Errors regarding the story of Galileo's "run-in" with the Catholic Church over the heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the universe and the inerrancy of Scripture are so common that it might be impossible to completely avoid all books that contain the error. It is essential, however, to find out what really happened. Generally, modern texts proclaim Galileo as a great hero who was willing to stand up to the Church's out-dated, anti-scientific beliefs. The truth is, of course, more complex.
Joshua prayed to the Lord, and said in the presence of Israel, Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon! And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, while the nation took vengeance on its foes. Is this not recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun halted in the middle of the sky, not for a whole day did it resume its swift course. Never before or since was there a day like this, when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. Joshua 10: 12-13
The passages in the Bible which speak of the sun standing still were traditionally believed by the Church to mean that the sun actually revolved around the earth. Those involved in the Galileo case (most notably St. Robert Bellarmine) stated very clearly that if science proved that the sun did not revolve around the earth that the Church would accept that that particular passage of the Bible should not be understood literally. However, Galileo had not yet proved that the earth did move around the sun and, in fact, still had some serious errors in his scientific facts. There are other important details, including mistakes and silly-sounding quotes from some on the side of the Church all of which can be discovered by reading the following articles on the Galileo incident.