Lita, did ANY OT Hagiographer Believe Geocentrism?

Article is a feedback with three letters:

Is biblical creation anti-science?
Published: 31 August 2019 (GMT+10)
https://creation.com/creation-anti-science

Responding to the first, Charles H, you say:

And the Old Testament authors most certainly did not believe in a flat earth nor geocentrism.

In fact, as to belief in flat earth, no OT author can be tied to it (or NT author, since three passages alleged to prove it are from Matthew, Luke and Apocalypse).

But saying they most certainly did not believe flat earth is perhaps overdoing it. They left, at least, the door open for this misunderstanding.

However, you also added "nor geocentrism".

Joshua is both an actor of Biblical history and an author (excepting chapter on his death) of the book telling of his carreer.

Now, in Joshua 10, verse 12, Joshua certainly was, as acting person, and as miracle worker, believing that Sun and Moon move around Earth, or he would not have adressed these when commanding the miracle (and he said before them: Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon) which was after praying (just previously, it has: Then Josue spoke to the Lord, in the day that he delivered the Amorrhite in the sight of the children of Israel,) and therefore not identic to his prayer.

Now, years later or whenever it was, he is hagiographer. In verse 12 he reports in third person what he did and said, and in verse 13 he reports the result.

Now, the article you linked to says, phenomenological language is known from Scripture (Acts 27:27). Fine, but this does not prove Joshua used phenomenological language in verse 12 of chapter 10. Indeed, there is no known miracle where something is adressed which is not changing as such. While bacteria do die or disappear completely when leprosy is cured, the man himself actually does become clean. In cases of exorcism, demons are adressed because demons exist, not, as some accomodationists would have it (one of my issues against Swedish state Church, much less conservative than Missouri synod) because the man psychologically feels certain thoughts as demons.

So, phenomenological language is out of the question when Joshua worked the miracle. Nothing of what Joshua adds in verse 13 when writing suggests he reconsidered it and also we find no example of a miracle worker being wrong about what the miracle was changing as to normal course of things. When Elijah prayed for fire from heaven, he did not get pouring water. Why? Because the one working a miracle is inspired by God, who is omniscient as well as omnipotent.

Obviously, the statements are being given in a local frame of reference. Why? Because the sun standing over Gibeon would not appear to be overhead anywhere except in the geographic vicinity of Gibeon. The valley of Aijalon is to the west of Gibeon. Therefore, the moon would not appear to be to the west of Gibeon to someone standing in Aijalon; it would be out over the Mediterranean.

It so happens, if Geocentrism is true, while the Sun is over Gibeon once a day, the Sun is also over opposite coordinate (E/W) when Gibeon has night. When Joshua spoke, the Sun was indeed over 35° 11′ 00″ East, and not over 124° 49' 00" West (Humboldt county in CA). Instead, when the Sun is over Humboldt county, the Sun is under Gibeon, when the Sun is over Gibeon, the Sun is under Humboldt county. So, the fact Joshua used "over" does also not prove phenomenological language.

Yet there is nothing here to say that he did not temporarily slow down a rotating earth (as well as the hydrosphere and atmosphere). This would produce the same effect. Or He could have stopped the movement of everything in the universe. Same result. That something universal really happened in history is shown by legends of a long night in people groups on the other side of the globe.

I appreciate the diligence about historicity of event, it seems the limit between long day and long night goes through a place in China, but as said, there is a detail showing the "same effect" argument doesn't adequately deal with what God did, namely Joshua's words in verse 12, plus verse 13 adding nothing to indicate Joshua changed his mind on what was normally moving and miraculously standing still.

So, Miss Cosner, you are wrong one at least one OT hagiographer.

Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris
St. Raymond Nonnato
31.VIII.2019

PS, as to Acts 27:27 ὑπενόουν οἱ ναῦται προσάγειν τινὰ αὐτοῖς χώραν - Joshua 10:13 has no verbum sentiendi.