Posted by
Dr. Ransom on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:16:40 PM
The skies had a revered and integral aspect of early life on earth. Before electronic travel facilitated motion of the stationary man, mankind has been a physical traveler. Not to be confused with the transient nomad, these leagues of traveling men have been seekers of knowledge. Their goal has been to identify the areas of the world long left shaded by under-exploitation. And while their gazes were eventually turned up out of this sphere, the skies have been an aid and a boundary for explorers. Until that boundary was broken by man’s voluntary expulsion into the atmosphere, Space was the heavens.
The relationship of science and religion has been one in which both sides seem to contradict the other, but in reality both crumble without the other. Thus the forces which pull these two apart cannot surmount the links between them. “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” (Einstein, 1941) And so when early thinkers sought to understand areas beyond the earth the consensus led to the appellation heavens. Now man tries diligently to separate their secular understanding from a dogmatic cant. Today we have no more heavens, only space or further, outer space.
This change implies modifications to two central ideas. First, a celestial body that once was capable of creating vast worlds has been emptied out to become the black abyss. With the term heaven one can propose the logics behind a God and a creation to explain life without question or complication. Thus, space leaves open any possibility of origin in that there is a clean slate presented. In the same regards, the ends of the earth are also predetermined by the name given to the skies. If one looks into the heavens, then there are many more worlds, surely a place is also prepared after this earth life is done. If one looks into the space, then this is a finite place. Lives are finite. Lives are confined. This is life. It ends here.
Second, the realms beyond reach can now be pioneered. The heavens, like most religious terminologies has an edict declaring an impassible boundary. While there were some who tried to speculate on the composition of extraterrestrial spheres, many saw it as hearsay and taboo. Though space is endless and empty, it is negotiable to our voyages. The idea that man can now leave this world is commonplace and uninspiring. In summation, the heavens are not revered but space is accessible.