When skies darken, focus on the light

I am somewhat taken aback by the intense interest in the total solar eclipse occurring on April 8. It’s hard to believe this cosmic event of a large shadow (understatement) cast by our moon passing between the sun and us is affecting the lodging and restaurant industry and the Department of Transportation. Can you believe it? Although I thought that I was coining the term “eclipsomania,” wouldn’t you know I’m not the first? I also discovered other terms include “shadow chasers” and “umbraphiles.” The solar eclipses have elicited all sorts of legends and fears in the past, as you can imagine. I can remember seeing young children being afraid of their own shadow the first time they noticed it, so you can imagine what the moon’s shadow did to people who didn’t understand it.

Predicting the timing and path of a total solar eclipse is very complicated and has been the object of study by many physicists, mathematicians and astronomers past and present. One of the current books is entitled “Predicting the Eclipse: A Multimillennium Tale of Computation” by Stephan Wolfram. While you’re at it, check out the discovery of a 2,000–year-old device called the Antikythera Mechanism that may have been an ancient Greek “computer” that apparently was able to track the cosmos.

The reason that I chose to write this letter (only the second letter to the editor of my life — the first being in the Iowa State Daily in the late 1960s) is that it grieves my heart to see all of the mania regarding this interesting cosmic event involving a little speck of a planet and its moon by so many people who have no interest in the Creator Who set the entire universe into motion. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork,” says Psalms 19:1. The viewing of this solar eclipse will last a matter of minutes and will probably not have a great influence on the rest of your life. However, the result of how you view the Creator will last an eternity. See Romans 1:18-24. I am totally in awe of a Creator Who spoke into existence an entire universe from the smallest atoms with their atomic particles all behaving in a very predicable manner to the vastness of the cosmos with all the distant galaxies doing the same. If you can attribute all that to a series of random events you have more “faith” than I do. Instead of being intrigued by artificial intelligence (AI), we should be in awe over Divine Intelligence (DI). He also wrote an “owner’s manual” — it’s called the Bible. It’s worth checking out.

I can’t help thinking that for all we know it could be overcast on April 8. You’ll still experience the darkness, but it won’t be quite as impressive. Don’t let the darkness of this world hide the glorious gift of eternal life through believing the message of salvation in Jesus Christ.

KENNETH L. UBBEN, M.D

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