritual realm. As our knowledge of the universe grows, evidence for exquisite fine-tuning to support life increases. It seems as though the world was designed with humans in mind. Scientists and philosophers call this the anthropic principle. It defies the idea that the physical realm is all that exists and that there is no purpose for life beyond living and dying.

As Hugh Ross puts it in his latest book, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, God’s purpose for humanity places people at “center stage in the unfolding drama of God’s ultimate victory over evil.” Ross lists 11 reasons why God created this specific universe; among them is the intent to “personally initiate our rescue.” Christmas day represents a pivotal moment in the battle to save humanity. The birth of the long-awaited Messiah marked the beginning of the overthrow of death. Charles Wesley’s classic carol, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” beautifully sums up the importance of that event. Mild he lays his glory by,/ born that man no more may die,/ born to raise the sons of earth,/ born to give them second birth. Christ humbled himself so that we may be exalted—though little we deserve it. God so loved the inhabitants of this crown jewel of a planet that he stooped to become one of them and endured a painful execution so that we wouldn’t have to pay the just price for our sins. As Linus so aptly says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” Merry Christmas to you and your kin! Listen to “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”here

12/19/2008 - 

The Planets: “Pluto, the Renewer,” Part 9 (of 10)

It saddens me that my children may grow up seeing only eight planets on the posters at school, whereas I grew up with nine. On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reached a verdict on the debate over Pluto’s status. Since Pluto has not “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit” it was demoted to the position of dwarf planet.

Up until the 21st century, astronomers had no official system for defining relatively large objects as planets. The 1992 discovery of the Kuiper belt brought Pluto’s qualifications into question and subsequent findings exposed the need for such a definition. Since then astronomers have cataloged more than 1,000 objects of substantial size, including Eris, a resident of the scattered disc beyond the Kuiper belt that is “27% more massive than Pluto.”

Should each of these globes be counted as a planet? Or should Pluto be considered a member of the Kuiper belt and not as a planet? What exactly is a planet anyway? These kinds of questions initiated the dispute that led to the decision to relegate Pluto to the position of dwarf planet, along with Eris, Ceres, Haumea, and Makemake.

Currently, the IAU standards for planets in our solar system are:

1. The object must be in orbit around the Sun.

2. The object must be massive enough to be a sphere by its own gravitational force. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape of hydrostatic equilibrium.

3. It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

The controversy surrounding Pluto’s demotion based on failure to meet the third requirement is by no means over. In addition to many in the general public’s sentimental attachment to Pluto as a favorite planet, some professional astronomers argue against the validity of these new rules. For example, according to planetary scientist Alan Stern this definition rules out Earth, Mars, Juptier, and Saturn as planets since all four share their orbits with asteroids. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory also acknowledges the debate as ongoing (see here).

Discovered in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh, Pluto is named after the Roman god of the underworld (not the cartoon dog). The title was suggested by 11-year-old English girl Venetia Burney, who felt it “appropriate for such a presumably dark and cold world.” The former planet’s known moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra, are likewise named after mythological figures connected with the Greco-Roman Hades.

Pluto’s primary astrological meanings include “the great renewer” and “transformation”—in the sense of someone who destroys something in order to bring about a renewal. The dwarf planet’s other cultural associations are significantly darker. Its finding coincided with the rise of facsism, especially Nazism, in Europe, and the spread of organized crime in the United States. Thus, Pluto has also come to represent “extreme power and corruption.”

Despite the grim connotations assigned by man, the more we know about Pluto, the more we understand God’s design for the solar system and its history. For example, the ex-planet, along with the rest of the Kuiper belt, helps to confirm the old-earth view. Some people have argued that if the solar system is truly as old as scientific data claims, then astronomers should not observe short-period comets (which they do) because without the proper mechanism these comets simply would have run out by now. However, the presence of the Kuiper belt accounts for the continued existence of the fiery projectiles, thus providing the necessary mechanism and confirming that the solar system is indeed old (see here).

Additionally, Pluto and its moons give us a prime example of a planet-moon system that formed via a giant impact event. This supplies scientists with “more data to evaluate the probability of the event that formed Earth’s moon.” NASA’s New Horizons probe, launched on January 19, 2006, should experience its first encounter with Pluto and Charon in July 2015. This mission’s purpose, among other things, is to “round out our knowledge of the planets in our solar system” and “to teach us about planetary formation.”

