{"id":234,"date":"2016-08-28T02:01:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T02:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=234"},"modified":"2024-04-16T18:10:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T18:10:54","slug":"faith-the-universe-and-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith, the Universe, and Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/nonsequitur\/2016\/08\/24\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20160824-nq160824-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>I think the universe is billions, not thousands, of years old; Earth isn&#8217;t flat; Adam and Eve aren&#8217;t German; poetry isn&#8217;t science; and thinking is not a sin.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been reading my posts, you know why being a Christian doesn&#8217;t interfere with my interest in science.<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to skip the rest of this post. It&#8217;s mostly about reading the Bible, the universe, and getting a grip.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll be back next Friday,<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup> most likely talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Proxima_Centauri_b\">Proxima Centauri b<\/a>, a planet orbiting the next star over from ours: in Proxima&#8217;s habitable zone.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, maybe you&#8217;ve got something better to do: like sorting your socks, taking a walk, or watching grass grow. Or maybe looking at my &#8216;science posts&#8217; link list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/science-and-religion-posts\/\">Science and Religion Posts<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><a name=\"reading\"><\/a>Reading the Bible, Using Our Brains<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gutenberg_Bible\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/Gutenberg_Bible_Lenox_Copy_New_York_Public_Library_2009_Pic_01-detail329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>I take Sacred Scripture, the Bible, seriously. It&#8217;s a vital part of my faith. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a3.htm#101\">101<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a3.htm#133\">133<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>The Word of God wouldn&#8217;t do me much good sitting on a shelf, though, which is why reading the Bible, often, is so important. (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a3.htm#133\">133<\/a>)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them&#8230;.&#8221;<br \/>\n(&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html\">Dei Verbum<\/a>,&#8221; Pope Blessed Paul VI (November 18, 1965))<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The idea is that we learn what we need for our salvation: and &#8220;&#8230;learn the deepest meaning and the value of all creation, as well as its role in the harmonious praise of God&#8230;.&#8221; (&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html\">Lumen Gentium<\/a>,&#8221;<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup> Pope Blessed Paul VI; Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s2c1p5.htm#337\">337<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html\">)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We don&#8217;t read the Bible to learn how the universe works.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/#3\">3<\/a><\/sup> That we can work out on our own, using the brains God gave us: which is what we&#8217;re <strong>supposed<\/strong> to do. Use our brains, that is, and keep learning about this marvelous creation. (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c1.htm#35\">35<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a1.htm#50\">50<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c3a1.htm#159\">159<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a5.htm#2292\">2292<\/a>\u2013<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a5.htm#2296\">2296<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"waters\"><\/a>&#8220;Waters Above the Heavens&#8221;<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.webpages.uidaho.edu\/ngier\/gre13.htm\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/OTcosmos-329sepia.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>I could follow our Lord if I believed that we live on a flat plate with nothing between us and the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Biblical_cosmology#The_cosmic_ocean\">cosmic ocean<\/a> but a solid dome that holds the stars.<\/p>\n<p>But maintaining ignorance of what we&#8217;ve learned over the last two dozen or so centuries isn&#8217;t necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Imagery in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P6W.HTM#HIS.1SAM.2.8\">1 Samuel 2:8<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PJW.HTM#WISDB.PSA.148.4\">Psalms 148:4<\/a> is beautiful, poetic, and consistent with <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_cosmological_theories#Pre-1900\">Mesopotamian cosmology<\/a>. No surprises there, considering where the Hebrews lived.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve learned quite a bit about the universe since the days when <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Urukagina\">Urukagina<\/a> tried cleaning up the government in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lagash\">Lagash<\/a>. Then <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lugal-zage-si\">Lugal-zage-si<\/a> conquered Lagash, after which <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sargon_of_Akkad\">Sargon of Akkad<\/a> came along, and that&#8217;s another topic.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"ancient\"><\/a>Ancient Mountains, Grasshoppers, and Baron Kelvin<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov\/catalog\/PIA17569\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/PIA17569-GodThinksBig-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>We&#8217;ve known the universe was big and old for a long time:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PHW.HTM#$1I8\">3<\/a><\/sup> Terrible and awesome are you, stronger than the ancient mountains.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PHW.HTM#WISDB.PSA.76.5\">Psalms 76:5<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He sits enthroned above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; He stretches out the heavens like a veil, spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PON.HTM#PROPHB.ISA.40.22\">Isaiah 40:22<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_POY.HTM#$2A2\">3<\/a><\/sup> Raise your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; Though the heavens grow thin like smoke, the earth wears out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies, My salvation shall remain forever and my justice shall never be dismayed.