Debating The Moon

For some reason, I was thinking about a psychology class that I took in college.
The class was simply called, Perception.
The visual part of the class, discussing what we perceive, was quite interesting.
The scientific part, discussing why we perceive what we perceive, was not my favorite thing.

I thought the class would be interesting.
I remember, as a little girl, I asked a question about something I saw on TV.
A car moving forward on a street suddenly appeared to be moving backward.
I received a vague answer at the time and never asked a follow-up question.

I happened to notice that same thing a few nights ago as I was watching the news.
The wheels on a car in a commercial appeared to be rotating backwards.
Remembering the answer that did not satisfy me years ago, I did some research.
The most succinct answer is always the easiest for me to comprehend when it comes to science.

Why do car wheels look like they are spinning backwards at high speed?

This is due to an effect known as ‘aliasing’ and is most likely to be observed on TV due to the frame rate of the camera filming it. Video cameras work by capturing lots of still images in a very short space of time. For example, television cameras capture roughly 50 frames a second. This is quite sufficient to fool our eyes and brain into thinking we are seeing a continuous moving image.
Now imagine a wheel with four spokes at right angles to each other, focus on the spoke in the 12 o’clock position. If, by the time the next frame captures an image, that spoke has moved clockwise almost one whole revolution to 11 o’clock then your brain will interpret the spoke as having moved anti-clockwise from the 12 o’clock position to the 11 o’clock position, making the wheel appear like it is rotating backwards.
This effect can also be seen quite well under a fast-moving strobe light, as essentially the strobe is doing the same thing as the camera and giving you lots of snapshots of an image. Under certain conditions, street lights can highlight this effect as they are constantly flickering on and off about 50 times a second due to the alternating current.
(taken from, How It Works Daily)

Perception.
We see something the way it is but often perceive it the way it is not.
This caused a great debate in my perception class in college.
It was the day we got a major test returned.

The professor who taught the class had an interesting system.
He allowed us to argue for our answers if they were marked wrong.
If you could back your answer up with facts or things we learned in class, points were given.
The day a test was returned was a controlled free-for-all.

With respect, we argued our points.
Often, our points were shot down and the question was still marked wrong.
However, for those few times when an argument was sound, points were given.
Points were given to everyone who got that question marked wrong.

It was a strange way of doing things.
When I reflect on the class now, I realize that it was a total disregard of any absolutes.
What we perceived something to be was held in high regard.
What was actually seen was often posited as secondary.

This was most radically seen in a photograph of the moon.
More specifically, it was a photograph of the Harvest Moon.
It was a gorgeous picture; I have always been partial to the moon.
The moon was large and seemed to be resting on the horizon.

The question was asked if the moon was actually closer to us or just appeared closer.
Facts concerning the nature of things, tell us that the moon is the same size.
The phases of the moon change its appearance and shape.
However, the size of the actual moon does not change.

People argued that because the moon appeared closer, it was indeed bigger.
No amount of discussion could change their mind.
One art major even drew an illustration of the perspective of a street.
The buildings in the foreground appeared larger than the buildings in the background.

The arguments bordered on the absurd.
What we knew to be true was being dismissed simply on the basis on subjectivity.
What I think is true is true for me.
What you think is true is true for you.

The argument got very heated.
I could not believe we wasted an entire class period discussing something that had a resolution.
Rather than stand by the correct answer, the professor threw the question out entirely.
He backed down rather than take a stand.

I saw relativism in action that day.
I didn’t like it.
I saw people argue over something for which there truly was an answer.
I saw people back down and acquiesce rather than take a stand for what they knew was right.

That was very eye opening for me.
I heard arguments that had no factual basis being given the same weight as truth.
It was a class I never forgot but for all the wrong reasons.
It was debate for the sake of argument rather than debate as a way to reveal truth.

We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Our eyes can fool us.
Our five senses are gifts from God.
The gift of sight is a gift from God with which we see the beauty of the world He created.
The gift of faith is also a gift from God.

When we are in Christ, His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.
The Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see spiritual things.
Our physical eyes will deceive us.
Our spiritual eyes, as led by the Holy Spirit, will always point us to truth.

There is absolute truth.
There are right answers and wrong answers based on that truth.
God’s truth is not up for debate.
God’s truth, as revealed in His Word, stands.

The more you know God’s Word, the more you will know truth.
The more you know truth, the more you will recognize falsehood.
The more you recognize falsehood, the more ready you are to defend God’s truth.
The more you defend God’s truth, with respect and kindness, the more you are heard.

The more you are heard, the more people will be exposed to God’s truth.
The more people who are exposed to God’s truth, the more people will come to Christ for salvation.
The more people who come to Christ for salvation, the more the Gospel will spread.
The more the Gospel will spread, the more the Great Commission will be fulfilled.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19,20)

The truth of the Gospel must be proclaimed, not our perception of the Gospel.
God’s Word will stand, no matter what anyone says.