Dispelling myths and highlighting history of the heliocentric model

The persistence of myths in the history of science is demonstrated by the fact that even Mano Singham’s article is not free of them. He mentions Martin Luther’s alleged statement against heliocentrism in 1539 as one of the prominent voices of the Protestant opposition to Copernicus’s ideas. In the most frequently quoted version of that statement, Luther is alleged to have branded Copernicus as a fool who will turn the whole science of astronomy upside down. However, historian of science Andreas Kleinert from Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, has shown that “the famous citation from Luther’s table talks is next to worthless as an historical source, that Luther never referred to Copernicus or to the heliocentric world system in all his voluminous writings, and that there is no indication that Luther ever suppressed the Copernican viewpoint.” ¹ Luther was not responsible for the Protestant opposition to Copernicanism, nor did he lead a crusade against it. His opinion about the heliocentric system was indifferent or ignorant but not hostile.