Whenever we think, we make assumptions. Taking things for granted allows us to move on as we deal with life. But when the results of different thoughts cause dissonance, as in humor or with evolution, it is vital to uncover and question the assumptions.

When modern science began in 16th-century Christian Europe, the basic assumptions were shared. Scientists saw their investigations as trying to figure out how God had designed his marvelous works. Today, science and theology have different assumptions. Science is limited to natural causes, and theology is accused of having a “blind faith.”

But Lutherans have never advocated anti-intellectualism. Since the Reformation, comprehensive schools and colleges have been founded. Reason is viewed as a gift of God that makes us human. On the other hand, while believing that, Luther warned against allowing reasoning to overrule clear Scripture. Dr. Siegbert Becker’s finest work, The Foolishness of God, covers this subject.

THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN SCIENCE

Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), British mathematician and philosopher, actually credited Christianity with providing the very foundation for modern scientific investigation by teaching that God was orderly and had established a lawful nature with dependable causes and effects. Another assumption was that humans could then discover these laws.

During Reformation times Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), a Catholic, determined that the motion of the planets was better described as being centered around the sun, not the Earth. In 1539 Philipp Melanchthon, “Germany’s Teacher” and Luther’s good friend, arranged that a Wittenberg mathematician, Georg Joachim Rheticus, should study under Copernicus.

Rheticus studied for two years and wrote Narratio Prima, a first report of Copernicus’ theory. On his return to the Lutheran university at Wittenberg, Rheticus saw the theory enjoy a favorable reception and urged his mentor to publish. Copernicus was encouraged and sent his De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium to the Lutherans with permission to publish.

Apparently Luther informally commented on Copernican theory, and a guest recorded it (Table Talk). While the attribution is questionable, our reformer seemingly quipped that scientists like to take a thing and stand it on its head. Some have taken this as being merely negative toward new science, but it is actually very perceptive. Placing the sun in the center of our planetary system was just that type of science. With different assumptions the facts can be fit to a different theory. If Luther had been truly bothered, he could have stopped the teaching of Copernican theory at Wittenberg, but he did not.