Copernicus #1 (His History)

The speaker discusses the importance of returning to the law of God as a national commitment, rather than relying on political pluralism. They believe this is necessary to combat the economic reset led by Klaus Schwab. They criticize Christian nationalism for contradicting the Mosaic Covenant and challenge the authority of Stephen Wolff's political theory. The speaker then delves into the historical background of Western civilization, mentioning Alfred the Great, the Battle of Hastings, the Papal Revolution, and the Protestant Reformation. They highlight Copernicus' heliocentric theory and how it challenged the prevailing belief that Earth was the center of the universe. The speaker also mentions Galileo and the resistance Copernicus faced from both the Catholic Church and Protestant leaders. They touch on the scientific revolution and the role of figures like Francis Bacon and Descartes. Finally, they emphasize the significance of Copernicus' contribution in recovering the heliocentri Welcome, everybody, to GreatBibleReset.com, where our theme is the vital necessity of a personal and national return to the law of God, not for personal salvation, but as a national commitment to God's perfect law of liberty as the foundation of our criminal justice system. Now, this is not going to be easy, because it means a forsaking of our commitment to the religion of political pluralism and the God of we the people, as mentioned in the preamble of the United States Constitution. But it must be done. It is our only hope for deliverance from the tyranny of Klaus Schwab and the great economic reset. Christian nationalism, such as expounded by a recent book by Canon Press, is a direct contradiction to the Mosaic Covenant, because it says plainly in the introduction that the political theology of the Bible must be based on the political theory of the author Stephen Wolff, from his understanding of natural principles or natural law. This is a direct assault on the authority of the word of God, and it must be challenged and repudiated. By way of review, I would remind you of the pivotal role of the years 1066 and 1075 in the history of the West. Prior to that time, things were moving in a positive direction, with the restitutionary legal system of Alfred the Great and his immediate heirs, which was replaced by a Norman retributory legal system in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This was a tragedy for Western civilization, because with the Papal Revolution of 1075 and the years following, church and state were split apart, and a state began its long decline into a godless secular legal system that plagues us to this very day. The church likewise replaced the law of God with the newly recovered Roman Justinian code, as interpreted by the newly recovered Aristotelian system of logical analysis in the newly invented universities. About 500 years down the historical turnpike, we have the Protestant Reformation, launched by Martin Luther in 1517, and a corresponding launch of the scientific revolution by Nicholas Copernicus, who lived from 1473 to 1543, which bracketed Luther almost exactly. We'll explore that correspondence in more detail tomorrow, but for now, let's just focus on the historical background surrounding the life of Copernicus. Well, Copernicus is the father of modern astronomy because of his theory that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa. His work is perhaps more amazing because it came before the invention of the telescope. Before Copernicus, earth and man were at the center of the solar system and of God's attention. After him, man is just a tiny cog in a cosmic machine. God also is superfluous in a mechanistic universe. Somehow the Protestant Reformers were unable to interpret the emerging scientific perspective in light of the Bible. Copernicus was a Polish doctor and astronomer. His heliocentric theory of planetary motion on the revolutions of the celestial bodies appeared in 1543. Finally, he said, we should place the sun himself at the center of the universe. All this is suggested by the systematic procession of events and the harmony of the whole universe if only we face the facts as they say with both eyes open. Rome and Reformers alike denounced Copernicus. They insisted his theory opposed the Bible. Our eyes bear witness declaring his theory that the earth revolves around the sun opposed to scripture. Galileo took up Copernicus' cause about a century later. He was dragged before the Inquisition in 1633. He was forced to recant under threat of torture. But as he left the court, he was heard to mutter, and yet it does move. He too died apostate and in disgrace. Before Copernicus, science, or at least astronomy, was governed by the Greek Ptolemy. Modern scientists fixated on abstractions, time, space, motion. Modern scientists took these things for granted. Newton, for instance, could not define gravity when asked. He simply, quote, simply rediscovered or discovered laws describing its