Jesus - Le Petit Prince

The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince), published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of French writer, poet and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It has been translated into more than 190 languages and has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books ever. (Wikipedia)

The discovery of the immense dimensions of cosmos has totally shattered the older world view in which humanity is in the center of the universe.

Bible was written by people living in geocentric reality in which Sun and Moon circulate the center of everything, the (flat) Earth.

Bible is a very human centered collection of ancient Near Eastern and Roman period books. In it the fate of universe is intimately tied to the God and Man relationship. Christ, Greek for Messiah, is the King of the Kings who is going to judge at the end of world mankind, the nations, every individual, about what he or she has done in this life.

Modern science has shown us a different world, one in which not only humans but also our planet and solar system are just a little spot of dust in an enormous universe.

Our planet Earth in a photo taken near Saturn

Space theology must deal with the crushing news that first came from Mr Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953) patiently staring and photographing those "nebular clouds" using the 2.5 meter Hooker and other telescopes at Mount Wilson Observatory:  Those dusty spots turned out to be galaxies like our owb Milky Way and red shift if their light proves that these immense islands of stars are flying with increasing spead away from their point of origin.  

Jesus - Le Petit Prince
The discovery of the immense dimensios of world not only makes Earth a little rock in one spiral hand of one of billions of galaxies. For the dimensions of space science is showing also affects our intellectual thinking and our faith in the Son of God.

To our surprise we find out that our Lord is actually the ruler of a rather insignificant rocky planet that can hardly be seen from planet Saturn. 

Theologically this brings us to the Athanasian creed (Quicumque vult).  This follows the brilliant thinker, Saint Augustine, who was so fascinated with the concept of Holy Trinity. Unfortunately, Athanasian creed has a sentence that really flattens the mystery of Trinity and the creed even threatens those who do not accept the mighty play of words it contains about the One God:

And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.  

He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.

With such human additions to the holy Bible our Lord Jesus Christ Himself cannot be saved. For according to the Gosple of John 14:28 He has said:

Father is greater than me
Jesus

Modern astronomy gives majestic commentary from the Nature to the word of our Lord - Father is indead greater than the Son of Man.


What does this mean to us as?

Not much.

Bible is safe - it was written long before Copernicus and Brahe and Hubble it does break free from a tight geocentric world and talks about God who is immense beyond our imagination and capability of understanding.

Christ is still King of the Kings of the entiry humanity living on this planet and elsewhere. He is the Saviour who is going to judge humanity and do whatever else His Father wants in this petite domain given to Him.

People go on with their daily lives without being too much affected by the vastness of the universe described by modern astronomy and cosmology. Even those who know  ... what does it matter, really?

For until we break the Speed of Light limit even our fastest messages to outer space take millions of years to reach anyone out there capable of understanding it and their response will take as much. SMS message to Andromeda and response will take 5 million years - about us much as human race has existed on this planet after separating from chimpanzees.

So, practically Earth is still the center of the universe as we humans know it.

This really is a small world, after all.

His Majesty!
"For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him."  (Colossans 1:16)

Not that petit, after al!.


UPDATE See also the 2012 July post on Saint Patrick and Cosmic Christ

Quicumque vult

The home planet of Son of God and all humanity

as seen in a photograph taken from a satellite orbiting Saturn

Quicumque vult - Athanasian Creed - is not from the highly respected Athanasius but may have come from the same milieu, namely the area of Lérins in southern Gaul and dates to the sixth century. Its theological content relies largely on the work on Holy Trinity by Augustine (415).

There is something repulsive in the threatening spirit of this Creed which is accepted by western churches and also by my own Evangelical-Lutheran church of Finland.

One reason to this feeling is the inclusion of anathemas.

But I am personally even more bothered by the "flattening"of Holy Trinity against the words of Jesus Himself as given in the Gospel of John.

This issue has wider implications in the modern world in which we are aware of the immense objects and distances in space.

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And the Catholic Faith is this:

That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence.

For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited.

The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal.

As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite.

So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty.

And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty.

So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten.

The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten.

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another.

But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.

So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.

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Section of Athanasian Creed

In these sacred words there is much important and essential about the Holy Trinity. But the flattening of the Holy Trinity lies here

"none is greater, or less than another"

However, in John 14:28 it is written

ἡκούσατε ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὑπάγω καὶ ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. εἰ ἡγαπᾶτέ με, ἐχάρητε ἄν ὅτι εἶπον, πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μου μείζων μού ἐστι·

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

KJV

...

When we look at the Cosmos, Universe, and the size and location of our beloved planet Tellus.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Savior of humanity, the human race that Father has created in this planetary system circulating our middle sized star we call Sun. In the Orion wing of this galaxy we call the Milky way.

As Jesus, the son of Mary, says "Father is bigger than me"

For us Christians, our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Man, is certainly big enough!

...

so what to do

certainly no need to change the wording of Quicumque vult

just to note that it goes against divine revelation in its attempt to explain the Trinity.