Âé¶¹Éç

Use Âé¶¹Éç.com or the new Âé¶¹Éç App to listen to Âé¶¹Éç podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Episode details

Radio 4,3 mins

Rev Professor David Wilkinson - 10/06/2019

Thought for the Day

Available for over a year

Good morning. Tonight there is a spectacular opportunity. In terms of its orbit, the planet Jupiter will be at 'its biggest and brightest', and with only a pair of binoculars you should be able to see its largest Moons - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These moons were first seen by Galileo who recognised them as satellites of Jupiter in March 1610. This was an earth shattering observation. To find astronomical objects orbiting something other than Earth, was not proof that the Sun was the centre of the solar system but it was a powerful picture that there was something wrong with the way people saw the world. Contrary to one of the myths of history, Galileo was not challenging the Bible. He was challenging Aristotle's Earth centred view of the Universe which had been adopted by the church. When he did promote a heliocentric solar system, and was attacked for going against Aristotle, that observation of the moons of Jupiter gave him confidence. It was a visual image which gradually changed our perception of reality. Here at Durham University, my fellow staff and students have hosted a project Whose Earth? which explores the problems and solutions for environmental sustainability. It also builds on powerful observations - images from the photographer Mark Edwards which accompany Bob Dylan's song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. This exhibition aims to pierce through our sense of denial and complacency concerning climate change. I saw this power of art in a more local setting over the weekend. Shieldfield Art Works, in a part of Newcastle, is a collaboration between The Methodist Church, a local businessman, and local residents. They have transformed an old church into an art gallery and community centre. Here in the midst of gentrification and poverty, growing diversity of nationalities and languages, and a community which feels disenfranchised - art, music and poetry have the capacity to enable people to see themselves and the world in a different and life-affirming way. This gives energy and confidence to work for change. Providing a foundation and conversation partner to this art project is Christian theology. As a Christian the image of God that I see in Jesus is a God of justice and love. This also transforms my view of the world and I am reminded of my own complacency and the importance of seeking truth and justice in the world through science, sustainability and solidarity with the marginalised.

Programme Website
More episodes