RTB anticipates that our distant neighbor Pluto and the lessons we learn from it will continue to serve as reminders of the true Renewer who declares:

See, I am doing a new thing!/ Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?/ I am making a way in the desert/ and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

11/27/2008 - 

The Planets: “Neptune, the Mystic,” Part 8 (of 10)

Another Thanksgiving is upon us. Many American families, gathered around a golden brown turkey, will participate in the tradition of asking each member of their group to name something for which they are grateful. And I’ll bet things like family, friends, and God rank as some of the top answers. How about Neptune? The eighth planet from the Sun probably won’t come to mind; nonetheless, it is definitely something to be thankful for.

Discovered on September 23, 1846, by Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann Galle, Neptune was eventually named for the Roman god of the sea. The gas giant planet’s trademark blue coloring results from the high concentration of methane in its atmosphere. Winds of up to 2,100 km/h traverse its surface, making Earth’s hurricanes look like leaf blowers in comparison. Though Neptune resides in a distant part of the solar system, like everything else in this universe, it’s fine-tuned to provide the greatest benefit to Earth’s inhabitants.

The Kuiper belt is a region beyond Neptune composed of small bodies, including dwarf planets (such as Pluto), “comets, asteroids, and other space debris,” collectively known as Kuiper belt objects (KBOs).¹ According to Wikipedia, “much in the same way that Jupiter’s gravity dominates the asteroid belt, shaping its structure, so Neptune’s gravity completely dominates the Kuiper belt.”

In fact, Neptune’s gravitational pull often disturbs KBOs from their own orbit, sending them into the inner solar system. How does this benefit Earth? These objects, mostly made of various ices, replenish “our water supply and [deliver] other vital nutrients.”² At the same time, as a member of the solar system’s gas giant quartet, this distant neighbor helps guard Earth against too much bombardment (see here).

Just as the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation celebrated God’s provision with their Native American allies over 300 years ago, this Thanksgiving I’ll celebrate the Creator’s provision of planets that play vital roles in making ours habitable.

References:

1. As stated in RTB’s Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System, featured in our Christmas highlight.

2. Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System.

Listen to Holst’s “Neptune, the Mystic” here.

10/31/2008 - 

That Nightmare Before Christmas

Houses glow with twinkle lights and decorations, seasonal treats fill store shelves, everyone’s getting into the holiday spirit. Is it Christmas?

No. It’s Halloween.

Over the centuries, Halloween has risen from an ancient Celtic tradition to become one of the most popular international holidays. From candy to costumes to lawn décor, Americans spend billions on Halloween each year, and the numbers continue to climb. In fact, October 31 is second only to Christmas in decoration spending.

The holiday attracts merry-makers of all ages. Pint-sized Cinderellas and Spider-Mans participate in school parades, pumpkin patch visits, and, of course, trick-or-treating. Meanwhile, adult costume parties, “haunted” theme parks, and gory horror films continue to draw the mature crowds.

Between all the over-sexed costumes and scary imagery, there’s a lot to keep Christians behind locked doors on Halloween night. And let’s not forget about the holiday’s disturbingly demonic elements, such as ghosts and divination. How should we treat this tricky festival?

First of all, I’d highly recommend that Christians not fight about it. Of all the issues that divide the church, this holiday shouldn’t be one of them. There are more important things to bicker about (like whether the Bible is inerrant).

It seems to me that Halloween is largely a matter of personal discernment. This applies to the ghoulish elements as well. On a more serious note, Christians who celebrate Halloween shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the spirit realm is very real and shouldn’t be taken lightly. It is interesting to note that Bram Stoker’s infamous vampire, Dracula, could only enter a home if the residents invited him in.We still need to be cautious about the imagery and activities we allow in our homes and churches.

Happily, the creepier parts of Halloween can be easily avoided without throwing out the holiday entirely. In my personal experience, Halloween stands as one of the best nights for neighborhood outreach. In fact, for my church, October 31 is the biggest outreach opportunity of the year. We host a “Trunk-or-Treat” on our campus and invite the surrounding communities to participate. Thousands of kids (and their poor parents) swarm the church grounds. We don’t evangelize. We just provide a safe haven filled with games, food, music, and tons of candy. By our behavior and hospitality, we represent Christ on a night that, in some ways, defies him.

