The reason that the earth revolves around the sun is to indicate that we humans should revolve around God rather than having God revolve around us - Eric L. Johnson

The Sower (Sower at Sunset) Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)

Humans "knew" the sun and all the planets and stars revolved around the earth and the earth was the center of the universe

Figure of the heavenly bodies — An illustration of the Ptolemaic geocentric system by Portuguese cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu Velho, 1568 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)

What would it have been like to gaze up at the sun in the ancient world? At that time, nothing could have seemed more obvious than the sun's movement across the sky, from east to west, and nothing could have seemed more sure than the fixedness and immovability of the earth on which one stood. It is hard for us now to imagine how the earth and sun were perceived back when humans "knew" the sun and all the planets and stars revolved around the earth and the earth was the center of the universe. How crazy it must have seemed at first, when certain astronomers began suggesting that it was the earth that was moving around the sun, rather than the reverse.


We vastly underestimated the size of the sun and overestimated the size of the earth


The Sun by Edvard Munch (1863–1944)

Even now, the sun does not look that big. From where we are, it looks much larger than the stars, but compared to the earth, stretched out all around us, the sun seems relatively small. Yet we now know that the appearance of the sun and the earth is quite the reverse of the reality—100,000 earths could fit inside the sun! For centuries we vastly underestimated the size of the sun and overestimated the size of the earth. One’s perspective is so important.


We humans have to view ourselves as the ultimate center of the universe, rather than God

Andreas Cellarius's illustration of the Copernican system, from the Harmonia Macrocosmica (1708).

But let us probe this a little deeper. Why might God have created the celestial system we find ourselves in to have an appearance so different from reality? Why would God create it this way, knowing how we would perceive it for thousands of years, and knowing that we would only "catch on" in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries A.D., after mathematics and astronomical observation had developed enough to discover the way things actually were. Of course, we can only speculate what God's reasons might have been, but at least one plausible explanation might be the following. Perhaps this arrangement is itself meaningful—perhaps it is a “sign.” Maybe God set it up to serve as a profound analogy—at the "center" of creation and of human cultural development—of the radical tendency that we humans have to view ourselves as the ultimate center of the universe, rather than God.

God created the solar system as a sort of ironic metaphor -- an illustration of our eventual fallen perspective of ourselves and the rest of reality


Ra, ancient Egyptian god of the sun and king of the gods.

It seems so natural for us to assume, without our hardly being aware of it, that we are supremely important. Our own interests so easily loom larger than anyone else's (God, the rest of the creation, other humans!). To break out of this basic way of life, more was needed than mathematics and careful empirical observation. God himself had to explain it to us directly in Christ and in the Scriptures, and indirectly through his creation. From these sources we find out that he is absolutely the greatest being there is: transcendent and supremely majestic, perfectly loving and perfectly righteous, the unlimited, all knowing, and all powerful Creator and Redeemer, the unfathomable source of goodness, truth, love, and beauty. The corollary of this revelation is, of course, that we are not this being. We can look pretty important, compared to rocks, trees, and cows. But compared to the greatest being there is—and the source of all that is other than himself—we realize that we are actually profoundly insignificant, situated in one place and time, with extremely limited abilities and skills, and vulnerable to sickness, injury, and eventual death. Perspective is so important. So, perhaps God created the solar system the way he did as a sort of ironic metaphor, intending it to be an illustration of our eventual fallen perspective of ourselves and the rest of reality, which would only be brought to light to humanity in the unfolding of its cultural and scientific development in the 1400 and 1500’s.

Be drawn by grace into an orbit around God

Morning Sun by Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

In this chapter—and really in the whole book—we will explore the therapeutic significance of what lies at the center of one’s heart and life, one’s relational universe, and one’s worldview. For there is tremendous psychological fallout from one’s orientation with respect to this most important matter of all. Living from anything other than the true center of reality contributes to a great deal to the misery and strife with we find in human society and the human heart, and moving towards that center leads to a resolution of many of our greatest psychospiritual problems and ultimately to one’s enduring happiness. Christians believe that being drawn by grace into an orbit around God can bring about the best psychological well being there is and is the best path to greater healing and strengthening and maturing of the human soul. This is the case, according to Christianity, because humans were made for just such an orbit. All our desires—both good and bad—signify, in one way or another, our fundamental need to be in a living, loving relationship with the greatest Good there is, in conscious dependence, worship, communion, and gratitude, and to desire him above all else. Consequently, human flourishing and the fulfillment of all human relationships and activities are found ultimately in their proper relation to God.

Source: Johnson, Eric L. God and Soul Care: The Therapeutic Resources of the Christian Faith. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, manuscript submitted for publication, chapter 1.