Old News!

One of my favorite things to do as we study each century is look up a list of the major inventions and discoveries of the century. I was consulting this list for the 16th century, and at the very top is Copernicus publishing his theory that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Instead, the Earth and other planets revolved around the sun. This was such a revolutionary idea that there grew to be quite an opposition to the theory. Even Martin Luther questioned Copernicus's theory on the basis of the Biblical story of Joshua commanding the sun be still. The Roman Catholic Church went so far as to issue a decree suspending Copernicus's publication. Galileo followed Copernicus's position, and was convicted of grave suspicion of heresy and sentenced to house arrest for the rest his life by the Catholic Church.

Today we know Copernicus was absolutely right. In fact, his theory makes so much sense that the amount of hostility and flat out denial by so many for so long towards heliocentrism is surprising. But Copernicus wasn't the first one to know it! The ancient prophets of the Book of Mormon knew it over a thousand years before the minds of Europe began to accept it. In Heleman 12:15, Mormon stated "for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun." Nobody's taking Copernicus's claim to fame away yet, but it just goes to show the light the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to all aspects of life, including astronomy :)