Mike Severs

“Scientists tell us that the sun is 390 times larger than the moon, but it is also 390 times father away. Every eighteen months or so they align perfectly so that the moon’s shadow passes over the earth, and those in the path of that shadow see a solar eclipse. This is often described as one of the great coincidences of our solar system. Astronomers also tell us that there are 295 moons in our solar system. And yet ours is the only moon with the exact size and distance to perfectly match the sun and produce the amazing spectacle we see somewhere on our planet every 18 months or so. If our moon was any smaller the sky would not turn dark, and if it was any larger, we would never see that brilliant corona. For many, it is a source of wonder, that the one place where these amazing eclipses occur, is the one place where there are observers to see them. In one of his humorous harangues about “Life Below the Beltway,” Washington Post contributor, Gene Weingarten, once admitted, “I am a devout atheist but can't explain why the moon is exactly the right size, and gets positioned so precisely between the earth and the sun, that total solar eclipses are perfect. It bothers me.” (The Washington Post, Sunday, March 8, 2009). And so it is that this extraordinary event has been witnessed by our planet throughout history… As a Christian educator, I am reminded that God reveals His truth to us in two ways: through the general revelation of His natural world and through the special revelation of His written word. Psalm 19 encapsulates this for us beautifully. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1). There are no words, and yet the message of God’s existence and power is heard everywhere.” The Total Eclipse of the Sun -- and the Exceptional Nature of our Planet  Stephen E. Danish Head of School Emeritus Immanuel Christian School