The Sun-Earth Controversy

I just started reading a rather interesting book that looks at the difference (and similarities!) between science and the bible. I'm only 10% of the way through it, but it's already changed the way I look at the bible.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/0759298815?tag=priuschatcom-20 don't look at this as saying the bible is wrong... Merely that several thousand year old scientific theory has been proven incorrect and replaced.

 

Your poll does not include:
Everything is stationary (Earth, Sun and Moon).
For the one day that is depicted in the scriptures -
Joshua 10:12-13:

"Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up
the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight
of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the
valley of Ajalon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had
avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book
of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted
not to go down about a whole day."

God created everything... He certainly could have stopped things for a day. Call it a miracle. People have been misinterpreting the Bible since it was written. That will not end as long as the people reading the Bible don't have a personal relationship with Him.

 

What is this "orbit" theory? When I look out the window, the ground is relatively flat: that's all the evidence I need to prove that the world is flat! Those pictures of the "Earth" in "space"....that's just government funded propoganda.

I'm sure there are probably some people on Earth who believe that!

 

I don't see the conflict between the Bible and science in this respect. Where does the Bible say that the sun orbits the Earth, other than using common vernacular that we still use today (the sun is climbing, the sun is setting, etc.)?
(Well, except that bit in Joshua, but even that doesn't talk about orbits).

People talk about the division between science and religion, while really there is room for both, depending on how particular people interpret particular passages. Reading Genesis 1 for instance sounds a lot like the Big Bang with energy and matter being formed, then stars and planets, etc. If you get past the notion of a day requiring to be a literal 24 hours before days even existed. Why not the use of day as in "in King Edward's day". Does that mean he was King for a 24 hours?

Of course, the early Catholics just made a lot of stuff up wholesale and it didn't come from the Bible at all, but it became part of religious thought for many people. (Purgatory, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, and the best one, Jesus had no siblings while the Bible explicitly says he did have siblings, or at least half-siblings.)

This is why the Catholic church originally punished Galileo, but have recently exonerated him. It went against their original thoughts, but not against the Bible. The Catholic church also says Darwin is likely correct and that there could be life on other planets.

 

I was going to vote, but there's no option for "the world revolves around ME".

 

Too small scale dudes... The universe revolves around me.

 

That is only because of your perspective Bra... since you are on the same planet as I am, you think the universe is revolving around you... when in fact, it revolves around my frau...

I once was mistaken to think the same as you, but I have since learned that Einstein's theory applies to this as well, and my perspective was what was confusing me.

 

WHOSE Bible? It seems that you are assuming that yours is the only one on earth.

 

Agreed... I had to give up that perspective when I got married too.

 

Copernicus, Galileo, Keppler and other observers figured this out a l-o-n-g time ago. This is a redundant question. The only "controversy" is in the minds of those who base their beliefs (acts of faith) on faith and not on reproducible, testable, falsifiable evidence.

 

If you want to throw General Relativity into the mix, any spot can be considered the center of the universe. We can make the Earth the center and it all works out just fine, except the orbital equations get very complicated.

Tom

 

Then now for the fun question. Does the universe have a center of mass?

 

Of course...

 

Where?

 

Where the big bang occurred.

 

actually, i saw those photos. they were flat as well.

 

Well, the Bible reflects the "state of the art" in its day (or century!). I feel sorry for the folk who have been brainwashed to believe it is literally true ...