ECT Joshua's Long Day--Does it mandate a Geocentric Cosmology?

[Rosenritter]

This quite fascinating! I don't want to squelch good discussion, but how do we apply this to a literal take on the Joshua story. I think you're right about the Job passage, but it seems more poetic in nature, too. It's usually considered a book of poetry.

Here's an attempt:

[Jos 10:12-14 KJV] 12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. [Is] not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

But how does this help us to determine if the intent of the author was to say, "The Sun normally goes around the earth, with the moon, but God stopped it from doing so."?

I don't know if this fits his exact pattern, but the account does repeat the details a few times to make sure we aren't going to pass it by...

12) Joshua asks for the sun and moon to stand still,
13) a) the sun and the moon stays still
b) this was measurable because the battle with the Amorites did not end with nightfall
c) Jasher makes not of the same event
d) it repeats that the sun stood still in heaven, and gives a time estimate of how long this was
14) a) This was not like any other day ever
b) God did this, actually listening to Joshua
c) Thus God was fighting for Israel

so aside from stating the event, it also repeats and confirms it in about six different ways.

 

[Derf]

I don't know if this fits his exact pattern, but the account does repeat the details a few times to make sure we aren't going to pass it by...

12) Joshua asks for the sun and moon to stand still,
13) a) the sun and the moon stays still
b) this was measurable because the battle with the Amorites did not end with nightfall
c) Jasher makes not of the same event
d) it repeats that the sun stood still in heaven, and gives a time estimate of how long this was
14) a) This was not like any other day ever
b) God did this, actually listening to Joshua
c) Thus God was fighting for Israel

so aside from stating the event, it also repeats and confirms it in about six different ways.

So then. what can we (you, me, and [MENTION=8899]Wick Stick[/MENTION]) do with this information to determine whether the stopping of the sun and moon mandates a geocentric cosmology?

 

[Rosenritter]

So then. what can we (you, me, and @Wick Stick) do with this information to determine whether the stopping of the sun and moon mandates a geocentric cosmology?

Whether you are speaking of geocentric, lunacentric, or heliocentric, it only matters where you choose to use as your point {0,0,0} for your perspective, and that can be changed for the sake of convenience.

If you are talking in the sense of God's creation, it does seem to be Geocentric. Earth was created first, then the sun and stars placed for its benefit as things take shape. If you are launching a satellite from the moon to orbit around the moon, you'll use a lunacentric model. If you are launching a rocket from earth, to slingshot around Mars, and end up in the sun, it might be beneficial to use multiple models.

In the sense of Joshua's creation, it doesn't mandate any cosmology. While I think it's a lot easier to do the math from a Geocentric angle, but I think God has enough computational power to plan the miracle (what needs to move and how fast) no matter where he is standing, and as such I don't think there's an absolute "mandate." Maybe you could define what exactly you mean by "cosmology" here? Just in case I'm misreading this?