<P> The first information about the heliocentric views of Nicolaus Copernicus was circulated in manuscript completed some time before May 1, 1514 . Although only in manuscript, Copernicus' ideas were well known among astronomers and others . His ideas contradicted the then - prevailing understanding of the Bible . In the King James Bible (first published in 1611), First Chronicles 16: 30 states that "the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved ." Psalm 104: 5 says, "(the Lord) Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever ." Ecclesiastes 1: 5 states that "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose ." </P> <P> Nonetheless, in 1533, Johann Albrecht Widmannstetter delivered in Rome a series of lectures outlining Copernicus' theory . The lectures were heard with interest by Pope Clement VII and several Catholic cardinals . On November 1, 1536, Archbishop of Capua Nikolaus von Schönberg wrote a letter to Copernicus from Rome encouraging him to publish a full version of his theory . </P> <P> However, in 1539, Martin Luther said: </P> <P> "There is talk of a new astrologer who wants to prove that the earth moves and goes around instead of the sky, the sun, the moon, just as if somebody were moving in a carriage or ship might hold that he was sitting still and at rest while the earth and the trees walked and moved . But that is how things are nowadays: when a man wishes to be clever he must...invent something special, and the way he does it must needs be the best! The fool wants to turn the whole art of astronomy upside - down . However, as Holy Scripture tells us, so did Joshua bid the sun to stand still and not the earth ." </P>

Who realized the planets go around the sun