Geocentrism
He has fixed the earth firm, immovable. (1 Chronicles 16:30)
The idea that the Sun orbited the Earth – rather than the other way around – was the common position throughout antiquity. The Bible, in verses like the one above, seemed to support it.
While it made intuitive sense – the Earth feels solid, while the skies seem to move – close observation of the heavens raised serious questions. The ‘wandering stars’ – now known to be the other planets – periodically seemed to change direction and travel backwards, rather than continuing on a smooth orbit.
Copernicus and Galileo, using new technology like the telescope, suggested that the Earth went around the Sun. The Church, angered, condemned Galileo to lifelong house arrest on “grave suspicion of heresy”.
By 1835, in the face of overwhelming evidence, the Church had dropped all opposition to heliocentrism, and in 1992 Pope John Paul II gave an official apology for his treatment. There are now plans to build a statue to Galileo inside the Vatican walls
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