Does the Earth Move?

Psalm 104:5

“Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”

 I was in my mid teens. I had got on the train, ready for a journey to London. I had thought I had checked that I was on the right train and that I was sitting in a seat facing forward, waiting for the train to go. Suddenly, the train started moving backwards. It was going the wrong way! I must have got on the wrong train. I jumped up, ready to leave the train – but then I realized the train was not moving. The train on the track next to mine had moved forward, and I thought my train was moving backward.

Movement is relative. It is very common for all of us to use figures of speech which appear to refer to other objects moving while we stay still. Looking back from a ship leaving port, we might say that the city and the houses are receding. They are not. We are moving.

There are those who hold that the Earth is fixed and that the Sun and planets orbit the Earth with a complex system of interlocking spirals. Such geocentrists claim that their view is in accord with Scripture. It is not. Psalm 104:5 states that the Earth shall never be moved; it is not referring to an Earth which is stationary in space. Rather, the Hebrew word mot refers to being shaken. The Earth will not be shaken off course. Geocentric models do not explain why the planets move as they do. The Copernican model does – and is entirely consistent with the Bible’s teaching.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your word. Thank You for those who have pioneered science because we know that so many of them knew You and trusted in Your word. Amen.

Ref: Carter, R. and Sarfati, J. (2015), Why the Universe does not revolve around the Earth, < https://creation.com/refuting-absolute-geocentrism >, accessed 8/9/2018. Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author.

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