Why did god make so many stars?

Are you even reading what I write?

So are you saying that you accept the big bang theory, and that the stars/planets were created by the underlying physics, rather than by god?

You do know that even the Catholic Church, that famously hip, modern, pro-science organisation, has been happily on board with the Big Bang theory since 1951?

Indeed it is the preferred theory among Christians as it leaves ample room for a creator god, unlike static or oscillating universe theories.

So are you saying that you accept the big bang theory, and that the stars/planets were created by the underlying physics, rather than by god?

You are largely importing an American debate where the religious orthodoxy evolved from Puritanism, which like ISIS was all about the literal truth of scripture. No Christian in the Old World believes, or has ever believed, that the world was literally created in seven days in 4000 BC.

I don't believe that at all, I am certain that there are christians throughout Europe, Asia and Africa who literally do believe that the world was created in seven days, in 4,000BC. We know that at least one christian believed that, and the probability is that many attempted to work this out in various ways:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_creation

However, this is absolutely beside the point - I'm not interested in what any religion says about the date of creation, what I'm interested in is what they say about the number of stars and galaxies there are. I'm particularly interested, given "igotyourback's" intervention, whether any religions support the notion that there may be life on other planets, and how that concept is manifested in that religion's core texts.

So are you saying that you accept the big bang theory, and that the stars/planets were created by the underlying physics, rather than by god?

No, there aren't really any. Maybe Africa, they do seem to be a bit more fundie. Sure some priests tried tracking back the dates and working it out but that's just Bible study as much as anything.

Christianity doesn't as far as I know make any assertions ruling out, postulating or asserting the existence of life on other planets. Heliocentrism was around in Ancient Greece but nobody had really thought yet that stars might be other suns, so I don't see how they could have tackled the question of life on other planets in the Bible.

I don't see why you are saying things like…

because that's not a radical or contradictory position in Christianity at all. Unlike Islam, where there is a strong current of thought that says the word of God is the literal unalterable truth, there is a slightly more subtle analysis allowed for with the Bible where things like metaphor, myth etc are recognised and read as such.

I don't get it. You say christians have never believed this, but then you give examples of christians who obviously did believe it.

Weren't Copernicus and Gallileo considered heretics by at least some christians?

I think that there are plenty of christians who believe that their religious texts do comment on things that were unknown to science at the time they were written, or are yet to come. I've had JWs tell me that the bible says that the earth is a sphere, for example (couldn't tell me where though), or that the bible foretells the "end times".

So, in your christian interpretation, god did not create the galaxies and stars (and thus did not create the earth either)? These are just stories told in the past by people who could not explain things in a scientific/rational way?

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years [...]"

I guess this suggests to us that our universe has been here for a very very long time

No, I said there weren't any Christians in Europe who believe it now. Of course there are some I guess, but none that are worth worrying about.

No Christian in the Old World believes, or has ever believed, that the world was literally created in seven days in 4000 BC.

Literalism has gone back and forth throughout the centuries, but even then just because some archbishop traces back the events in the Bible and creates a timeline doesn't mean he actually believes in a young Earth necessarily.

Of course, but that was at least 1500 years after heliocentrism was postulated in Ancient Greece. Early Christians may well have been heliocentrists or may not have been, depending on how durable those Greek ideas had been. Either way, the Bible doesn't say one way or the other. The earth is privileged in the narrative, but it's not really surprising when the thing was written by ancient peoples who lived on the earth.

Trying to claim the Bible is revelatory of scientific discoveries is not really something I associate with Christianity at all, that's more Islam where as I say the literalism thing is a much bigger deal.

Pretty much the second bit yeah. I'm not a Christian, but normal Christians and even the Catholic Church clearly believe it basically happened according to the Big Bang and Gen 1 is just a nice story. Which makes sense because the creation story is clearly a myth, as opposed to other books which common sense leads one to read variously as law codes, histories, prophecies, accounts, revelations etc.

God did create the stars for what it's worth: Genesis 1:14 refers to God putting the stars in heaven: which seeing as the light, the day and night had already been accounted for sounds like stars to me, I guess the moon too and any other celestial bodies.

This comes after such things as heaven, the land and sea, and even animals.

To remind us how small and insignificant we are. And that's fine by me.

No, you wrote:



So, that is wrong, you now agree?

C'mon, that is nonsense - if someone didn't believe in the hypothesis why would they go through the process of trying to prove it? I can understand someone trying to disprove it, but it doesn't work the other way around.

But it was the church, in Europe, that called them heretics - why does it matter that the beliefs that stemmed from that were much older?

Well you are offering up the christian argument, I'm just trying to understand it. If someone wants to make some other argument then we can debate that too.

Ok, god didn't create the stars then?

I think I can cite Genesis, or Bon Scott, but I'm not putting either forward as explanations for the number of stars in the universe. Are you?

So, he peers into the future and realises that we are going to be able to develop the science that can start counting all those stars? And they are there just to remind us of our place on Earth?

Are there planets and other civilisations around these stars?

If he was peering into the future couldn't he tell that creating the devil was a bad idea? Or that Eve was going to be a naughty girl? Or even that he should have designed people so that they shouldn't create/follow other religions?

An ardent Harry Potter fan might comb through the book and construct a timeline of events. Doesn't mean they believe HP is real, they just like it and are interested.

If he was peering into the future couldn't he tell that creating the devil was a bad idea? Or that Eve was going to be a naughty girl? Or even that he should have designed people so that they shouldn't create/follow other religions?

because while he was busy not existing, he needed to create reasons why the bible was bull****, so he created loads of stars to imply that the earth's age *isn't* 6000 years old based on the lightyears between the stars and the earth. what a silly goose...also, he needed them to suggest that the writers of the bible didn't understand that "the stars" and "the sun" are essentially the same things, because the bible makes the distinction, like you'd expect any kind of lame-ass mortal to do

Ok, now I'm with you, equating the books of Harry Potter with the books of the bible. Got it.

So, he peers into the future and realises that we are going to be able to develop the science that can start counting all those stars?

And they are there just to remind us of our place on Earth?

Are there planets and other civilisations around these stars?

If he was peering into the future couldn't he tell that creating the devil was a bad idea? Or that Eve was going to be a naughty girl? Or even that he should have designed people so that they shouldn't create/follow other religions?