Welcome to Defender’s Voice. I am Dr.Paul. Thank you for joining us today. Please visit my website www.doctorpaul.org to support this ministry. We are exclusively a question and answer forum. Today’s question, why is Neil deGrasse Tyson writing mean tweets around Christmas?
I hope you had a merry Christmas. Christ is our hope and peace in this chaotic world. During the Second World War, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that it felt like the door has been shut from the outside. Today we feel like that. The door has been shut from the outside. Who will liberate us? Jesus came to this world to liberate us. As prophet Isaiah wrote, the Messiah would come to give freedom to the captives.
While we celebrated the birthday of our Lord, some atheists were not happy. Neil degrasse Tyson could not contain himself from saying mean things around Christmas time.
He wrote that it would defy the laws of physics for Santa Claus to deliver Christmas gifts to all the world’s Christians in one night.
He wants to be seen like a great scientist. But when was the last time he published a scientific paper in a scientific journal? You don’t have to apply the laws of physics to Santa Claus. Santa Claus is a fairy tale. All Christians knew that Santa is not real. The fairy tale has a meaning. Christmas is about giving away gifts. It points us to the fact that God gave us the greatest gift of all, our Lord Jesus Christ. So, the story of Santa is invented to point us to a higher truth – Jesus himself.
You don’t have to apply scientific reasoning to everything in the universe.
Let us say Neil degrasse Tyson is spending his evening on the beach. There is a couple sat nearby. The man looked at the woman and said, ‘sweetie, I will do anything for you. I will swim across this ocean for you in one hour.’ The woman is just giggling.
Suppose Neil heard their conversation. How would he respond? He would yell at that man and say, ‘what are you talking about? You will swim across this Pacific Ocean? The laws of physics would defy that. This ocean is 4000 miles in width and 4 miles in depth. Your body has only a few thousand calories of energy. The laws of physics would defy your swimming. Young lady, don’t listen to this guy. He is fooling you.’
Listening to Neil, the couple would get irritated. First of all, we are just frolicking on the beach. Why is he interrupting our fun? Why is he giving a science lecture on the beach?
‘I will swim across this ocean for you in one hour’ – the man is using hyperbole to express how much he loves that woman. I will do anything for you. I will do things that sound insane and crazy. Just for you.
The woman perfectly understands the deeper meaning of that hyperbole. She would not rely on the laws of physics at that time. She would apply laws of interpretation. First look at the context: I will swim across this ocean in one hour for you. That sounds crazy but her boyfriend is trying to make her laugh. He is expressing how passionately he loves her that he would try impossible tasks for her. She would be very irritated by Neil’s interjection into their conversation.
Every Christmas Eve, Neil interjects himself to irritate Christians around the world. We all know that Santa Claus is a hyperbole. How can one Santa Claus deliver gifts to all Christians around the world in one night? It points us to a deeper meaning: the crazy love of God for us. God can do what Santa cannot. God created the universe. The laws of physics prohibit us from doing many things we would like to do. But they do not prohibit God from doing great things for us.
Yes, The star of Bethlehem is against the laws of astronomy. But God can make a star to show us the birthplace of his Son.
Yes, The virgin birth of Christ is against the laws of reproduction. But God can create a human being without a human father.
Yes, Jesus turning water into wine is against the laws of hydrology. But God can transform water into wine instantaneously.
Yes, Jesus calming the storms by the word of his mouth is against the laws of meteorology. But God can calm the storms just by speaking to nature.
The hyperbole of Santa Claus stories point us to a God who can turn fantasy into reality using his miraculous powers.
Also, If Neil goes to give science lectures only to Christian couples on the beach, it would look even uglier. Neil would not give his science lecture to Muslims or Hindus or Jews around their festivals. He reserves them for Christians on Christmas Eve. People need the message of Christmas now more than ever before. Many people are in depression and suicidal despair. They should know that there is a God who loves them. They should know that Jesus is there to forgive their sins and give them the hope of eternal life.
So, the answer to your question is: Neil degrasse Tyson is a mean spirited individual who does not know the laws of interpretation. Don’t take him seriously.