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The Universe

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 11 months ago

 The Universe


I saw when at his Word the formless Mass,

This worlds material mould, came to a heap:

Confusion heard his voice, and wilde uproar

Stood rul'd, stood vast infinitude confin'd;

Till at his second bidding darkness fled,

Light shon, and order from disorder sprung:

Swift to thir several Quarters hasted then

The cumbrous Elements, Earth, Flood, Aire, Fire,

And this Ethereal quintessence of Heav'n

Flew upward, spirited with various forms,

That rowld orbicular, and turnd to Starrs

Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move;

Each had his place appointed, each his course,

The rest in circuit walles this Universe.

-Uriel (III.708-720).

 

 

Theories of the Creation of the Universe


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The Creation according to the Bible

 

 

    The creation of the universe is told in Genesis 1. God created everything that we know in 7 days. It is unknown if the creation to 7 days as we know it or if it occurred over billions of years. Either way, God created something new everyday.

 

Day 1: Separation between light and darkness

 

Day 2: Separation of sky and water

 

            Day 3: Creation of land and sea; also vegetation

 

            Day 4: Sun, moon, and the stars to govern the day and the night and to mark seasons, days, and years

 

Day 5: Fish and birds to fill the seas and skies

 

Day 6: Animals to fill the land and mankind to take care of the earth and commune with God

 

Day 7: God rested, happy with his creation

 

    The concept of God creating the Universe is not only found in the book of Genesis. Psalms 19: 5-6 says “God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. / It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. / It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. / The sun rises at one end of the heavens / and follows its course to the other end. / Nothing can hide from its heat. Psalms 104: 2, 5 says that “You [God] stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens” And “You placed the world on its foundation / so it would never be moved.”

 

 

 

The Big Bang Theory

 

 

     According to the Big Bang Theory, the universe was created about 13.7 billion years ago.  Theorists say that our entire universe was compressed into one atomic nucleus that entered into a hot, dense phase and exploded thus creating the universe. The birth of the universe began in that hot, dense phase and is still expanding as it cools down. All the matter in the universe was created with approximately 80% hydrogen and 20% helium. Scientists have discovered the other galaxies in the universe are moving away from us. This reinforces the idea that the universe is continuing to grow and expand. Researchers’ have concluded that since they are moving away from us that by reversing the process, they can scientifically say that the universe will come back to a single point, which they refer to as the Big Bang.

 

 

 

 

   

How these theories influenced John Milton's Paradise Lost

 

 

    The Bible justifies its creation story by saying that creation of the universe did not actually take 7-24 hour days. They say that it is unknown what time God used in creating the universe. 7 days could mean literally 7 days or it could mean billions of years. In regards to the Big Bang, many people choose to interpret the 7 days as a metaphorical statement in which days are better understood as phases. People also say that the Genesis’ account of creation roughly resembles and follows the order in which science says things happened.

 

Milton expresses the differing views of the creation of the universe by referencing both the religious and scientific beliefs in Paradise Lost. He uses the angels, Raphael and Uriel, to show both sides of the argument. While the angels have slightly different views of the creation of the universe, they both agree that it is all God’s creation and that he is the one responsible for everything. Since both have different views of the creation, they each tell certain parts of the story. When all of these parts are combined together, they make the complete story of Milton’s creation.

 

 

    Raphael’s explanation of the birth of the universe closely resembles the biblical creation story, concentrating more on the creation of the earth.  Raphael discusses with Adam the power of God by showing him all that he created.

 

 

    Uriel, on the other hand, only seems interested in the ethereal composition of the world’s sphere (Curry 100). Milton uses Uriel to address the scientific theories of creation. Uriel’s story centers on Day 4 of the creation. He is amazed by the creation of the universe outside of earth. He relishes in telling the creation of the sun but he fails to mention the practicality of the sun. “Being Regent of the sun, he is naturally interested in illumination and in that motion which involves the formation and separation of the four elements, the upward flight of ether, and in the creation of planets and stars rolling in their courses” (96).

 

 

    Milton believed that the universe was made from some kind of material instead of out of nothing, which he informs the reader of through Uriel. The Big Bang theory also states that the universe was made of previously existing material whereas the bible makes no mention of what the universe is made of. By writing that the God used “the formless mass” to create Earth, Milton mixes the scientific beliefs with the religious ones.

 

 


 

Theories of the Physical Universe


 While the Creator, calling forth by name

His mightie Angels gave them several charge,

As sorted best with present things. The Sun

Had first his precept so to move, so shine,

As might affect the Earth with cold and heat

Scarce tollerable, and from the North to call

Decrepit Winter, from the South to bring

Solstitial summers heat. To the blanc Moone

Her office they prescrib'd, to th' other five

Thir planetarie motions and aspects

In Sextile, Square, and Trine, and Opposite,

Of noxious efficacie, and when to joyne

In Synod unbenigne, and taught the fixt

Thir influence malignant when to showre,

Which of them rising with the Sun, or falling,

Should prove tempestuous: To the Winds they set

Thir corners, when with bluster to confound

Sea, Aire, and Shoar, the Thunder when to rowle

With terror through the dark Aereal Hall.

