A Layman’s Guide to Traditional Catholic Cosmology | Kolbe Center Seminar, Dallas, September 2026
Is the Big Bang as settled as we are told? Edward Razz walks through what Scripture, the Fathers and the Church have taught about the cosmos, and what recent observations say about the earth’s place in it.
Presenting a talk prepared by Dr. Kevin J. Mark, Edward Razz begins with why origins matter and what Holy Scripture says, then follows the Church Fathers’ teaching that the earth is at rest through the Council of Trent, Galileo and the decrees of 1616 and 1633, Pius VII’s permission of 1820 and Pope John Paul II on Galileo. He then examines the Big Bang, from Father Lemaître and Hubble’s red shift to the cosmological principle, and the observations that challenge it: quantized red shifts that place the earth near the center, large-scale structures, galaxies in concentric shells, and the “axis of evil” in the cosmic microwave background.
In this talk:
- What Scripture and the Church Fathers teach about the earth at rest
- Galileo, the decrees of 1616 and 1633, and what came after
- Father Lemaître, Hubble’s red shift and the cosmological principle
- Quantized red shifts, galaxy shells and the “axis of evil”
Chapters:
0:00 Why origins matter
1:20 What is cosmology?
2:24 What Holy Scripture says
5:16 The Church Fathers: the earth at rest
8:28 Trent, Galileo and the decrees of 1616 and 1633
12:52 Pius VII and the permission of 1820
14:35 Pope John Paul II on Galileo
19:16 What’s at stake
21:03 Father Lemaître and the Big Bang
23:02 Hubble and the red shift
28:01 The cosmological principle
32:15 Quantized red shifts: Earth near the center
34:15 How fast is the earth moving?
38:00 Large-scale structures
41:11 Galaxies in concentric shells
42:57 The cosmic microwave background and the “axis of evil”
47:57 The evidence, summed up
48:50 Scientists’ doubts about the Big Bang
51:01 Conclusion: a Catholic cosmology
About the speakers: this talk was prepared by Dr. Kevin J. Mark, D.M.D., and presented by Edward Razz, a nuclear engineer and physicist.
This talk was given at a Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation seminar at Mater Dei Parish, Dallas, in September 2026. The Kolbe Center is a Catholic apostolate dedicated to proclaiming the truth about the origins of man and the universe, in fidelity to Sacred Scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the constant teaching of the Magisterium.
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