1. ISLAM: CREATOR OF THE MODERN AGE

~ 25 ~ Christians, this theory dominated people’s minds until it was finally displaced in the 16th century by Copernicus. As far as the Christians are concerned, the basic belief of Christianity is that of atonement, through which God ordained the salvation of the whole of humanity. The event of atonement, so central to this creed, relates not only to humanity but to the whole of the universe. Since the greatest single act of atonement, that of Christ’s crucifixion (as atonement for the sins of humanity), took place on earth, the earth according to Christian theology, was assumed to be of the greatest importance in the universe and, therefore, its central point. This being so, Christians wholeheartedly supported Ptolemy’s theory of geocentrism, giving it the status of a religious creed. The Christians naturally opposed all attempts to prove the truth of the heliocentric theory. It was only the research carried out by Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler which ultimately proved the falsity of this theory. 5