What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, July 27, 2026 (Donate)

Preliminary Comments

Because we are sinners living in a sin-cursed world, every person stands guilty before our infinitely holy Creator. Even one sin is enough to make us accountable before God's perfect justice, whether it was Adam's first act of rebellion or our own personal sins (Genesis 2:17-19; Romans 3:23; James 2:10).

Scripture teaches that after death comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). For those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in this life, that judgment marks the beginning of an eternal separation from God under His righteous wrath (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:11-15).

Tribesman awaiting the Gospel! Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

The Power Of Christ

For those of us who are in Christ, however, there is no fear of God's eternal wrath (Romans 8:1). The reason is that Jesus Christ-God the Son-entered history, took on human flesh, lived a sinless life, and willingly died in the place of sinners (John 1:1-3, 14; Philippians 2:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

On the Cross, Christ bore the punishment that we deserve. The infinite Son of God satisfied the righteous wrath of the infinite Father against sin (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 3:24-26; 1 Peter 2:24). Because Christ is eternal, His once-for-all sacrifice is sufficient to save all of us who believes in Him (Hebrews 10:10-14).

Jesus took our sins upon Himself, and when we receive Him as Lord and Savior, His perfect righteousness is credited-or imputed-to us (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9). On Judgment Day, believers stand clothed in Christ's righteousness rather than their own sin. Because of Christ's finished work, we will enjoy God's presence and His everlasting blessings forever (John 3:16-18; Revelation 21:1-7).

Those who refuse Christ choose instead to bear the penalty of their own sin. Since finite sinners can never fully satisfy the infinite justice of God, their punishment continues forever (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15).

Getting To The Heart Of The Issue

God commands all people everywhere to repent, and He patiently calls sinners to Himself (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Peter 3:9). This leads to a question that many people ask. In fact, even my own father once asked me:

"What about those who never hear the Gospel? Do they have a legitimate excuse?"

For instance, those who live on remote islands or secluded places. Jesus answered this question indirectly through the Great Commission. Before ascending into heaven, He commanded His followers to go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that He had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Scripture teaches the importance of preaching the Gospel and sending faithful preachers (Romans 10:13-17).

Does this mean that those who never hear the Gospel receive a free pass? Scripture answers, "No."

Romans 1 plainly declares that no one is without excuse because God has revealed His Godhead through His creation. His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has made. Although sinful people suppress this truth in unrighteousness, they still know that God exists in their heart of hearts (Romans 1:18-20).

Likewise, God has written His moral law on the human heart. Every person's conscience bears witness that right and wrong exist, and our own thoughts know when we sin (Romans 2:14-15). Since all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, every sinner stands guilty before God's perfect holiness (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23).

Three important passages are often overlooked when discussing this subject:

• "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44, NKJV)
• "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." (John 12:32, NKJV)
• "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." (James 4:8, NKJV)

These passages reveal several important truths. The Father draws sinners to Christ (John 6:44), and Christ declares that through His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension that He draws all people to Himself (John 12:32). Therefore, no one can claim that God has given them absolutely no witness of Himself. Every person receives revelation through creation, conscience, and God's gracious drawing power.

Yet many suppress that truth rather than respond to it (Romans 1:18). Their rejection of God's revelation will be part of the evidence presented against them on Judgment Day.

All people are sinners. All know, at some level, that there is a Creator. All possess a conscience that testifies to God's moral law. And Christ draws people to Himself. Therefore, no one has a legitimate excuse before God.

Suppose someone responds positively to the revelation God has already given and genuinely seeks after Him. Is it too difficult for the all-knowing and all-powerful God to ensure that person receives a clearer presentation of the Gospel? Not at all. Scripture records numerous examples of God providentially bringing His truth to sincere seekers, including the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), Cornelius (Acts 10), and Lydia (Acts 16:13-15).

God is fully capable of sending a missionary, directing an evangelist, arranging circumstances, or otherwise ensuring that those whom He is drawing hear the message of Christ. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord (Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Luke 1:37).

At the same time, Scripture reminds us that the natural inclination of fallen humanity isn't to seek God but to suppress His truth and love darkness rather than light (Romans 3:10-12; John 3:19-20). This is why the Church must faithfully proclaim the Gospel to every nation.