effects. Plus, quote, the Aristotelian theory of nature was teleological evidence of design and organic rather than mathematical and mechanistic or mechanically determined. Laws of change were sought in the qualities rather than in the quantities of body, according to Gordon Clark, the philosophy of science and belief in God. Yet it was Aquinas' recovery of Aristotle's inductive approach that led us to, ultimately, to the modern scientific method. In the past, science was based on watching random events. The new focus on particulars led to a planned experimental design. A century after Copernicus, Francis Bacon pioneered the inductive scientific method. Descartes worked on the deductive side with his discourse on method in 1637. Both pointed to Newton near the end of the scientific revolution, or near the climax of the scientific revolution in 1687. Inductive method begins with a study of events and leads to conclusions. The inductive method starts with a conclusion applied to a single case. Newton is mechanistic because he portrays the universe as a great machine. Once put in motion, it was governed by set laws. Copernicus was hesitant to publish his discovery for fear of the Catholic Inquisition, but the Protestants also rejected Copernicus. Copernicus hesitated to publish his discovery for fear of recriminations from the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the Inquisition. He feared in particular the Inquisition, which had been organized to root out heresy. The Inquisition was notorious for employing torture to secure confessions of error from its victims. Evidence that his concerns were justified was seen in the fact that his disciple Galileo was indicted by the Inquisition less than a century later, in 1633. He was forced to recant under threat of torture, but as he left the tribunal, was said to have muttered under his breath, and yet it does move. Protestant leaders also resisted Copernicus on what they felt to be biblical grounds. For example, Luther wrote, quote, People give ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show that the earth revolves. This fool wishes to reverse the entire scheme of astrology, but sacred scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, not the earth, end of quote. Calvin joined in with an appeal to Psalm 93.1. The world also established that it cannot be moved, and issued this challenge, quote, Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit, end of quote. This appears to be tied to the flat earth idea, whose adherents argue that objects on a flat surface, such as a vast expanse of water, are visible at great distance, which should be hundreds of feet below the line of sight due to curvature. Prior to Copernicus, the Ptolemaic view of the universe had a profound effect on man's view of themselves and of God. In spite of the vastness of the heavens, the Bible presents the earth as a divine stage on which the human drama unfolds. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, and the stars, which thou hast ordained, wondered David, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visitest him? The Ptolemaic view of the universe served to reinforce the biblical idea that the earth is the center of God's attention. In Ptolemy's geocentric model, the earth is stationary, with the sun, the moon, and all the stars revolving around the fixed earth. Thus, the earth and its human inhabitants are spatially oriented at the center of the universe. The Bible's anthropomorphic language, which describes the heavens from man's point of view, also reinforces the idea. Copernicus was not the first to propose that the earth was in motion, and not, therefore, the stationary center of the universe. Well, if not, what then was the significance of Copernicus? Well, actually, both Plato and Aristarchus had contemplated and wrote of a heliocentric universe. However, the calculations of Ptolemy were so impressive to Greek and Roman astronomers that his theory carried the day. This in spite of the fact that some latter-day scientists have presented evidence that his observations were erroneous and perhaps even fraudulent. Ironically, Copernicus was aware of his Greek forerunners and actually gave them credit in the earliest editions of On the Revolutions. These credits were inexplicably dropped in later editions, which left the impression that Copernicus was the first to conceive of the theory. But be that as it may, the heliocentric theory had lain forgotten for a millennium and a half, and Copernicus' pivotal role in recovering it cannot be dismissed. Well, thank you for being here today, joining me today. You can learn more about this in Keys to the Classics, A History of Decline and Fall of Western Civilization at greatbiblereset.com, where 15% of our book purchases, of your book purchases, fund scholarships for low-income students and families, and also the 60-day longevity store at boomers-alive.com. So tomorrow we'll be analyzing Copernicus' teaching in more detail in light of the Bible.