Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Starry under a sky


The photo above is Jupiter in Sagittarius. Just a simple star photo I took with an old film camera. 

I was over a friends house. We dragged the telescope out of the house and let it cool down in the Winter air. Then we pointed it around at some easy things like Jupiter, the moon and the Andromeda Galaxy. These things are old friends to me. I have pointed telescopes at them many times over the past few decades. 
It has been a long time since I was with a telescope and the joy within me was overwhelming. It just burst within me.

Well, on to the actual story I want to tell. My friend is a good man. We went around the other side of the house, to the back, to see if the sky was darker and if there were any different celestial objects that might be seen. It was after a wonderful hour of observing through the scope.

He felt the need to talk about something.

"You know, I was a religious man, went to church and followed that for a while. Then I went even more extreme and joined a very strict religious organization. We observed no work from dusk on Friday until dawn on Monday. It was very strict and I did that for ten years." He paused and I waited for him to continue. "But I have come to the conclusion now in my life that there is no God. I am now a devout atheist".

He looked at me for a response. 

All I did was look up again at the stars.

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About me
I am a dyed in the wool Agnostic. Always have been.  That means I just don't know anything and I admit it. Know nothing, zero, nada, zilch.. But sometimes, under a starry sky, and the absolute magnificence of it I do wonder.