Hi Richard,
Most knowledge we learn comes from other people, books, newspapers or the Internet. Are they all correct information?
Since 1st Century, the Earth was believed to be the centre of the Universe. It was known as Geocentrism (地心說). Not until 15th Century, Nicolaus Copernicus (哥白尼) was the first astronomer to suggest Heliocentrism (日心說) that displaced the Earth from the center of the Universe.
In 17th Century, Galileo Galilei (伽利略) observed the sky and stars with his improved telescope. He gained further ideas to support the theory of Heliocentrism. However, his work angered the Catholic Church. The Church thought that the Heliocentrism was contrary to what was literally documented in the Bible. Galileo was eventually forced to take back his Heliocentrism ideas and spent the last few years of his life under house arrest.
More than 300 years later, on October 31st 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, and officially conceded that the Earth was not stationary.
Richard, it is of no doubt that our knowledge is bounded by our human ability and technology. However, we should never give up searching and exploring for the truth. To your Dad, I believe that it is the real meaning of my life.
With love, Patrick