Editor’s note: The cloud forecast for the April 2024 total solar eclipse has been updated. Read the latest solar eclipse forecast and news as of Monday, April 8th.
In Gatesville, Texas, members of Coryell Community Church gathered on April 8 atop a hill on campus to commemorate three 70-foot crosses towering above the city of 17,000 people, 38 miles west of Waco. ing.
The region is located at the center of the path of an approaching total solar eclipse, which will be the last such event to affect the continental United States until 2044. Ancient cultures viewed the twilight-like darkness caused by the moon’s passage between the Earth and the sun. It temporarily blocks the light of the sun as a sign of the gods’ wrath or their impending departure.
Instead, Coryell’s “Eclipse of the Cross” family gathering will feature live music, games, worship, and an opportunity to celebrate. Meanwhile, organizers at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo purchased 1,000 solar eclipse glasses with black and white half-moon cookies for the viewing event.
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The gathering, where believers gather in Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities scattered across the country, is a reminder of how celestial events once considered ominous by some religious communities still have spiritual significance today. It reflects whether you are continuing.
“A solar eclipse is a unique opportunity to witness God’s presence in the universe,” said Eric Moffett, Coryell’s senior pastor. “We’re not looking for omens in the universe, but for just four minutes we’re reminding ourselves that we live in a world created by God and sustained by God’s love and goodness. In the meantime, we are using this as an opportunity to remind ourselves.”
Solar eclipses have inspired fear and awe among civilizations throughout history, from the Aztecs to ancient Hinduism. They are also associated with several major religious events, such as the darkness associated with the crucifixion of Jesus in Christianity and the death of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam.
The Bible says in Mark 15:33, “And when the sixth hour came, there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.”
Such references often emphasize God’s power over the universe, said James Willis, assistant professor of religious practice at the University of Indianapolis.
“What we see today as astronomical events was previously interpreted by people as something of life-or-death significance,” Willis said.
Earlier this month, the Choctaw newspaper Biskinik noted in a regular column exploring Choctaw culture that the sun is considered a bringer of life and good fortune. In some communities, when a solar eclipse occurred, it was as if there was a large black squirrel in the sky devouring the sun. In response, everyone was asked to make noise and scare them away.
Bradley Schaefer, a professor of astronomy at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, said that in most pre-modern cultures, the sun god was one of the most powerful gods in the pantheon. The eclipse represented the destruction of that god, or at least a dire sign.
“What better place to put a sign from God than in heaven?” Schaefer said. “If we see a sign in the heavens, it must be from the gods. They are telling us something, but one thing that has remained universal across cultures is that it is always bad. That’s the thing.”
In Islam, solar eclipses provide an opportunity to pray
Fourteen centuries ago, as Muhammad and his followers grieved over the death of their critically ill son, the Prophet watched the infant take his last breath as the sky darkened – a total solar eclipse. It is considered to be the beginning.
As the story progressed, there was widespread speculation among Muhammad’s followers that even the sun and moon were mourning his death. In response, he called them to prayer and dispelled that notion, but added that such events should nevertheless prompt them to prayer, as a sign of God’s power.
Omid Safi, a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said there is a tradition that both solar and lunar eclipses are “sacred events that unfold in nature,” while the prophet’s “solar eclipse” “I respect that he steadfastly refused to take advantage of this fortuitous opportunity.” as a means of enhancing his own status upon the death of his son. ”
Although the Muslim eclipse prayer is not compulsory, many people still take time to recite it. During last fall’s annular solar eclipse, Muslim Americans from across the United States gathered at locations such as the Muslim Community Center in the East Bay of Pleasanton, California. Mecca Center in Willowbrook, Illinois. Commons Park in Fridley, Minnesota.
Nadia Abuisnaineh, who volunteers as a NASA solar system ambassador in the Minneapolis area, said she hopes to inspire not only the community’s scientific curiosity but also a sense of Muslim identity. was planned.
Still, such a rally was not expected to take place a week after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, and as Palestinians scrambled to evacuate northern Gaza in anticipation of a major Israeli military counterattack. I didn’t even do it. The timing made the gathering even more powerful, she said.
“My community was very hurt. It was a time for them to reflect and ask God to alleviate their pain and suffering,” Abu Isnaineh said. “We never imagined that five months later, after the second solar eclipse, we would still have to think about this and advocate for our Palestinian brothers and sisters.”
Those who witnessed October’s solar eclipse were overwhelmed by the event, she recalled, and two elderly people in particular were moved to tears.
