Astronomy and the Bible;

CHAPTERVII

TheCenteroftheUniverse

ERRORandtruthonanyparticularpointcannot
resideinthesamemindatthesametime. Error
andtruthareopposites;theoneisentirelyan-
tagonistic to the other. A particular error retained
inthemindkeepsoutofthatmindtheoppositetruth.
In astronomy, for ages,one radicaltruthwasnot
generally apprehended,—the truth that the earth is
notthecenteroftheuniverse. Theideathattheearth
wasthecenter,wasthegreatmistakewhichheldmen
fromanylarge advancementin astronomicalscience.
All their investigationswere coloredby it; and the
entireuniverseofthevisibleheavens, triedbyit,was
woefullyoutofjoint. Thewholesystemof ancient
astronomywasbuiltuponahugemistake.
"Men held, as a fact of absolute, unquestionable
certainty,thatthisearthofours,—thissmallwhirling
globe, lessthan eight thousand milesin diameter,

—

was a vast and immeasurable plain, extending to
perhaps infinite distances, and firmly fixed upon
immovable foundations. Theyheldthataroundthis

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