Even in the first century, the Gospel spread rapidly throughout the known world by the power of the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:5-6, 23, Romans 1:8; Romans 16:26).). Today, that same Gospel continues to save sinners from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation through the faithful proclamation of God's Word and the work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:16; Revelation 7:9-10) through the drawing power of God.

Rather than questioning God's justice, let’s look at this from a different perspective—Christians should marvel at His mercy. God owes salvation to no one, yet He graciously offers eternal life through His Son. Our responsibility is to obey Christ's command to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, trusting that the Judge of all the earth will always do what is right (Matthew 28:18-20; Genesis 18:25).

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

 

 

What Did Adam And Eve Look Like?

What Did Adam And Eve Look Like?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, July 23, 2026 (Donate)

Were Adam and Eve blond-haired and blue-eyed? Probably not! Though many children’s books may depict them this way.

What were our first parents’ physical characteristics and why? This is actually a rather common question. The Bible doesn’t describe Adam and Eve's physical appearance in detail. Any reconstruction goes beyond what the Bible explicitly states.

Adam and Eve; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Nevertheless, there are good reasons why we can ascertain several likely features based on genetics and observable human variation in the human population. Much of this is rather obvious when you know the reason why.

Adam and Eve's Appearance

Adam and Eve were created directly by God on Day Six (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7, 18-25). Since God declared His creation "very good," they would have been free from disease, deformity, aging, and the effects of the Curse. They were likely physically mature adults, perhaps appearing to be in their twenties, though they were only one day old. They were made in such a way that they were ready to bear children for instance.

And with their great ages, they likely retained this bodily form for quite some time before aging features set in. Keep in mind that prior to sin, their bodies were designed…to last forever.

Skin Tone

Adam and Eve were probably medium brown or medium olive-skinned rather than extremely light or extremely dark. This means their melanin content (how dark your skin appears) was right in the middle. They were not too dark and not too light in their skin features.

Having middle brown skin tone would allow their children and grandchildren to have variation that could be middle brown, very light or very dark in one generation. In other words, by starting with middle brown, you can get all the skin tone variations we have all over the world. This might well have been a case very similar with Noah too when the population went through bottleneck at the Flood.

Melanin is a brownish pigment in our skin that determines if we are darker brown or light brown; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

So the reasoning is genetic rather than artistic. Today, skin tone is largely determined by the amount and distribution of melanin. Since all modern human populations descended from Adam and Eve (and later from Noah's family after the Flood), the original pair would have possessed the genetic potential to produce the full range of human skin tones seen today.

A middle-brown complexion best fits this expectation because it allows following generations to inherit combinations leading toward either lighter or darker skin through normal genetic variation.

Hair Color

Again, the Bible does not say about Adam and Eve like it did with David (ruddy/reddish per 1 Samuel 17:42).

Many researchers suggest dark brown hair because these colors are dominant throughout much of the world's population and are associated with greater genetic diversity. Though it too may have been more a middle brown to have the genetic potential for various hair tones.  Adam and Eve certainly carried genetic information that eventually allowed for:

• Black hair
• Dark brown hair
• Brown hair
• Light brown hair
• Auburn hair
• Blond hair
• Red hair

These traits in certain populations likely appeared through recombination of existing genetic information over many generations—particularly with the genetic bottlenecks after Babel—not through the evolution of entirely new genetic information.

After Babel, many families were intermarrying closely—which was okay originally. It was the time of Moses (Leviticus 18) that close intermarriage became taboo (likely for genetic reasons). Not marrying close relations is a biblical concept.

Eye Color

Again, Scripture is silent. But for the same reasons above, they were likely in the middle. Thus, researchers generally suggest brown or light brown eyes because brown is the most common eye color worldwide and is genetically dominant over many lighter eye colors.

However, Adam and Eve possessed the genetic information that would eventually allow blue, green, hazel, gray, yellow tints, and other eye colors to appear in later generations through normal inheritance.

Eye Shape, Height, And Facial Features

Since every modern human group descended from Adam and Eve, they surely possessed facial characteristics that could give rise to all present-day populations.

Rather than resembling one modern ethnicity specifically, they may have had features intermediate enough that later population isolation and genetic sorting produced today's diversity in eye shape, nose shape, facial structure, and other characteristics.

