Under consideration are portions of an interview between Bill Moyer and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The segments of which this consideration will consist, in toto, are:
On the Bible and the Qur’an / Koran
The historical meaning of – star
The biblical meaning of – star
On science proving the Bible wrong
The faith of the Atheist (Dogmatheism)
Whilst interviewed by Bill Moyer, Neil deGrasse Tyson stated:
…one of the signs that the second coming, is that the stars will fall out of the sky and land on Earth. To even write that means you don’t know what those things are.
To even make such a statement means you don’t know anything about the metaphoric, allegoric, symbolic, usage of terminology nor, more directly, the context of that about which you are speaking.
I do not know what is worse; Neil deGrasse Tyson’s ignorance, Bill Moyers’ ignorance, or the ignorance of all of those who think that an appropriate response to Tyson’s and Moyers’ ignorance is to elbow their buddies in the ribs, say “Them Christians are ignorant” and make an ignorant statement go viral without the least bit of skepticism or critical thinking attached.
In fact, they all win the OMG Award for their ignorance and lack of scholarly integrity. In an era of information overload, how people could display such ignorance so openly and be rewarded for it is flummoxing. And yet, part of the reason that they do so, unchallenged on the spot by interviewers, is that which was noted above; the interviewer is just as ignorant and willing to besmirch the Bible—wonder when Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Moyers will besmirch the Qur’an / Koran…do not hold your breath.
As previously report in the article Massimo Pigliucci schools Neil deGrasse Tyson, even fellow Atheist evolutionists have attempted to correct Tyson’s utter illogic. Also, see:
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos” fact or fiction?
Is Neil deGrasse Tyson an Atheist?
As well as the video, Neil deGrasse Tyson: Neo-Pagan Atheism:
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON AS BIBLE EXPOSITOR
The Bill Moyers / Moyers & Company, article “Neil deGrasse Tyson Tells Bill Moyers Why Faith and Reason are Irreconcilable” transcribes the following:
BILL MOYER: Do you give people who make this case, that that was the beginning and that there had to be something that provoked the beginning, do you give them an A at least for trying to reconcile faith and reason?
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: I don’t think they’re reconcilable.
BILL MOYER: What do you mean?
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Well, so let me say that differently. All efforts that have been invested by brilliant people of the past have failed at that exercise. They just fail. And so I don’t, the track record is so poor that going forward, I have essentially zero confidence, near zero confidence, that there will be fruitful things to emerge from the effort to reconcile them.
So, for example, if you knew nothing about science, and you read, say, the Bible, the Old Testament, which in Genesis, is an account of nature, that’s what that is, and I said to you, give me your description of the natural world based only on this, you would say the world was created in six days, and that stars are just little points of light much lesser than the sun. And that in fact, they can fall out of the sky, right, because that’s what happens during the Revelation.
We will get to Tyson’s very own faith at the conclusion of this series. For now, note that he claims that his inference from the Old Testament’s Genesis is that the world was created in six days (he does not seem to understand or consider that time is relative based on location/gravitation, etc.) that stars are just little points of light much lesser than the Sun, which indeed they are; from the vantage point of Earth which is relevant, as Earth dwellers are being told these things.
Note that Genesis states:
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
This is, of course, accurate as we can track the motion of the heavens and develop calendars therefrom (no horoscopes in the Bible, by the way).
It also states:
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
With the context being “upon the earth” we are told that “God made two great lights” from the Earth’s vantage point and “stars also” without denoting that they are “just little points of light much lesser than the sun.” Again, from the grammatical and special context, the various stars are lesser than the Sun. But then again, the Sun is a star so; there goes Tyson’s inference.
As for that stars can fall out of the sky…keep reading as he continues directly with:
You know, one of the signs that the second coming, is that the stars will fall out of the sky and land on Earth. To even write that means you don’t know what those things are. You have no concept of what the actual universe is. So everybody who tried to make proclamations about the physical universe based on Bible passages got the wrong answer.
THE QUR’AN / KORAN…OR NOT Now, can you even imagine if Neil deGrasse Tyson, under the auspices of Bill Moyer, loudly and publically stated something to the likes of:
The Qur’an / Koran 54:1-2 states that Muhammad split the moon. To even write that means you don’t know what those things are. You have no concept of what the actual universe is. So everybody who tried to make proclamations about the physical universe based on Qur’an / Koran passages got the wrong answer.
No, of course, you cannot even imagine it because 1) it is un-PC to besmirch any religion but Christianity (with Judaism coming in a close second) and 2) Atheism is, primarily, an anti-Christian support group (with Judaism coming in a close second).
In the next segment, we will consider the historically grammatical context of the term “star.”