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_POY.HTM#PROPHB.ISA.51.6\">Isaiah 51:6<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Ussher\">James Ussher<\/a> wrote &#8220;Annales veteris testamenti, a prima mundi origine deducti&#8221; around 1650: in which he pegged the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ussher_chronology\">day of creation<\/a> as near the autumnal equinox in the year 4004 BC.<\/p>\n<p>It was pretty good scholarship for its day, and some Christians still insist that Ussher must be right. I&#8217;m not one of them.<\/p>\n<p>If Christianity depended on a 17th-century British cleric being right, our faith would have started unraveling in 1778, when <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Georges-Louis_Leclerc#Publications\">Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon<\/a> published &#8220;Les \u00e9poques de la nature.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He had carefully measured how fast iron cools, extrapolated from that data, and found that Earth was about 75,000 years old. He was wrong by several powers of ten.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mantle_convection\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/600px-Oceanic_spreading-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin\">William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin<\/a>, using similar methods in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Age_of_the_Earth#Early_calculations\">1862<\/a>, calculated an age of Earth at somewhere between 20,000,000 and 400,000,000 years. That was pretty good work, considering that scientists didn&#8217;t know about heat from radioactive decay, and effects of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mantle_convection\">convection currents<\/a> in Earth&#8217;s mantle yet.<\/p>\n<p>So how come I don&#8217;t cry out &#8220;<strong>let the smiting begin?!<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Basically, it&#8217;s because I&#8217;m a Catholic: and understand my faith.<\/p>\n<p>I must believe that God created, and is creating, a good and ordered physical world: one that is changing, in a state of journeying toward an ultimate perfection. (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s2c1p4.htm#282\">282<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s2c1p4.htm#308\">308<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Studying of this astonishing creation honestly and methodically <b><i>cannot<\/i><\/b> interfere with faith, because &#8220;the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God.&#8221; (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c3a1.htm#159\">159<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Like I&#8217;ve said before, I figure part of my job is admiring God&#8217;s creation, not telling the Almighty how it should have been made. That, I think, is pretty much the opposite of humility. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/humility-isnt-being-delusional\/#science\">July 31, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"last\"><\/a>The Last Few Billion Years, Briefly<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cosmic_Calendar\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/Cosmic_Calendar-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Efbrazil, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(This universe, so far: 13,800,000,000 years mapped onto a 12-month calendar.)<\/p>\n<p>About <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Age_of_the_universe\">13,799,000,000<\/a> years back, give or take 21,000,000, this universe started so abruptly that Fred Hoyle called it a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_Bang#Etymology\">big bang<\/a>.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/#4\">4<\/a><\/sup> The cosmic fireball <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Recombination_%28cosmology%29#Primordial_light_barrier\">cooled down<\/a> and became transparent, some 380,000 years later.<\/p>\n<p>Massive stars formed, ran out of fuel, collapsed, and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stellar_evolution#Massive_stars\">exploded<\/a>; adding heavy elements to this galaxy&#8217;s interstellar mix.<\/p>\n<p>About <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Solar_System\">4,600,000,000<\/a> years ago a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Interstellar_cloud\">cloud<\/a> of the stuff got dense enough for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Molecular_cloud\">molecules<\/a> to form. Part of it collapsed into a dusty spinning disk with a bulge in the center \u2014 which became the star we call <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sun\">the Sun<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Earth\">Earth<\/a> took shape some <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Age_of_the_Earth\">4,540,000,000<\/a> years back, plus or minus 50,000,000. These numbers have changed, by the way, over the last few years: but only by a few fractions of a percent.<\/p>\n<p>Our home cooled down, oceans formed, and life began here. The oldest fossilized bacteria are about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Evolutionary_history_of_life#Earliest_evidence_for_life_on_Earth\">3,000,000,000<\/a> years old, and we&#8217;re still not sure exactly when the first microcritters began.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"fast\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ediacara_biota\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/201508ff\/20150806-800px-DickinsoniaCostata-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>Fast-forwarding over the next two and a half billion years, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dickinsonia\">Dickinsonia costata<\/a> flourished from 560,000,000 to 555,00,000 years ago. Scientists think it was an animal, a fungus \u2014 or something else, a member of an &#8220;extinct <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kingdom_%28biology%29\">kingdom<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Something dreadful happened about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event\">66,000,000<\/a> years back, one of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Major_ice_ages\">Earth&#8217;s glacial epochs<\/a> started some 63,000,000 years later, we appeared, and that brings me back to James Ussher, William Thomson, and Fred Hoyle.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"cosmic\"><\/a>Cosmic Scale and Wisdom<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:VST_image_of_the_Hercules_galaxy_cluster.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/VST_image_of_the_Hercules_galaxy_cluster-detail329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"ESO\/INAF-VST\/OmegaCAM, OmegaCen\/Astro-WISE\/Kapteyn Institute; via Wikimedia Commons; used w\/o permission.\" align=\"right\"><\/a>The scale of this universe doesn&#8217;t bother me. Even if it did, my preferences wouldn&#8217;t count for much. As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PIZ.HTM#WISDB.PSA.115.3\">Psalms 115:3<\/a> says, &#8220;&#8230;whatever God wills is done.