“Whether it’s tears of sadness because of what’s happening in Gaza or just being overwhelmed by the eclipse and strengthening your relationship with God, it’s an honor for people to be able to do that.” ” she said.
Because the April 8 event will take place during the most intense period of Ramadan, Abu Isnaineh has no intention of organizing another prayer rally. Instead, she intends to remind community members to use their time to reflect.
An avid stargazer, she looks at the night sky every chance she gets, and never misses a solar eclipse.
“When the weather clears up, I’ll take out all my eclipse glasses and knock on all the doors in the neighborhood,” Abu Isnaineh said. “It would be a real shame to live your life without knowing that these things happen.”
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Is it a warning of God’s impending wrath?
Mark Horowitz, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo, New York, said views on the eclipse vary widely within the Jewish community. More conservative members still see it as a warning, especially to those on the path to wholeness, he said.
“There’s a lot of people out there who believe it’s not the time to wear glasses or get together and drink or whatever people are going to do,” Horowitz said. “Some believe this is a time for prayer and reflection.”
He pointed out that the Hebrew word for eclipse means “defect.”
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“When a famous person falls, it is a bad omen for the world,” says the Talmud, the central holy book of Judaism. This passage gives us the example of a king who, after preparing a banquet for his servants, became angry with them and ordered them to remove the lanterns that were lighting the banquet.
There are still those who say that events in heaven warn of God’s impending wrath. Some even claim it has political significance. In November 2022, some ultra-conservative Christian pastors said the approaching blood moon eclipse portends a surge in Republican midterm election victories.
Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of iconic evangelist Billy Graham and founder of Angel Ministries, says that as the August 2017 solar eclipse approaches, “God warns America of impending disaster and destruction.” I am,” he wrote on his blog.
Lotz recently discovered that the combined path of this year’s solar eclipse and the previous two solar eclipses over the United States mimics the shapes of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the beginning and ending letters. I’ve seen speculation spread in some quarters that it appears to be the case. end.
“Maybe people are reading too much into it,” she says. “But when we look out into the world, we don’t need an eclipse to know that things have gotten really dangerous. Perhaps it’s a matter of communicating with God and the people in our lives so that we don’t have any regrets.” It may be a sign that it’s time to face things correctly.”
Solar eclipse offers a spiritual experience even for non-believers
As the science behind solar eclipses began to be understood, some people began to use that knowledge to their advantage, including one who was shipwrecked in Jamaica with his crew in 1504, said Schaefer of Louisiana State University. He also said that Christopher Columbus relied on the natives to provide food for several months. Food in exchange for small items.
When those gifts began to fade, Schaefer said, Native Americans refused to continue. Columbus came up with the idea of taking advantage of the approaching lunar eclipse to convince the locals that they could communicate with the gods and make the moon disappear.
“That’s the beauty of science: You make predictions, and those predictions come true,” Schaefer said. “Columbus knew it was just a shadow. But the Jamaicans saw it as the death of God. Once you understand what a solar eclipse is, it is no longer God’s realm.”
Still, even Americans’ views on solar eclipses have changed over time, he said. Testimonies from New Yorkers who witnessed a total solar eclipse in 1924 describe how people were silent and solemn as it occurred.
“Now it’s just loud and fun,” Schaefer said. “No one fears Jupiter coming down and taking their souls away.”
But witnessing a solar eclipse can also provide a spiritual experience for people who aren’t necessarily religious, they said.
Former NASA engineer Jeff Stone and his wife Susan plan to experience the eclipse from their hilltop home in Kerrville, Texas.
“Her priority was to see a great view,” Stone said. “My priority was to get as close to the centerline of the eclipse as possible. We were able to accomplish both.”
While working as flight controllers for the space shuttle program at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the couple traveled to Mexico in 1991 and experienced a nearly seven-minute total solar eclipse as it passed over the area. They have been chasing solar eclipses ever since.
On April 8th, the Stones will welcome more than a dozen visitors from as far away as Sweden to experience this year’s event.
“It’s a very emotional event,” Stone said. “It touches your soul, it really does. Every time you realize there’s something bigger than yourself, it gives you perspective. Maybe that power has meaning.”
Horowitz said in Buffalo that the eclipse, a stark reminder of nature’s beauty, offers an opportunity to reflect on its fragility and find hope amid worldly turmoil and personal challenges.
“Sometimes you get clouded by that darkness,” he said. “The natural world is trying to tell us that there is light at the end of darkness.”