Of course, Halloween hospitality doesn’t have to stop at church. Once my mother got over her fear of Halloween, the holiday became a time of rich tradition and ministry for our family. Mom prepared special foods to share with friends. Meanwhile, we handed out tracts with candy to trick-or-treaters and hot chocolate to their weary escorts. Halloween is now one of Mom’s favorite days of the year.

All this is to say that Christians needn’t fear October 31. Rather we should view it as a time to reach out to our neighborhoods and to grow our appreciation for the God who gives our spirits peace. However you choose to spend Halloween, I hope your day is a happy one.

For more views on Halloween from RTB, check out Kenneth Samples’ articles “The Tricky Topic of Halloween.”

For Halloween statistics, see here.

09/12/2008 - 

The Planets: “Uranus, the Magician,” Part 7 (of 10)

Though its name has been Latinized, Uranus is the only planet in the solar system named for a Greek, rather than Roman, deity. And the name is only the beginning of Uranus’s peculiarities.

Although considered part of a team of four gas giant planets, Uranus’s “higher proportion of ‘ices’ such as water, ammonia and methane” sometimes causes astronomers to categorize it (along with Neptune) as an ice giant. These ices contribute toward giving Uranus the coldest planetary atmosphere in the solar system. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is surrounded by a belt of cosmic dust. However, the planet’s axis of rotation is tilted so as to be nearly vertical, making Uranus’s rings appear as a bull’s-eye and its moons rotate like the “hands of a clock.” While “other planets can be visualized to rotate like tilted spinning tops relative to the plane of the solar system…Uranus rotates more like a tilted rolling ball.”

Millennia passed between the discovery of the classical planets and that of Uranus. In 1781, Sir Frederick William Herschel announced the finding of Uranus, making it the first of the “modern planets.” Astrologically, Uranus presides over such concepts as revolution, invention, and ground-breaking ideas.

At the time of the discovery democracy, progress, and human rights were at the forefront of Western culture. Detection of the planet took place two years prior to the conclusion of the American Revolution and eight years prior to the beginning of the French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was already well underway; and in a few years, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, and other British abolitionists would begin pressuring Parliament for the abolishment of the slave trade. Occurring alongside these radical changes, Romanticism in art and literature advocated personal freedom and individual identity.

As inspiring as Uranus’s astrological associations appear, it is worth noting that in medicine, the planet is connected to such maladies as “mental disorders, breakdowns and hysteria, spasms and cramps.” I suppose revolution could have those affects.

Every era has its revoultionaries. Jesus was revolutionary for his time and culture. One need only look at the people he interacted with to see that. He counted women among his disciples and he engaged with the ostrisized, such as lepers, Samaritans, the demon-possessed, prostitutes, and tax collectors. This wasn’t the exact behavior people expected of the King of Kings.

In Isaiah 46, God declares, “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?” He goes on to remind us, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Specifically, he contrasts Babylonian idols with himself. The idols created by men out of gold and silver are “a burden for the weary” and cannot respond to the cries of those who bow down to them. YHWH, on the other hand, hears prayer and alleviates burdens. He says,

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Like the convention-breaking planet he created, the God of the Bible defies humanity’s limited imagination.

Listen to Holst’s “Uranus, the Magician” here.

08/25/2008 - 

The Planets: “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age,” Part 6 (of 10)

Outfitted with beautiful rings of ice and dust, Saturn stands as one of the most iconic planets in our solar system. Along with Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, this celestial ornament works as a shield between Earth and too much bombardment by comets and asteroids.

The four gas giants of our solar system function as a team. As Hugh Ross explains in a Today’s New Reason to Believe article:

In order to adequately protect Earth from collision events without being gravitationally disturbed, the protection must come from not just one gas giant planet, but rather several.

In mythology, however, Saturn’s namesake was not the ideal team player.

As the Roman god of agriculture and harvest, Saturn (equivalent to the Greek Cronus) was part of a system of primordial deities who appeared in ancient cosmologies and functioned as ancestors to what the Greeks called the Olympians. At the request of his mother, Saturn usurped his father, but feared a prophecy that said he in turn would be supplanted by his own children. Consequently, Saturn ate each of his offspring as they were born. Not exactly father-of-the-year material. Despite his precautions, Saturn was over thrown by Jupiter, his sixth child, and fled to Rome where according to the story he reigned over the Golden Age, an era defined by universal harmony and pleasurable activity.