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m quite confident that God isn&#8217;t overwhelmed by the size of this creation, and that&#8217;s yet another topic. Topics.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PLS.HTM#$1WI\">4<\/a><\/sup> Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PLS.HTM#WISDB.WISD.11.22\">Wisdom 11:22<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PLS.HTM#WISDB.WISD.11.25\">25<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Somewhat-related posts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/humility-isnt-being-delusional\/\">Humility isn\u2019t Being Delusional<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(July 31, 2016)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/humility-isnt-being-delusional\/#accepting\">Accepting Reality<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/humility-isnt-being-delusional\/#science\">Science and Humility<\/a><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/studying-thousands-of-new-worlds\/\">Studying Thousands of New Worlds<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(July 29, 2016)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/studying-thousands-of-new-worlds\/#joshua\">Joshua, Job, and Poetic Imagery<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/studying-thousands-of-new-worlds\/#informed\">Informed Faith<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/studying-thousands-of-new-worlds\/#not\">Not My Decision<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hubblesite.org\/newscenter\/archive\/releases\/2007\/04\/image\/a\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160321ff\/20150725-hs-2007-04-a-full_jpg-AsAGrain-658-long.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI\/AURA) &#8211; ESA\/Hubble Collaboration; used w\/o permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> I <strong>plan<\/strong> to get next Friday&#8217;s post ready by Friday. But like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PKI.HTM#WISDB.PRO.19.21\">Proverbs 19:21<\/a> says, &#8220;many are the plans in a man&#8217;s heart, but it is the decision of the LORD that endures.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The August 19 &#8216;Friday&#8217; post is a case in point:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/why-fridays-post-came-on-sunday\/\">Why Friday\u2019s Post Came on Sunday<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(August 21, 2016)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> Resources:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Catechism of the Catholic Church, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a3.htm#101\">101<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s1c2a3.htm#133\">133<\/a><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html\">Dei Verbum<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nPope Blessed Paul VI (November 18, 1965)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html\">Lumen Gentium<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nPope Blessed Paul VI (November 21, 1964)<\/li>\n<li>USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20151212ff-Documents\/viviano-senses-scripture.pdf\">The Senses of Scripture<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nby Pauline A. Viviano, PhD; National Bible Week (2015)<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/national-bible-week\/upload\/viviano-senses-scripture.pdf\">www.usccb.org\/bible\/national-bible-week\/upload\/viviano-senses-scripture.pdf<\/a> (February 19, 2016))<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/liturgy\/\">Liturgy: Questions about the Scriptures used during Mass<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Do we read from the Bible at Mass?<\/li>\n<li>What&#8217;s the difference between a Bible and a Lectionary?<\/li>\n<li>How can anyone own the copyright on the Bible? Isn&#8217;t it free to everyone?<\/li>\n<li>How is the Lectionary arranged?<\/li>\n<li>Is the New American Bible the only translation of Scriptures we can read from at Mass?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/201130716ff-Documents\/UnderstandingTheBible-sheet.pdf\">Understanding the Bible<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nMary Elizabeth Sperry<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From From &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/understanding-the-bible\/\">usccb.org\/bible\/understanding-the-bible<\/a> (March 20, 2014 ))<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"3\"><\/a>3<\/sup> Background:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;<strong>Know what the Bible is \u2013 and what it isn&#8217;t.<\/strong> The Bible is the story of God&#8217;s relationship with the people he has called to himself. It is not intended to be read as history text, a science book, or a political manifesto. In the Bible, God teaches us the truths that we need for the sake of our salvation&#8230;.&#8221;<br \/>\n(&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/201130716ff-Documents\/UnderstandingTheBible-sheet.pdf\">Understanding the Bible<\/a>,&#8221; Mary Elizabeth Sperry, USCCB)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That&#8217;s from &#8220;10 points for fruitful Scripture reading:&#8221;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Bible reading is for Catholics<\/li>\n<li>Prayer is the beginning and the end<\/li>\n<li>Get the whole story!<\/li>\n<li>The Bible isn&#8217;t a book. It&#8217;s a library<\/li>\n<li>Know what the Bible is \u2013 and what it isn&#8217;t<\/li>\n<li>The sum is greater than the parts<\/li>\n<li>The Old relates to the New<\/li>\n<li>You do not read alone<\/li>\n<li>What is God saying to me?<\/li>\n<li>Reading isn&#8217;t enough<br \/>\n(From &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/understanding-the-bible\/\">Understanding the Bible<\/a>,&#8221; Mary Elizabeth Sperry, USCCB)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><sup><a name=\"4\"><\/a>4<\/sup> That was 1949, after astronomers had noticed that galaxies were running away from us, but before <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cosmic_Background_Explorer\">COBE<\/a> data backed up the Big Bang model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think the universe is billions, not thousands, of years old; Earth isn&#8217;t flat; Adam and Eve aren&#8217;t German; poetry isn&#8217;t science; and thinking is not a sin. If you&#8217;ve been reading my posts, you know why being a Christian &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[60,59,7,27,161,22,180],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-catholic","tag-bible","tag-cosmology","tag-getting-a-grip","tag-history","tag-salvation","tag-science","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-3M","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7927,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/7927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}