False Argument #9: Bible Claims Sun Revolves Around Earth

Science itself is a continually evolving enterprise and mistakes are a natural part of the evolutionary process. For religious expressions of this peculiar human ability to error, one need look no further than the well-publicized story of the Italian scientist Galileo, (1564-1642) prosecuted by the Roman Catholic Church on grounds that his claim Earth revolved around the sun was heretical. First we must secure accurate definitions of the pertinent terms.

The word heretical can be defined as contrary to the chartered traditions of the Church, and heliocentrism is the notion that the sun is the center of our solar system. Is this idea at arms with anything the Bible actually says, or was it at arms with the power structure’s interpretation of scripture at that particular time?

Earlier notions of heliocentrism are found nearly two thousand years before Galileo. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes used geometry to calculate the distance of the sun and moon from Earth as well as their approximate size, leading to the conclusion that because the sun was so massive it must be the center of the solar system. Whereas Eratosthenes and Galileo backed their hypotheses with demonstrable reasoning, the Church had nothing to back its position except self-exalted authority. The two rogue thinkers built their case on sound observation and it is now commonly known that major objects like our sun keep minor objects like planets in orbit. In fact, human knowledge has so progressed that even the average seventh grade student knows Earth revolves around the sun.

As with many other Catholic positions, for example the clear Bible teaching not to call priests "father," the Church’s stance was not justified by scripture or science. It was based on religious tradition, and unfortunately for Galileo, although factually correct his observations were in opposition to that tradition. Possibly due to a rigid and inflexible interpretation of Psalm 19:6, which states poetically from the vantage point of an observer on Earth that the sun, “…rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other,” the Church had declared Earth the center of the solar system. As opposed to discussing ideas and inviting synthesis, the Church added Galileo’s “Dialogue on Two World Systems” to their Index of Prohibited Books and it remained there until the mid-nineteenth century. Albeit too late for Galileo to enjoy, in 1981 the Vatican formally admitted the Italian scientist was right with the resulting lesson being that religious tradition and truth are not inherently synonymous.

Note that again we see, even if the Bible is completely authoritative the reader’s interpretations of it are surely not always so. Also note that those who attack the claim the Bible says our sun revolves around Earth attacks a strawman. Further of note is another iteration of religious dogma stifling science.