Romans celebrated Saturn’s sovereignty and abundant harvest with the annual Festival of Saturnalia held around the time of the Winter Solstice, usually December 17 – 23. The festival was marked by merry-making, food and drink, suspension of war and punishments and work, and gift-giving. Sound familiar?

Most of the Christmas traditions that we partake of today were derived from various pagan celebrations, such as Saturnalia (see here). It is because of this secular influence that Christmas has been a source of controversy in church history and in some cases today. Fortunately, the central point of Christmas remains the same regardless of how people choose to celebrate it.

When Christ came into the world, the angels proclaimed:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. (Luke 2:14)

Though Saturn was honored as the ruler of paradise on Earth, as a mythological figure he can do nothing to bring peace to the world. The credit for paving the way for reconciliation between humans and God belongs solely to Jesus Christ, who also created the solar system’s ringed gem for his glory and our benefit.

Listen to “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age” here.

08/14/2008 - 

The Planets: "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity," Part 5 (of 10)

Named after the king of the Roman gods, Jupiter is considered as a king of planets. Its enormous size, entourage of 63 moons, and gravitational power all befit a regal planet.

A planet like Jupiter requires delicate precision of mass and location in order to be beneficial, rather than detrimental, to life on Earth. Jupiter’s mass and distance from our own planet are listed in Hugh Ross’s book, The Creator and the Cosmos, as part of the evidence for fine-tuning of the galaxy and its various features to support life. Any variation to these characteristics in Jupiter would either cause catastrophic gravitational disturbance to Earth’s orbit or expose it to too many comets and asteroids.

While Jupiter the planet highlights the careful engineering efforts of the Creator, both Jupiter of Rome, and Zeus, his Greek equivalent, provide acute contrasts to the God of the Bible. In addition to ruling over the gods of Mount Olympus, Zeus is known for his infamous sexual trysts with immortals and mortals of all kinds. In fact, planet Jupiter’s four largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, are all named after mythical mortals raped by Zeus in disguise.

As for Rome’s Jupiter, one website describes the ancient deity as “one of the most important of the Roman gods, continuously evolving with Roman needs.” Jupiter began as an agricultural deity, but as Rome grew more powerful, Jupiter transformed into the designated protector of the military-oriented empire's capital city. Romans believed “he could be invoked through a variety of titles, each dependent on the responsibilities being requested of him.”

The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The God of the Bible does not evolve to meet the demands and whims of his creatures. Neither can we invoke him, as though he were a genie. Rather, he is completely capable of tending to human needs without compromise to his identity and does so on his own perfect time. YHWH is less like Jupiter and more like Aslan, of whom Mr. Beaver says, “Course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.” The God of the Bible is not a tame idol, shaped in the image of man.

Fortunately, the God of the Bible is not like Zeus either, characterized by lust and deceitfulness. Scripture declares that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Jesus is described as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Though an impressive planet like Jupiter has excited awe befitting a deity, the God of the Bible is the real King. Thankfully, he is not the whimsical, flawed product of human invention, but perfect in all his attributes, including his love for his creatures. Now that's something to inspire jollity.

Listen to "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" here.

08/05/2008 - 

The Planets: “Mercury, the Winged Messenger,” Part 4 (of 10)

With the 2008 Olympics in Beijing just days away, it is appropriate that the next planet in this series derives its name from a mythological deity known for his own athleticism and patronage of mortal sportsmen. Mercury, messenger to the Roman gods, is easily recognizable, as is Hermes, the Greek deity from which Mercury was pilfered. Both versions feature winged-shoes and/or -cap and a caduceus, among other symbols. The Mercury movement from composer Gustav Holst’s suite The Planets reflects the character’s quick flight and activeness.

The planet Mercury is now officially the smallest planet in our solar system, and is also the closest planet to the sun. It shares some attributes with Earth’s moon, including its size and heavily cratered surface, but unlike Earth itself, it has no natural satellites and no substantial atmosphere.

