Geocentricity

[jimmus mcbobbus]

How many people here believe in geocentricity?

 

[Merlin]

It really doesn't matter.
use whatever is convenient.
I find geo easier at times
sun-centered at other times.
Most of my life involves neither.

 

[arunma]

It really doesn't matter.
use whatever is convenient.
I find geo easier at times
sun-centered at other times.
Most of my life involves neither.

This expresses my sentiments as well. Except for the last part, but only because I'm a physicist and my reference frame of choice does in fact play a fairly significant role in my life.

To answer the question, I do not subscribe to either the geocentric or heliocentric views. The very idea of an absolute reference frame is contradicted by the special theory of relativity, and thus it makes no sense to regard any reference frame as especially significant. Of course, one's choice of reference frame can often make things easier. If humans defined all distances and speeds with respect to the sun, our world would likewise be much more complex than it already is.

Seriously though, I've never met anyone in person (Christian or otherwise) who believed in geocentrism. We used to have a poster who frequented the Baptist forum who believed in geocentrism. He was a nice guy and all, but he insisted that the geocentric reference frame carried some special significance.

 

[Merlin]

This expresses my sentiments as well. Except for the last part, but only because I'm a physicist and my reference frame of choice does in fact play a fairly significant role in my life.

I work with physics a great deal. Just not the solar system.
It effects nothing on Earth (for me), nothing astronomical (stars stay the same), satellites orbit fine, etc.

 

[Alcamo]

Hey All,

Can anyone show me a verse in the Bible that says the Earth is the center of the solar system or universe? Verses commonly used to "prove" the Bible teaches geocentricity are being distorted and stretched way beyond what they are actually stating. The verse in Joshua is a perfect example, for multiple reasons. The Bible simply doesn't teach it.

It's more than a little ironic that Galileo himself was a firm believer in the Bible and defended his views against his critics by refuting their distortion of those very Bible verses. Wonder why that's never mentioned in textbooks that rant about how "religion" was intolerant toward his discoveries.

Anyway, just thinking out loud...

 

[musicman30mm]

Neither are the center of the universe of course. If the universe is somehow infinite, a la infinite spacetime or the Multiverse, the concept of 'center' is moot. I think there's supposed to be good evidence that at least the Universe (capital 'U', as in, all matter and energy that was cast off by the big bang), is not infinite. Whether or not the Universe one unit in a grander heirarchy is a matter of some speculation. I'm no cosmologist though, so don't take my word for it.

Apropos to Sun's solar system, all of the planets, asteroids and the Sun rotate about a common center of gravity. That center of gravity is so close to the Sun, it wobbles more than rotates, so without getting too technical, the Earth essentially goes round the Sun.

 

[chilehed]

Observation leads us to the conclusion that the universe is nether geocentic nor heliocentri. It's acentric.

It's possible that if the universe has more than 3 spacial dimensions the earth could be at the center, but since we're utterly incapable of observing it it's a moot point.