--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With hindsight, it is truly remarkable…" description: "\"“With hindsight, it is truly remarkable that, as early as the sixteenth century, Copernicus and his disciple Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–74) resolved ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/gary-b-ferngren-38961_bible_with-hindsight-it-is-truly-remarkable-th_1251868.jpg" --- # With hindsight, it is truly remarkable that, as early as… ![“With hindsight, it is truly remarkable that, as early as the sixteenth century, Copernicus and his disciple Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–74) resolved the issue to their satisfaction by invoking the patristic distinction between the Bible’s teaching on spiritual and eternal realities and its…” quote by Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/gary-b-ferngren-38961_bible_with-hindsight-it-is-truly-remarkable-th_1251868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/gary-b-ferngren-38961_bible_with-hindsight-it-is-truly-remarkable-th_1251868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/gary-b-ferngren-38961_bible_with-hindsight-it-is-truly-remarkable-th_1251868.jpg) > ““With hindsight, it is truly remarkable that, as early as the sixteenth century, Copernicus and his disciple Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–74) resolved the issue to their satisfaction by invoking the patristic distinction between the Bible’s teaching on spiritual and eternal realities and its descriptions of the natural world in the language of ordinary people. Rheticus specifically appealed to Augustine’s doctrine of “accommodation,” asserting that the Holy Spirit accommodated himself on the pages of Scripture to the everyday language and terminology of appearances.”” [Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scholars used the idea that Scripture speaks in everyday terms about the physical world, while deeper truths belong to the spiritual realm. **In simple terms:** Bible uses simple language for nature, deeper meaning is spiritual. Key Takeaway Recognize layers of meaning in texts. Themes theology history interpretation Mood thoughtful analytical Type explanatory historical When to use this quote - academic research - religious education - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts Accommodation patristic distinction scriptural hermeneutics Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance literal and metaphorical readings? - Can accommodation justify scientific errors? A Different Perspective The approach may overlook literal scientific claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Holy spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-spirit/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) ## Related quotes > [Just as the line of astronomical thinkers from Copernicus to Newton had destroyed the old astronomy, in which the earth was the center, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/just-as-the-line-of-astronomical-thinkers-from-copernicus-to-newton/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [“Every individual spends a lifetime trying to disprove Copernicus by placing him- or herself at the heart of existence, but a small core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/every-individual-spends-a-lifetime-trying-to-disprove-copernicus-by/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [ “There is talk of a new astrologer \[Nicolaus Copernicus\] who wants to prove that the earth moves and goes around instead of the sky,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/there-is-talk-of-a-new-astrologer-nicolaus-copernicus-who-wants-to/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“Some of the men to whom Copernicus communicated his theory were German Lutherans, but when Luther came to know of it, he was profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/some-of-the-men-to-whom-copernicus-communicated-his-theory-were/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/misunderstood-it-is-a-right-fool-s-word-is-it-so-bad-then-to-be/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Modern neurosis began with the discoveries of Copernicus. 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Once the hard-won principles of reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-this-is-where-all-the-vapid-talk-about-the-soul-of-the-universe-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/who-will-venture-to-place-the-authority-of-copernicus-above-that-of/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [I live on the other side of Copernicus and Galileo; I can no longer conceive of God as sort of above the sky, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-live-on-the-other-side-of-copernicus-and-galileo-i-can-no-longer/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The full impact of the Lobachevskian method of challenging axioms has probably yet to be felt. 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Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) > [“In short, the interaction between science and religion in the Middle Ages was not an abstract encounter between bodies of fixed ideas but part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-b-ferngren/in-short-the-interaction-between-science-and-religion-in-the-middle/) [Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) > [“The Middle Ages have served as a historical arena within which two schools of thought have done battle—one school accusing the medieval church of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-b-ferngren/the-middle-ages-have-served-as-a-historical-arena-within-which-two/) [Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) > [“The Judeo-Christian view, in contrast, historically regarded nature as the nonliving creation of a rational God, not cyclic but with a definite beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-b-ferngren/the-judeo-christian-view-in-contrast-historically-regarded-nature-as/) [Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) > [“Science’s best-known victories were those of Copernicanism and Darwinism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-b-ferngren/science-s-best-known-victories-were-those-of-copernicanism-and/) [Gary B. Ferngren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) [Explore all 11 Gary B. Ferngren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-b-ferngren/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. 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