Johannes Kepler
In the year 1577, a six-year-old boy in Germany stared into the sky at a comet, prominently visible in the night sky. This, along with a lunar eclipse three years later produced a deep love for astronomy in young Johannes Kepler.
Kepler was a sickly child, and unhappy. He nearly died from contracting smallpox at an early age. His father was a mercenary soldier and was away from home for most of his son’s early years. Eventually, Johannes was sent to live with his grandfather who was a godly man and a great influence on the boy. His grandfather noticed an academic ability in the boy and sent him to school, where he soon excelled academically.
Against his recently-returned father’s wishes, Johannes accepted a scholarship to a major university. His studies included Latin, Greek, the Bible, mathematics, and astronomy, where he studied the recent theory of a sun-centered solar system advocated for by Copernicus and became a fierce advocate. His intention was to study to become a minister, but when he was offered a position as a mathematics and astronomy teacher he realized it as God’s leading and accepted the position.
Kepler’s goal was to glorify God through his mathematical and astronomical studies. His scientific notes are riddled with prayers of praise to God. Kepler believed that the more the orderliness of God’s creation was studied by Christians, the more they would be driven to deeper and deeper worship of the Creator. He often wrote, “O God, I am thinking Thy thoughts after thee.” He realized that the Scripture even called the heathen to look upon Creation to discover the Creator – why not more so those who follow God every day?
Kepler believed firmly that since there was a Creator of order, there was a precision and orderliness to the universe which could be explained mathematically if one would diligently search it out. With that as a foundation, Kepler studied and eventually proved Copernicus’ theories – and even improved on them by discovering the paths of the planets were not perfectly circular, but more elliptical. He established laws for planetary velocity and for the relationship between orbital periods and the distances of planets from the sun. His three laws for planetary motion have formed the basis for our understanding of the solar system.
Kepler also undertook a study of what affects the alignment of the planets and the phases of the moon had on the earth. With their limited knowledge, scientists were unsure which events on earth were affected by events in the heavens and which were not. Today we understand that the positioning of the moon affects things like seasons and tides, but not in areas which today we would consign to the practice of astrology. Kepler studied these affects from a scientific perspective and wrote about his research, effectively separating the scientific from the superstitious.
Johannes Kepler lived a tough life. Having born the trials of his childhood, as an adult he buried his first wife and lost three of his six children in their childhood. A stubborn Calvinist, he refused to bow to the doctrinal bent of the day, simply stating “I am a Christian” when asked to summarize his faith. Such conviction often led to persecution and forced relocation. Since he supported the theories of Copernicus, many prominent scientists of his day shunned him and would not promote his work. It was not until late in his life and after his death that his work was recognized as the genius that it was.
Despite all this, Kepler remained humble. His desire was to “Let my name perish if only the name of God the Father is thereby elevated.” He was willing to put aside his own plans for his life and say later, “I had the intention of becoming a theologian…but now I see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy, for ‘the heavens declare the glory of God.’”
https://answersingenesis.org/creation-scientists/profiles/johannes-kepler/
https://www.icr.org/article/science-man-god-johann-kepler
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