Variations in one generation from middle brown; Image requested by Bodie Hodge* 

Hopefully by now you are realizing a trend. Adam and Eve are not the extremes of any genetic table. Adam wouldn’t have been gigantic or very short. Even though the Bible never records his height—he was likely in the middle.

Though some might make the case that Adam may have been somewhat taller and stronger than the average modern man because:

• He was created perfect.
• He lived before centuries of degeneration from sin.
• People before the Flood often lived much longer.

And these are good reasons to consider, but it would still place him near the center middle of height as these physical characteristics and perhaps only slighter taller or slightly stronger as we the rest of us have indeed been subjected to the elements of sin and degradation for a long time. Nevertheless, Scripture provides no measurements—so one needs to be careful about being dogmatic.

Their Genetic Makeup

Let’s look at the genetic make up a little closer. As I’ve shared, Adam and Eve were more in the “middle” of genetic outcomes and rightly so. Then their genetic potential allows for the current population today. Adam and Eve had the greatest amount of human genetic diversity ever found in a married couple.

Unlike modern people, who inherit “already-reduced portions” of human genetic diversity (due to the Flood[1] and Babel in particular), Adam and Eve began humanity with an enormous amount of genetic information created by God.[2] God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, originally placed tremendous genetic variation potential in our first created ancestors.

Heterozygosity

Adam and Eve were likely highly “heterozygous” for many genes. This is a biological technical term for being diverse in their genetic makeup.

This means they possessed different versions (alleles) of numerous genes rather than identical copies.

For example:

• Skin pigment genes
• Hair texture genes
• Eye color genes
• Height-related genes
• Facial characteristics

Having many different alleles allowed their descendants to inherit many different combinations.

A Simple Punnett Square Illustration

Let’s look man’s pigmentation and how it is controlled by many genes, not just one, so the following is only a simplified illustration—it’s actually much more complex.

If both Adam and Eve possessed one dominant allele (A) and one recessive allele (a) for a particular trait (think skin tone in this instance):

Adam: Aa

Eve: Aa

 

Punnett square simplistic; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Their children could inherit:

• AA (25%)
• Aa (50%)
• aa (25%)

This simple example illustrates how significant skin tone variation can arise within only a few generations. In reality, human characteristics such as skin color involve many interacting genes, producing a continuous range of appearances. If we make it a bit more complex (though it is even more complex than this) it looks like this:

After Babel

When God divided humanity at the Tower of Babel into language groups (Genesis 11 by their respective families), relatively small populations became isolated. Within these isolated family groups, certain combinations of genes became more common through normal inheritance, founder effects, and population sorting.

In other words, as one family spreads out—all their descendants are going to look like that one family. All the kids and grandkids for instance, will look largely like their parents and grandparents because that is the limited genetic hand they were dealt. All my kids resemble my wife and me. It is the same concept.

This explains why various populations today tend to share similar physical characteristics while still belonging to the same human race. These differences developed rapidly after Babel without requiring human evolution from separate ancestors.

Conclusion

Although Scripture does not describe Adam and Eve's exact appearance, a biblical creation model suggests they were physically perfect, healthy adults possessing extraordinary genetic diversity.

Adam and Eve in with several of their children after Seth moved out showing variations that could occur; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Based on a number of logical factors, Adam and Eve were likely medium brown in complexion with brown hair and brown eyes, though they carried the genetic information necessary for the full spectrum of human features seen today.

Modern differences among people are understood not as evidence of separate origins but as the result of God-created genetic variation being sorted through normal inheritance after the Fall, the Flood, and especially the dispersion at Babel. All people remain descendants of one original couple, bearing the image of God and belonging to one human race (Acts 17:26)—thus we are all in need of a Savior Jesus Christ to save us from sin and death.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

*Images generated by ChatGPT

 

 

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[1] Huge portions of pre-Flood genetic diversity were lost at the Flood.

[2] Technically, the perfect amount!

The Bible Versus Other “Holy” Books—A Concise Answer

 The Bible Versus Other “Holy” Books—A Concise Answer

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, July 21, 2026 (Donate)

Many people ask, "How do we know the Bible is the Word of God when there are so many other so-called holy books?" At first glance, it may seem like all religions simply offer different sacred writings from which people choose. But the issue is much simpler than that.

