In 1616, Galileo Galilei was tried by the Roman Inquisition, an arm of the Catholic Church, and found “vehemently suspect of heresy.” His scientific assertions “expressly contradicts the doctrine of Holy Scripture.” As a result, the Father of Modern Science was sentenced to house arrest. What was Galileo’s heresy? What was his assertion that caused such massive censure from the church. He claimed the sun, not the earth, was the center of our world. He rightly discovered the earth revolves around the sun. The geocentric Church condemned the heliocentric work of Copernicus and, subsequently, Galileo. Why? On what grounds? His conclusions were in clear contradiction to at least four scriptures. Joshua 10:12–13 “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies.” Psalm 104:5 “He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.” Ecclesiastes 1:5 “The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.” Psalm 19:4–6 “In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun… It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other.” Galileo’s famous response was “The Bible reveals how to go to heaven, not now the heavens go.” As a modern Christian, far removed from the 17th century controversy, these verses are not an issue. However, it raises a deeper question, “How many other scriptures might we be misinterpreting in a similar way?” We do the Bible a disservice when we claim more for it than God ever intended. The safest way to approach the Bible is remembering the Word is above the word, and the word must be interpreted with the aid of the Holy Spirit.
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