This week, I have been reading Cosmic Queries by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I really find his mind fascinating; he helps me grow my faith as I think with him about the Universe. I know we have some different beliefs about religion, but I think we would become friends if we could spend some time together. In chapter 4 he and his team discuss the age of the universe. The number we have all been taught to memorize is 13.8 billion years. But his team points out that there is another prominent theory placing the date at approximately 11 billion years. I found this chapter fascinating especially due to the announcement on July 14, 2023, that it may be twice as old as everyone is thinking.
There was a recent paper by Rajendra Gupta of the University of Ottawa in which he argued that observations of distant galaxies with the JWST, the existence of some stars apparently older than 13.8 billion years, and a phenomenon called 'tired light', mean the universe is actually 26.7 billion years old. While this theory was not mentioned in his book the conclusion is that the size of the universe also may not be able to be measured accurately at this time.
This quandary is one of the things about science. There are some things we know. There are some things that we have differing theories of knowing. And then there are inevitably some things that we don’t know yet. But all those things may change as we grow as a collective world.
If this blog is boring to you, maybe think on this: In following Jesus, we are growing as we understand things better. It’s an exciting discussion but we’re all going to change as we move into the future. With that in mind, please come to Washington Cathedral this Sunday at 10:30 am as we study the Ten Commandments together. We all might learn something that we have never even considered. I would not be surprised if some of us changed our lives by looking at the Ten Commandments with fresh eyes.
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White