Some say he bid his Angels turne ascanse

The Poles of Earth twice ten degrees and more

From the Suns Axle; they with labour push'd (X. 649-670).

 

 

The Geocentric Model

 

     The geocentric concept of the universe, also called the Ptolemaic system, states that the earth is the center of all things. This theory comes from the days of Ancient Greece and China and is as old as 6th century BC. This concept was believed to be true because the stars and planets that can be seen with the naked eye appeared to circle the earth. Also, the stars seemed to be equally divided. Half of the stars appeared above the horizon and the other half below the horizon and assumes that all of the stars are an equal distance away from the earth. The earth was believed to be a stationary planet because if the earth did move, it would leave birds and clouds behind in space.  The planets were believed to move around the earth in a circular pattern, not an elliptical one. The order of the planets was earth as the center, the moon, the sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the fixed stars. The earth was also not tilted on its axis, it was straight up.

 

 

    The problem with this theory is that it does not explain the changes in brightness of the planets or stars caused by changes in distance.

 

    Some religious groups today still believe in geocentric model. Research done by Dr. Jon D. Miller of Northwestern University, found that 1 in 5 adults still believe that the sun revolves around the earth.

 

 

 

     The Bible backs up the claims that the universe is geocentric.

 

        “The sun rises and sets, then hurries around to do it again” (Eccl 1:5).

 

 

            “You placed the world on its foundation / so it would never be moved” (Ps 104:5).

 

 

 The Heilocenric Model

   

     The Heliocentric concept was first introduced by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543. It is also known as the Copernican Model. This concept advocated that the sun was actually the center of the universe and that Earth and the other planets revolved around it. The sun, while assumed to be the center, is not technically the center. It is just one focus of the elliptical orbit and that the center of gravity of the solar system is displaced slightly away from the center of the sun.

 

    This caused a great religious debate. The Catholic Church was quick to point out that the concept of the earth moving directly violated the scripture. In 1633, the Catholic Church banded anyone who believed in the heliocentric model and forced the acceptance of the geocentric model. Galileo was placed under house arrest for his support of the heliocentric model. He said that the quotations that the churches used from the Bible to support the geocentric theory were not intended to be taken literally. The Bible is a book of song and poetry, not a history book or an instructions manual. He also stated the writers of the Bible wrote from the perspective of a terrestrial world and that from their vantage point the sun does rise and set, but it appears that way because the Earths rotation.

 

    This is the model that most people believe today.

     

 

Milton's Model

 

    Milton uses the geocentric model of the universe in Paradise Lost. Since the Catholic Church had condoned supporting any other theory, Milton complied with societal demands in his decision and chose the model the church supported. Milton also chose this model because it was the most familiar to him. The heliocentric model was just beginning to emerge as another possible theory so not a lot of information was known about it.

 

     Milton incorporates the geocentric belief that the Earth is completely upright and stationary into Paradise Lost. Before the fall of mankind, the earth was upright and was in a perpetual spring. The weather and climate were ideal and Adam and Eve were comfortable living there. After eating from the tree, as part of their punishment, God sent his angels to tilt the earth. After the tilt occurred, the weather changed drastically on earth. With the tilt came harsh weather and seasons.

 

 

    Yet some believe that Milton does not actually choose a theory to support. “Milton did not pretend to know whether the center of this set of spheres was the earth or the sun, and none of his astronomical descriptions or allusions commits him to one of the other of the possibilities” (Elledge 461).

   

Raphael mentions a possibility of a heliocentric universe.

 

 

 

“And no advantage gaine. What if the Sun

 

Be centre of the World, and other Starrs

 

By his attractive virtue and their own

 

Incited, dance about him various rounds?” (VIII.122-125)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Universe in Popular Culture

 


The History Channel's The Universe

 

 

 

Number of visitors:

 

The Universe Editor: Amanda Westerhouse 

 

 

Site Map for Paradise Lost Wikis
Introduction ¦ Heaven ¦ Hell¦ Chaos ¦ Eden ¦ Earth After The Fall ¦ The Universe ¦ Images of Paradise Lost ¦ Further Readings & Works Cited ¦ Reading Questions
Adam ¦ Angels ¦ Eve ¦ God the Father ¦ God the Son ¦ Lesser Devils ¦ Narrator ¦ Places ¦ Satan ¦ Sin, Chaos & Death

 

 

 

 

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