The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God by Daniel Ray

The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God Reviews

• 
  Jennifer Delamere

  Fascinating and inspiring book. I love how the authors approached the subject from different viewpoints, whether scientific, literary, or historical. Some chapters are more accessible than others for those without a lot of science background (I read a few of the more technical chapters twice). But every chapter increased my awe and understanding of the cosmos and the God who created it. Highly recommend!
• 
  Drew Geisel

  a collection of essays (boring to start with). 30% were quite interesting, others felt like a sermon, others felt forced.
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  Robert Vincent

  I could have read this book very quickly but I found that my desire was to bathe in the beauty and intelligence of its story. Every chapter was wonderfully written by different contributors bringing me that beauty and intelligence.
  
  The subtitle, “How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God” gives us a picture of the essence of the book. What is striking to me is the detail in which the individual authors of each chapter, give a wonderful crafted reconciliation of science and biblical theology. This is best expressed, in my opinion, by Sarah Salviander in chapter 6, “God, Black Holes, and the End of the Universe”, and by Wayne R. Spencer in chapter 7, “Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler: The Gloriously Odd Couple of Astronomy”; particularly the quotes of Kepler.
  
  And this quote taken from Holly Ordway in chapter 10, “Recovering the Vision of the Cosmos” reminds me to look deeper at what I commonly observe:
  
  “Faced with a beautiful sunset, our first response is often to take a picture and post it on social media (how many of you Facebook friends have seen my often-posted sunsets taken from my driveway?)—and having done that, to move on. The photograph then becomes an object of interest not for what it displays, but for how many ‘likes’ or ‘shares’ or comments it generates. It is not wrong to take pictures or share them; the problem is that the secondary aspect of the experience (capturing and sharing it) now usually precedes and often excludes the primary experience—that is, our own immediate engagement with it.”
  
  One of the editors of the book, Daniel Ray gives a wonderful summation in the Afterword:
  
  “What is necessary for all of us, as we’ve said in this book, is to recapture a vision of God’s glory in the heavens. The skies above us are nightly telling if his glory, and yet like worms burrowing through the dirt, we seem to have completely lost interest in whatever diadems of glory and wisdom we can glean from them. So, what can be done?
  Like the magi mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel, we have to begin with a single star. It is really that simple. That star led them to Jesus. And I believe that is ultimately what the stars should do. Jesus is described in both the Old and New Testaments as a kind of ‘star’ himself, at least in a poetic and metaphorical sense. He is the ‘sun of righteousness’ in Malachi 4:2, ‘the bright and Morning Star’ of Revelation 22:16, ‘the light of the world’ in John 8:12, and the ‘star of Jacob’ prophesied in Numbers 24:17. Not that one can look at the stars and immediately apprehend the wonders of Christ’s love and mercy toward us, by any means. The point is not the star of Bethlehem or the stars in general, but to whom all the stars point. The stars are heavenly messengers who never tire of declaring the glory of God.”
  
  After having read this book when I gaze at the evening sky, especially away from the cities lights I actually do see God’s glory…
  
• 
  Josh Wood

  First of all, I loved the overall format of this book. It is a great looking book--the photos, the cover, the design, the type, etc. More importantly, the content was well-curated and well-organized. I enjoyed the unique perspectives of each contributor's section. Distilling high-level concepts (like those covered in this book) into a format that is digestible for mass consumption is a herculean task. There's a whole lot of brilliance packed into every paragraph, but the authors do a fantastic job of keeping the information readable for us non-mental-giants. (Great job, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, and Doctor.) If I had to pick a favorite section, that would be Dr. Salviander's: God, Black Holes, and the End of the Universe. Her essay alone is worth the price of the book. I mean, who isn't fascinated by the science of black holes, right?
  
  Anyhow, I would recommend this to anyone. Grab a copy for yourself as a great vacation read, or grab a copy for an astronomy-loving friend of yours. You may disagree with parts of it. You may find yourself saying, "Amen!" to all of it. Agreement or disagreement is not the point. The point is for you look higher in awe and wonder and curiosity. I think this book will compel you to do just that. And, you'll be glad you did.
• 
  Evan Minton

  This a good book that looks at the relationship between science and Faith from a variety of different angles. This book shows how science can provide evidence for premises in arguments for God's existence such as The Big Bang and The Fine-Tuning of the laws of physics, that scientists' ability to even do science in the first place is best explained by the fact that the universe was created by a rational Mind to behave in consistent and predictable ways and also created us with feasible reasoning faculties, and it also deals with the history of scientific developments by famous scientists who has a deep Christian commitment.
  
  The book was written by several well respected scholars such as William Lane Craig, Melissa Cain Travis, Luke Barnes, Michael Ward and several others. The authors consist of physicists, geologists, philosophers, and astronomers.
  
  This was an enjoyable read.
• 
  Neil Williams

  This collection of essays is a fantastic addition to the shelf and mind of any Christian who cares about what God has done in the universe He created. It provides three sections (what I like to shorten to: science, art, and apologetics) that when combined provide a grand picture of how God can be seen by what we know and continue to learn about the cosmos. While not all the chapters are easily understood, due to the nature of the subject matter, the authors do a great job in 'dumbing down' the content enough for those of us not scientifically inclined.
  
  I highly recommend this book as an introduction to how God and science should never have been separated.
  
• 
  Ben Harris

  Stars, galaxies, black holes, art, literature, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, apologetics. Wow! This book is a beautiful read. The first half was 70% over my head, but still enjoyable. The second half was wonderful and the compilation of writers was broad. Excellent writing and great pictures of our world throughout.
• 
  Joseph Bradley

  Binary Stars, Black Holes, and Tolkien, oh my! This is a fun book, encompassing history, art, literature, and scientific study as the authors examine the depth and beauty of God’s universe. Some chapters are harder to read than others (Looking at you, Binary Stars!), but overall a really cool resource to awaken the mind through the imagination.
• 
  Michael T Moos

  The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
  
  When I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers , the moon and the stars that you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? Or the son of man that you care for him?
  
  Great read.
• 
  Cassian Lynne

  Fantastic compilation of essays!
• 
  Karen (Living Unabridged)

  Collection of essays, some of which went way over my head. But I thoroughly enjoyed most of the contributions.
• 
  David Bruyn

  Mostly good essays on a Christian view of the study of the heavens. Ward's essay on Lewis' view was excellent.
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  Philip Cottraux

  Great book! Very thought-provoking with insightful looks at astronomy from a variety of Christian scientists. Doesn't just get into theology but contains fascinating scientific examinations of the cosmos. Great for any astronomy enthusiast or general Christian looking to know more about God's creation!