Many books called "holy" do not even claim to be the revealed Word of a personal God. Hindu Vedas, secular writings like Richard Dawkins, mythologies, Others are merely collections of philosophical ideas, moral teachings, or human traditions. They may be important within their respective religions, but they do not claim the same kind of divine authority that the Bible claims.

Many religions that add additional writings actually acknowledge the Bible's authority. For example, Islam affirms much of the Bible while adding the Qur'an. Mormonism accepts the Bible (while changes about 4,000 verses) but also adds the Book of Mormon and other writings. Roman Catholicism accepts the Bible while adding the apocrypha and papal authorities. Jehovah’s Witnesses generally agree the Bible is true but add in Charles Taze Russell’s writings and the Watchtower publications.

In these cases, the real question is not whether the Bible is true, but whether these later additions come from God. In a unique instance, Judaism accepts the Old Testament, subtracts the New Testament and adds the Talmud (man-made interpretations) as an authority over the OT Bible.

The Bible teaches that God is the highest authority. Since there is no authority greater than God, His Word cannot be validated by something higher than Himself. Instead, God reveals Himself by His own final authority. The Bible begins with the simple declaration, "In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1). Scripture consistently presents itself as God's flawless and truthful revelation (Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5).

Because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), His Word will never contradict itself. This gives us a biblical test for any later religious writing. New revelation must agree with previous revelation. The New Testament affirmed the Old Testament in its foreseen fulfillment. Throughout Scripture, later prophets built upon earlier revelation rather than replacing or contradicting it. The Bereans were praised for testing Paul's teaching against the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

Other religious writings contradict God's Word; thus, they are in error; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Therefore, any book claiming divine authority that contradicts the Bible, contradicts itself, or contradicts reality cannot be from the God of the Bible. Christians should carefully test every teaching by Scripture rather than accepting human traditions or alleged new revelations. When looking at works by Muhammad, Apocryphal writers, Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Smith, Talmudic writers, and so on, they fall short of consistency with the 66 books of God’s Word and are repeatedly contradictory to Scriptures. Therefore, they are not God’s Word.

Is it that simple? Yes. If alleged new revelations contradict the 66 books of the Bible, they are not from God and not new Scripture.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

 

 

The False Doctrine Of Geocentricism

The False Doctrine Of Geocentrism

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, July 20, 2026 (Donate)

If you’ve been around long enough, you're likely to have run into someone who hold to geocentrism. A few have crossed my path over the years. At first, it surprised me, but once I understood the history, I don’t blink an eye at it anymore. 

But sadly, this secular tenet infiltrated the church in ancient times, and still does today. What is geocentrism (sometimes geocentricism) and why is this model not the best?

What Is Geocentrism?

Geocentrism is the belief that the earth is the fixed center of the universe and that the sun, moon, planets, and stars all revolve around the earth. The most famous version was the Ptolemaic system, named after Claudius Ptolemy (AD 100-170), whose complex model of circles and epicycles attempted to explain the movements of the heavenly bodies.

Geocentric Model by Ptolemy; Image requested by Bodie Hodge* 

Interestingly the mathematics behind it works, but the physical laws of it don’t. But in math you can have imaginary numbers (i) but the reality is that they have no part in the physical universe.

This idea dominated much of the ancient world because, from everyday observation, the earth appears stationary to us because we are walking around on it. We don't feel the earth spinning or moving through space, while the sun, moon, stars, and planets all seem to rise in the east and set in the west.

Today, modern astronomy recognizes that the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours and revolves around the sun each year. Furthermore, our solar system is only one tiny part of the Milky Way galaxy, which itself is only one galaxy among billions in the observable universe.

For Christians, however, the important question isn't simply, "Which model is scientifically correct?" but rather, "What does God reveal in Scripture?"

Does The Bible Teach Geocentrism?

The short answer is no. Some geocentrists claim the Bible explicitly teaches that the earth is fixed and can't move. Verses such as Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, Psalm 104:5, Ecclesiastes 1:5, and Joshua 10 are often cited in support of geocentrism. But these passages don't teach an astronomical or solar system model.

Instead, Scripture frequently uses phenomenological language, that is, language that describes things as they appear from the viewpoint of an observer on earth.

Even today, meteorologists speak of "sunrise" and "sunset." We all know what those words mean. No one assumes the speaker is claiming the sun literally revolves around the earth. They are simply describing appearances from our perspective.

