Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Due to his faith in God Kepler reasoned that the sun represents God the Father, the stars represent Jesus, and the universe the Holy Spirit. Kepler is often quoted as saying:
I was merely thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in regard to the book of nature, it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God.
He believed that the world of nature, the world of man, and the world of God were all designed by God to fit together perfectly. He knew he was studying God’s handiwork as he furthered his studies in science. Because an intelligent Creator designed the universe, it should function logically. It was this belief that led him to his discoveries.
He knew that God had given the sun, moon, stars and planets as natural clocks and calendars because Genesis 1:14 says, “. . . let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” His reasoning led him to understand how to predict when a full moon would appear, when the sun would rise and set, and when an eclipse would darken the sun.
Due to religious persecution, Kepler left Germany and moved to Prague where he became the assistant to Tycho Brahe, a great astronomer. He was given the job of determining the orbit of Mars. He persevered for six years seeking a solution to this problem. Eventually, he decided to think outside of the box, going against the thinking of his contemporaries and hypothesized that Mars’ orbit just might be that of an ellipse rather than a circle traveling around the sun. These discoveries became known as Kepler’s 3 laws of planetary motion–the foundation of astronomy today. His first law states that the planets follow an elliptical orbit around the sun.
Because of his faith in God and God’s Word, he was able to solve the question of planetary motion. This question had eluded scientists for centuries. His simple logical pattern for planetary motion reflected God’s wisdom. In Kepler’s words,
We see how God, like a human architect, approached the founding of the world according to order and rule and measured everything in such a manner.
His book, “The New Astronomy”, ends with heartfelt praise for God:
Thus God himself was too kind to remain idle, and began to play the game of signatures, signing his likeness into the world.
Kepler considered his many studies as just another way of looking into God’s magnificent creation. This is borne out by looking at any of his studies and finding them rich with praises to God.