Rev David Wilkinson - 12/10/2026

Stunning pictures of the spectacular colours of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, have been recorded across all parts of the UK over the past couple of nights. They are the result of eruptions of charged particles from the surface of the Sun, that are captured by the magnetic field of the Earth and funnelled into our atmosphere where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen, leading to the emission of photons of different wavelengths, that is different colours of light. Yet this science does not rule out a sense of wonder for me.

Over centuries, many cultures have both attempted to understand their origin and connect their physical appearance to spiritual significance. From omens of doom to political portents and to even modern tours encouraging couples to conceive a special child under the Northern Lights! Academic Cathryn Charnell-White points out that Welsh poets Robert Owen and Hugh Jones in the 18th century saw the lights as a warning to uphold the Protestant faith. However, Owen also spoke of them as ‘strange wonder’ and ‘Christ’s strong signs’, reflecting on the way the lights encapsulated mystery and divine power.

This week I will attend the Temple Chevallier lecture, named in honour of the first Professor of Astronomy in 1841 here at Durham University. He was the first to institute in England regular and continuous observation of activity on the surface of the Sun. Chevallier was also a distinguished theologian and parish priest. He gave the Hulsean Lectures in Cambridge entitled ‘On the proofs of Divine Power and Wisdom, derived from the study of Astronomy and….the precepts of Revealed Religion’. But having read these lectures in detail, I think the title is misleading in its use of ‘proofs’. Chevallier does not at any point try to use his science to prove God. Rather he uses science to reflect on the ‘wow’ and wonder in the nature of the Sun, the planets and the stars. He engages emotion as well as reason. He uses frequently a line from the psalms ‘the heavens declare the glory of God’. His belief in God comes through ‘revealed religion’, the sense that God has communicated with us by becoming a human being in Jesus of Nazareth

I find this perspective very helpful. Chevallier is able to look at natural phenomenon and not have to choose between science and religious interpretation. Rather rejoicing in the science, he sees it as occasional sources of ‘strange wonder’ and ‘signs’ – whether it is profound awe at the beauty of the universe,or for the person of faith the glory of God.