Yet Earth and its distant neighbor do share some qualities in common. For example, Mercury has a magnetic field, albeit a very weak one compared to Earth’s. Mariner 10 made this discovery during its Mercury flybys in 1974 and 1975. The presence of a magnetic field challenged scientists’ previously held notions that Mercury, due to its size, had an iron core, as opposed to a molten one like Earth’s. Further research in 2002, using massive antennas to send radar signals to Mercury, showed that the planet wobbles slightly as it orbits the sun—which reinforces the evidence for a molten core. (See here and here for further discussion of these discoveries.)

Thanks to NASA’s own winged MESSENGER, launched four years ago, scientists have continued to unravel Mercury’s mysteries. Several articles from Science Daily report on some of MESSENGER’s discoveries during its first flyby of the planet January 2008 (see here, here, and here.) But why should we bother to study Mercury? What can this inconspicuous little orb tell us?

In a Science Daily article describing the discovery of Mercury’s wobbly orbit, Professor Jean-Luc Margot of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., explains that,

“The chemical composition of Mercury’s core can provide important clues about the processes involved in planet formation,”… “It is fundamental to our understanding of how habitable worlds—planets like our own—form and evolve.”

RTB’s Jeff Zweerink has pointed out that the shared characteristics between Earth and other planets, like Mercury, still help to highlight Earth’s uniqueness:

Further, planets containing water may be far more common than previously thought (water is the universe’s second most abundant molecule), as are planets that briefly exhibit geological activity such as plate tectonics and volcanism. However, the combination and durability of Earth’s water cycle, plate tectonics, and magnetic field generation 4.5 billion years after its formation strongly argues for supernatural intervention. (emphasis original)

Like Mars and Venus, Mercury serves to reinforce the exceptionality of Earth. Yet their similarities also help us gain a better understanding of the world we live in and its history, and, hopefully, expand our appreciation for the Creator who so lovingly engineered the planets.

07/22/2008 - 

The Ultimate Hero

Safe to say Batman has come a long way since the days of Adam West and Burt Ward. He's cooler, tougher, and thank goodness he doesn't wear spandex anymore. But in addition to giving up the tights and corny bat-gadgets, Batman has become darker.

The Dark Knight opened at 12:01 AM Friday morning, July 18. It's the second installment in director/writer Christopher Nolan's fresh take on the Batman franchise and it's already being hailed as a masterpiece in the comic book and crime drama genres. "Masterpiece" may be slightly higher praise than this film deserves; I can't help wondering if actor Heath Ledger's tragic death earlier this year has influenced critics' perceptions of the movie as a whole (Ledger's individual performance is masterful).

Nolan's brooding superhero flick definitely earns its PG-13 rating. The violence is brutal, the villains grotesque, and the tone gloomy. This incarnation of Batman's (Christian Bale) encounter with the Joker (Ledger) abandons the fun quirkiness of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman; instead it tackles serious questions about the true natures of morality and heroism.

Ledger's brilliantly performed Joker does not ask for, or evoke, empathy. He doesn't have a single sob story—he has several, each different from the one before. There's no justifying his madness or sadistic behavior. To him, Gotham City is a giant toy, one that squirms and writhes under the pressure of evil. Joker is a devout moral relativist. As he explains to Gotham district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart),

I'm a dog chasing cars. I don't have plans. I just do things. I'm not a schemer.

With villains it is tempting to look beyond their actions in search of a broken past or haunting trauma that morphed them into their current state. We want to feel sympathy for them—because that means they're redeemable. Not the Joker. Ecclesiastes 8:8 explains that "wickedness will not release those who practice it." The evil festering in Joker's mind and soul is so complete it's pure.

Joker desires anarchy, a world with no rules. He seeks to achieve it by destroying the moral codes of Gotham's citizens and heroes. Story-tellers, particularly those dealing with superheroes, seem to show a penchant for pushing protagonists to their limits in terms of right-or-wrong. How far will Batman go to stop the Joker? Will he commit murder, rather than bring the madman under the justice of the law of the land? Who will he choose to save? Who will the civilians of Gotham choose to save—themselves or others?

1 Corinthians 15:33 reminds us, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" Just minutes in the company of Joker reveals cracks in the moral armor of Batman and his allies. The vicious psychopath's mutterings work like poison. But Scripture also provides a remedy: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Of course, no one in this movie even mentions God—except to use his name in vain—but this brings up an intriguing point.