The Bible does the same thing. For example:

• Ecclesiastes 1:5 says the sun "rises" and "goes down." That is exactly what every person sees each day.
• Joshua 10 records that God caused the sun to "stand still." The miracle is described from Joshua's perspective as an observer on earth.
• Psalm 19 poetically describes the sun as running its course across the heavens.

These are ordinary descriptions of what people observe, not technical lessons in astronomy.

Likewise, passages that say the earth is "established" or "shall not be moved" are speaking of its stability and permanence within God's created order, not that it has no motion through space. Similar language is used elsewhere for kingdoms and people who are firmly established (e.g., David in Psalm 62:6).

Scripture was never intended to be an astronomy textbook. Rather, it teaches theological truth using ordinary human language that everyone understands.

Why Did Some Christians Of The Past Mistakenly Think Geocentric Models Were Correct?

Many Christians throughout church history accepted geocentrism, but it is important to understand why.

First, geocentrism had been the dominant scientific model for over a thousand years before Christ. Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and astronomers such as Ptolemy developed sophisticated systems that became widely accepted throughout the Roman Empire.

As Christianity spread, many educated people simply assumed these scientific models were correct.

As a result, many theologians interpreted certain biblical passages through the lens of the accepted scientific thought of their day. Rather than allowing Scripture to interpret itself, they unknowingly mixed biblical interpretation with secular Greek astronomy.

Next, no one had the observational technology available today. Without telescopes or precise instruments, geocentrism appeared to fit ordinary human experience.

This serves as an important lesson for Christians today. We should be careful not to force either modern scientific ideas or ancient scientific traditions onto Scripture. Our authority must always remain God's Word, interpreted according to its context and intended meaning. Models, come and go, some modified and some discarded. But God’s Word stands forever—it shall not be moved!

How Did Early Scientists Like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, And Newton Challenge Geocentrism?

The change from geocentrism to heliocentrism didn't happen overnight. Consider the trend.

·       Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the earth and planets orbit the sun. His model was simpler than Ptolemy's in many respects, although it still required improvements.

·       Johannes Kepler greatly strengthened the heliocentric model by discovering that planets move in elliptical rather than perfectly circular orbits. His three laws of planetary motion accurately described planetary movements.

·       Galileo Galilei used one of the earliest telescopes to observe mountains on the moon, the phases of Venus, and four large moons orbiting Jupiter. These discoveries demonstrated that not everything revolves around the earth.

·       Sir Isaac Newton later explained planetary motion through his laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation. His work provided a physical explanation for why planets orbit the sun.

Ironically, these scientists weren't enemies of Christianity but held to the truth of the Bible!

Heliocentric Model developed by Christians; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Kepler openly sought to understand God's orderly creation and famously viewed scientific investigation as "thinking God's thoughts after Him." Newton wrote extensively on biblical subjects and believed the Creator established the orderly laws governing the universe. Galileo himself remained a professing Christian, though his conflict with church authorities became far more complicated than it is often portrayed in popular history.

Their work—while standing on the Bible—illustrates an important biblical principle: because God created an orderly universe, careful observation and mathematical investigation can reveal the consistency of His creation.

Additional Thoughts And Final Remarks

Geocentrism has experienced renewed interest in some Christian circles. While many who hold this position sincerely desire to defend the authority of Scripture, good intentions alone don't guarantee a correct interpretation.

Geocentrism is neither taught nor required by Scripture. Instead, biblical passages should be interpreted according to their literary context while also recognizing the observational language that God had His human authors to use for the inspired text.

Christians should also remember that geocentrism isn't a primary doctrine of the faith. The gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't depend upon whether the earth revolves around the sun or vice versa. So, this isn’t a matter of salvation but a matter of observation and consistency with Scripture.

The larger lesson is one of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics). We should avoid reading secular scientific ideas into Scripture. God's Word is always true, and when interpreted correctly, the heliocentric model doesn't conflict with genuine observations of God's creation—and was develop by godly men over and against the secular Greek model.

As Psalm 19 reminds us, "The heavens declare the glory of God." Whether we study the stars through a telescope or simply admire them on a clear night, they proclaim the wisdom, power, and majesty of their Creator. The proper response isn't to elevate any particular astronomical model, but to praise, worship, and give glory to our God who made the heavens and the earth.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

Images generated by ChatGPT