Meteors and the Apostle Paul's Conversion

Science and the Bible have seemed to be battling each other since the days of Darwin and molecules to man evolution.  I have met many that aren't too concerned about whether the Bible and science agree.  But the top story of NewScientist  this week might catch their attention in a new way.

"Falling meteor may have changed the course of Christianity."   What does this headline mean?  William Hartmann , co-founder of the Planetary Science Institute,  suggests that the bright light from heaven that the Apostle Paul witnessed at his conversion could be similar to the  fireball meteor that was seen in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013.  

Check out the video below.   Watch up until 1:20 and then jump to 6:10-7:24. 

    

Hartmann believes the voice Paul heard could have been the explosion, and the shock wave could have knocked them all to the ground.   

Before continuing, read the following accounts recorded in the Bible.  Acts 9:1-19, 22:1-21, 26:1-22

One of my favorite books "Children of God" 

Just because the events may look similar on the outside, it does not mean that that is what happened.  First of all, a light from heaven does not need to be explained in a "natural" sense.  God is the light (John 8:12, 12:35, 1 Peter 2:9, Rev. 21:23).  

The presence of God has always been referred  to as or being accompanied by light.  At the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13) the disciples saw this on display.  Verse two describes,  "There he was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and his cloths became as white as the light". 

Paul makes it clear in His testimony that it was Jesus who was speaking to him.  It should come as no surprise that the resurrected and ascended Jesus  would choose to show Himself in light. 

Jesus also made it clear that not all who heard Him could understand what He was saying(Luke 8:10).  The message that Paul received that day was not one for all to understand.  God has the capability of opening the ears of some and not others.

 Lastly, shock waves do not need to be present for people to fall to the ground.  Just the light  itself would be enough to make me fall to the ground in fear and wonder. 

As Christians we need to be on guard when others try to explain away the miraculous acts of God, in human terms.  Speculation is not truth.   

If Christians doubt the miraculous of God in calling Paul to the mission of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, what else could they doubt?  Believing Hartmann's "scientific" view could encourage people to doubt the miraculous of Christ's work or even the resurrection. 

 Science always  points towards the beauty and power of God, it never takes away from it.

Resources:  NewScientist, Daily Mail