All hopes are pinned on Batman to rescue Gotham from evil. Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Caine) tells him,

You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face—the right choice.

Batman can save people from other men's evil intent, but he cannot save them from the consequences of the evil in their own hearts. Though superheroes, like Batman and Superman, are often touted as modern symbols for saviors, there's been only one person in all of history that actually has the power to offer forgiveness of sins and salvation.

Jesus Christ blew the religious leaders of his day away when he forgave the sins of the paralytic in Capernaum. Mark writes that "some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?'"

But Jesus reminds them that "'the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.'" Christ's identity is paramount to his authority. He is God Incarnate and, thus, embodies God's full power. Yet Jesus is also human. Kenneth Samples describes Christ's unique identity in A World of Difference:

…Jesus Christ is therefore "two Whats" (a divine "what" [or nature] and a human "what" [or nature]) and "one Who" (a single "person" or "self"). As God Incarnate, Jesus retained all of his divine attributes through his divine nature, and yet through his human nature was fully human.

This is what makes Christ the perfect hero. His full divinity exclusively allows him the power to forgive humans of their sins and to "qualif[y] [them] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.". But his full humanity allows him to relate to the suffering of people and to make a proper atoning sacrifice on mankind's behalf.

Culturally, we've had a love affair with fallen heroes and antiheroes in our stories. We love to describe the fallen state as showing the characters' humanity, it makes them more real. So, where does that leave Jesus? Does his sinless life make him less human and more divine? On the contrary, Jesus' resistance against temptation and his perfect obedience to the law reveals him to be more human than we are. It exposes a righteousness that should have been ours, had we not thrown it away.

Because of Christ's work on our behalf death has lost its sting. And that is the victory of the ultimate hero.

07/11/2008 - 

The Planets: "Venus, the Bringer of Peace," Part 3 (of 10)

My sisters and I may have been raised in the same home, by the same parents, but we've each turned out different from one another.

Like human sisters that grow into distinctive individuals, "sister planets" Earth and Venus are radically different. They are nearly the same size (Earth is the bigger of the two) and study indicates that, like Earth, Venus was once covered by liquid water. But, current research shows two celestial bodies with drastically disparate environments.

But before modern science exposed the truth about Venus's atmosphere and surface, the morning and evening star inspired humanity with its mysterious possibilities for millennia. The ancient Romans named the planet after their goddess of beauty, love, fertility, and femininity. Shukra, the planet's name in Sanskrit, means "'clear, pure' or 'brightness, clearness.'" "As one of the brightest objects in the sky," Venus impacted the cultures of ancient civilizations around the world.

More recently, science-fiction authors imagined Venus as a possible second home for humans. C. S. Lewis's tale of paradise preserved Perelandra envisioned Earth's sister planet as a lush waterworld.

It is interesting to note that the ancient Greeks' name for Venus's dawn appearance, Phosphoros, which means "bringer of light," was later translated into Latin as Lucifer, meaning "light bearer." Like the fallen angel that bears the same name, the real Venus is barren and incapable of supporting life.

Far from being the pure beauty the ancients imagined, the second planet from the Sun is stopglobalwarming.org's worst nightmare, come true. Venus is shrouded in a thick atmosphere that's about 96.5% carbon dioxide. Due to Venus's incredibly slow rotation rate(in Earth terms, it takes Venus approximately 243 times longer to complete a rotation), the planet's surface lacks a sufficient magnetic field to protect it against solar winds.

Some researchers suspect that this exposure to solar winds and ultraviolet radiations is responsible for stripping Venus of the water it once held; the same fate awaits any water deposited on the planet by comets. Surface temperatures measure at a balmy 800^oF. Makes these southern California heat waves look like winter in Michigan.

Like Mars, Venus exposes a sharp contrast between reality and imagination. With the Red Planet the contrast is between the hope with which we explore it and the malevolence we ascribe to it in fantasy. In Venus's case, the difference is between the planet's hellish, hostile environment and the attributes of beauty, purity, and love assigned to it in myth.

Intriguingly, where Venus fails our expectations, Christ, the Creator of the planets, endures. Venus is hostile, not peaceful, but the Bible describes Christ as "a prince of peace." Venus houses a hell-like world, not love, but Christ is love. Christ is the true "bright morning star."

Listen to "Venus, the Bringer of Peace" here.