Why this matters and what it means for faith

As every schoolchild knows, there are eight planets in our solar system. (I was taught that Pluto was the ninth planet, but alas, it was reclassified as a “dwarf planet” in 2006 because it shares its orbital space with other large objects in its vicinity.)

Later this month, those of us on the third planet from the Sun can see the other seven in the night sky. Known as a “planetary alignment,” this is what happens when the planets align on the same side of the Sun. You can click here for a guide to seeing them; Uranus and Neptune will require a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

This planetary alignment makes no practical difference to us since there is no significant gravitational force between the planets. Some hypothesize that planetary alignments might impact solar activity, but much more research is needed.

However, such alignments can be very practical for interplanetary spacecraft, which use the specific positioning of planets to perform gravity assists that slingshot them with a speed boost toward their final destination. Voyagers 1 and 2 took advantage of an alignment of the large planets, for example, with Voyager 2 getting boosts from Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Here’s the part of the story that interests me: while planetary alignments have no practical impact on our physical planet, they were highly significant for ancient cultures that tried to use them to forecast the future. Here we see the difference between astronomy (the scientific study of celestial objects) and astrology (a non-scientific belief system that uses celestial bodies to predict future events or personality traits).

People who read their horoscopes practice astrology. People who study the stars and planets using the scientific method practicice astronomy.

The chasm between the two suggests significant principles for faith in our post-Christian culture.

Walking the altar-lined streets of Ephesus

When Paul made his way to Athens as part of his second missionary journey, he had a right to expect highly reasoned conversations with some of the intellectual elites of his day. And in fact he encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers and “conversed” with them (Acts 17:18)—the Greek word means to dialogue, debate, ponder together.

But he also discovered that “the city was full of idols” (v. 16). In fact, he used their altar to “the unknown god” as a springboard to preach the gospel: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (v. 23).

Why would such brilliant people be so susceptible to the mythologies and traditions of their polytheistic religion?

From Cain to today, humans have sought to use religion to leverage the blessing of God or the gods (cf. Genesis 4:4–7). This is an expression of our “will to power” that seeks to be our own god (Genesis 3:5). Paradoxically, we use God to replace him as god, engaging in transactional religious practices by which we do what he wants so he will do what we want.

We see this across the ancient Roman Empire. I have walked the streets of Ephesus lined with altars to the various gods of their day, witnessed vast temples in Corinth and Rome dedicated to the same purpose, and visited what we would call “pagan” temples across modern-day Turkey that were similarly transactional in nature.

Christians are by no means immune. When we begin the day with Bible study and prayer in the hope that God will then bless our day, when we pray to get what we want from the Lord, and when we serve him and donate to his causes so he will serve us, we are engaging in transactional religion.

Like astrologers of old and today, we are seeking power over our surroundings and our future. To predict the future through a horoscope is to gain a measure of control over it. To sacrifice to a God, known or unknown, as a means to our ends is to do the same.

“The greatest day that a Christian can ever experience”

The paradox is that the God who created the planets of our solar system and the rest of our vast universe is much more of a blessing to us in a transformational relationship than in a transactional religion. The best gift he can give us is the privilege of being a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) who manifests the character of Jesus (Romans 8:29) by demonstrating the “fruit” of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

When we worship God because he loves us rather than so he will, we experience him in intimate ways that draw us closer to the people we are created to be. When we serve him because he has served us rather than so he will, we offer gratitude for grace that transforms us and those we influence.

The Creator who measures the entire universe with the palm of his hand (Isaiah 40:12) now holds his children in that same hand (John 10:29). The gift of all gifts is that he wants a personal relationship with us. Not because we deserve such mercy, but because he “is” love (1 John 4:8).

Then, one day, we will step from this fallen world filled with transactional religion and works-driven righteousness into a perfect world filled with transformational relationship and worship-driven joy. RC Sproul noted:

The day of one’s birth is a good day for the believer, but the day of death is the greatest day that a Christian can ever experience in this world, because that is the day he goes home, the day he walks across the threshold, the day he enters the Father’s house.

In the meantime, our calling is to embrace the grace of Christ and to share it with everyone we can. In Simply Good News: Why The Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good, the brilliant theologian NT Wright assures us:

Many people today assume that Christianity is one or more of these things—a religion, a moral system, a philosophy. In other words, they assume that Christianity is about advice. But it wasn’t and isn’t. Christianity is, simply, good news. It is the news that something has happened as a result of which the world is a different place.

How will this news make your “world” a “different place” today?

Denison Forum