A total eclipse of the sun is one of the most remarkable
phenomena in nature. I remember being in the path of a total eclipse once, in
South India. I was disappointed in that it didn’t get completely dark, but it
did become like dusk in mid-day.
You have to be in the right place at the right time in order
to see a total eclipse. The Gospel writer Luke states “darkness came over the whole land…” in the middle of the day when Christ was crucified. It is known that an eclipse occurred, very close to
Jerusalem, on the 24th of November in 29 a.d.[1] Was it a total eclipse that darkened the "whole land" at Jesus' crucifixion?
An eclipse is a remarkable thing. The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon and the Moon is 400
times closer to the Earth. The result is that the Sun and Moon appear nearly
the same size. There is no other planetary moon in our solar system where such
a condition would exist.
When an eclipse occurs it offers the only chance to study
the Sun’s chromosphere and the Solar corona. These outer regions of the sun are
usually overpowered by the brilliant photosphere and cannot be seen.
When a total eclipse occurs these layers become visible and can be studied.
Interesting, isn’t it?
Apologist Ron Mayers sees it this way. “Due to the regular and non-arbitrary relationship of God and created
nature, nature can be studied, understood, and even greatly controlled and
enhanced by man. Chemistry and biology, physics and physiology, along with
innumerable other disciplines that are concerned with nature can be
investigated by the scientist because there is this inherent regularity.”[2]
There is an “inherent regularity” around us. We’re able to
study the sun and moon during a total eclipse. Data can be obtained concerning
the size of the sun. Is it getting smaller? “One of the first confirmations of general
relativity [Einstein’s Theory] was the bending of star light by the sun's mass,
which could be observed only during a total solar eclipse when the images of
stars were visible near the sun's edge.”[3]
“The day is thine, the night
also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.”[4]
[1] “Eclipses
in History,” http://asaaf.fis.ucm.es/eclipseanular/historia-in.htm
[2] Ronald
B. Mayers, “Balanced Apologetics,” (Secunderabad, India: OM Books, 2000) 26
[3] Danny
R. Faulkner, http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/35/astrodesign.html
[4]
Psalm 74:16 (American Standard Version)
Interesting stuff. I have heard that measurements over the past 300 years actually show that the sun is shrinking.
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