My Christian deconstruction and reconstruction started with a long look at the heavens.
I’ve loved astronomy since I was a teenager but being a city boy, I didn’t get many opportunities to enjoy the stars. When we moved out to the country and away from city lights back in 1994, I was amazed at how many stars I could see on a clear night. When I started using binoculars to look at the sky, I was blown away. I’d never seen star clusters before, yet my little dinky binoculars gave me a view of the heavens that left me breathless.
The first time I spotted the Andromeda galaxy was life changing.
Andromeda is over two million light years away. I’d read about it, but this was the first time I’d seen it. The light from that galaxy took over two million years to reach my eyes. That both amazed me and caused some cognitive dissonance.
You see, for years as a pastor I’d taught young-earth creationism. And although I harbored doubts about a young earth, for the most part I’d suppressed them. I believed and taught that the Bible presented creation as having taken place over a period of six, twenty-four-hour days.
Now, as I looked at Andromeda through my binoculars my worldview took a hit. How was it possible for the universe to be 6,000 years old yet this galaxy was so distant?
Over the years, I’d read various explanations for the discrepancy but they now rang hollow, especially the ones that said God somehow created the light in transit or otherwise gave the universe the appearance of age.
I’d taught the appearance of age explanation myself. The explanation goes: Just as Jesus turned water to wine that had the appearance of having fermented over time, so God created his entire universe. It looked ancient, but really wasn’t.
I couldn’t believe that any longer.
Why?
Because it made God a liar.
Why would God create his universe to look old when it’s not? Why would he give it an “apparent” history?
I’d taught it. I’d believed it. But as I looked at that fuzzy blob through my binoculars, I knew I couldn’t believe it any more.
You see, the Bible also teaches that God does not—indeed, cannot—lie.
So which was it?
The more I learned about astronomy, the more I became convinced that an ancient universe was the only reasonable explanation for the evidence.
And that’s when everything began to change.
You can find links to all the posts in this series here: A Deconstruction Observed