To my new West Coast friend, Mike Nunn, who urged us all in a letter not long ago to turn on the resurrected old TV series, "Cosmos," with scientist Carl Sagan, I admit to also being fascinated years ago with this scientific presentation of the universe! As a Christian, I must find fault with Dr. Sagan's total view of the universe, because it was incomplete -- for he left the Creator out of the story of the Creation, unfortunately.
Dr. Sagan was truly a very distinguished and brilliant scientist, no doubt, but his great intelligence and knowledge amounted to practically nothing when compared to that of our infinite God! In the end, professor Sagan and other nonbelieving smart men unfortunately and tragically became highly educated fools according to what God tells us in the Bible, "Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead" (Romans 1:22).
By failing to factor God into their science, which requires scientific evidence about practically everything before they can believe it (somehow many of them seem to excuse evolution from that requirement), they miss the most important point of Creation. Creation points to the existence of God! And God states that the evidence is very adequate for believing in God. "Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made and have known of His existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day" (Romans 1:20).
Sadly, the late Carl Sagan discovered may scientific facts, but he never discovered the most important truth there is for a man -- how to obtain eternal life in heaven through faith in God's only Son, Jesus Christ, as his Savior. Carl Sagan never found God, but he certainly did think about Him sometimes. Listen to these quotes from one of his books, "The Demon Haunted World" (page 203):
"My parents died years ago. I was very close to them. I still miss them terribly. I know I always will. I long to believe that their essence, their personalities, what I loved so much about them, are really and truly in existence somewhere. I wouldn't ask very much, just five or ten minutes a year, say, to tell them about their grandchildren, to catch them up on the latest news, to remind them that I love them."
"There's a part of me -- no matter how childish it sounds -- that wonders how they are. 'Is everything all right?', I want to ask."
"Sometimes I dream that I'm talking to my parents ... When I wake up, I go through an abbreviated process of mourning all over again. Plainly, there's something within me that's ready to believe in life after death. And it's not the least bit interested in whether there's any sober evidence for it."
Besides all of the vast outward evidence of the Creation that God has made, we all also know (if we are honest), deep down inside, that God really does exist -- "For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts" (Romans 1:19, also Ecclesiastes 3:11).
In the love of God,
Lloyd Hoffman
Hot Springs
Editorial on 07/28/2014