"The ecclesiastical system of Rome, and particularly its leaders, for a thousand years and more thought that the earth is fixed and that everything else revolves about it"

This quote by Joseph Franklin Rutherford is referring to the belief held by the Roman Catholic Church and its leaders for over a thousand years that the Earth was the center of the universe and that all other celestial bodies revolved around it. This belief was referred to as the geocentric design and was commonly accepted until the 16th century when Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the heliocentric design, which mentioned that the Sun was the center of the universe which the Earth and other planets revolved around it. This quote highlights the reality that the Roman Catholic Church and its leaders were sluggish to accept brand-new scientific theories and were resistant to change. This quote likewise works as a reminder of the importance of being open to originalities and wanting to challenge existing beliefs.