The calculations of mortals are...
Illustration
The calculations of mortals are indeed timid and frequently wrong. At the time when today's text was written, the heavenly bodies were sources of amazement and much speculation. Did the sun die every night, only to be reborn the next morning? Or was there a different sun every day? Why did the moon change shape and size every night, repeating the cycle each month? One explanation given in ancient Hindu scripture or Upanishad was that the souls of all who depart from life on earth go to the moon, "which is swollen by their breath during the first half of the month." The Zoroastrian sect took up this idea and refined it, explaining that the moon swells as it draws souls from earth. Then, as these souls are transferred to the sun, the moon wanes and is ready to assume another load. Every month the boat of the moon sails across the skies, picking up its cargo of souls. From the sun, these souls eventually move out into the purity of the stars. European folklore had its own version of this myth, to the effect that every individual had his own star, which was illuminated at his birth and disappeared when he died. This led to the superstition that a shooting star was the symbol of somebody's death! We may pity the ignorance of these primitive religions, but even today we are not so very smart. We have learned a great deal about science and have performed minor miracles of discovery and healing, but we still don't know one-billionth of the secrets of the universe. Only God knows.
