Bible says the sun goes around the earth (Talk.Origins)

Claim CH901:


 * The earth is fixed at (or near) the center of the universe. The sun and other planets travel around it. That is what the Bible plainly says [Ps. 93:1, Ps. 19:1-6, Joshua 10:12-14] and what the evidence indicates.

Source:
 * Willis, Tom, 2000. "The Laws of Cause and Effect, and the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics have been invalidated by modern science", Part 2. CSA News 17(2) (Mar/Apr): 1-2.
 * Jones, Steven, 2005. Geocentric universe. http://www.midclyth.supanet.com/

CreationWiki response:

The vast majority of Creationists agree with Talk Origins on their main responses to this claim.

In each of these cases the word moved is translated from the Hebrew mote. [Strong's Ref. # 4131] According to Strong it means: "to waver; to slip, shake, or fall." So the word has nothing to do with being absolutely motionless, but a steadiness in motion and permanence. This is because saying that something does not "waver, slip, shake, or fall" does not eliminate other forms of motion.

The word Hebrew mote and the English words moved and removed are passive voice. So these verses only speak against external influences that are not part of the Earth's pre-planned course.

A simple look at the Hebrew shows that these verses do not say that the planet Earth does not move, but rather speaks of its steady continuance as God has established it. Compare with Psalms 16:8, which uses the same Hebrew word; obviously, the author does not mean that he is absolutely motionless, whether physically or spiritually!

Psalm 19:1-6 and Joshua 10:12-14 are observational descriptions. These verses describe motion of the sun as seen by an observer on Earth and have nothing to do with absolute motion. The same observed motion has been observed by probes on Mars.

Related References

 * Geocentricity and the Bible
 * Galileo, Geocentrism, and Joshua’s Long Day Questions and Answers