wrong agai
Jan 2001
That thread is certainly not unique, and similar claims are made by just about every prominent atheist. Carl Sagan included this fable in The Demon-Haunted World, for instance. And a fable is what it is. No such event ever took place. Moreover the reality is pretty much the opposite of the fable. Let’s move carefully through a list of actual facts that atheists tend to omit.
1. Galileo himself was a Catholic for his entire life, from childhood to death. He was a member of the church, a regular attendee, and there’s no evidence of his having any doubt of the basic soundness of Church authority.
2. The Catholic Church was a supporter of Galileo throughout his career. They not only provided moral support and encouragement, but also funding and other institutional support. Another fact that atheists often fail to mention is that Pope Urban VIII (the supposed villain of the tale) wrote a poem praising Galileo.
3. The claim is often made that the Church was afraid of Galileo’s heliocentric theory because they were a threat to Church Doctrine. This is completely false statement. The Church had no position on the issue of geocentric vs. heliocentric universe. They did not have any reason to care particularly about the issue. Two clergymen, Fr Clavius and Fr Grienberger, looked through his telescope and may have helped him take data.
4. Now one aspect of the Galileo is a half-truth: there was a sizable force in the scholarly world that was viciously opposed to the heliocentric theory. Aristotelean naturalists, who basically believed that Aristotle was prefect, held considerable sway in the 16th century. For instance, Professors at Oxford could be fined serious money if they contradicted Aristotle. Of course, these folks were often the intellectual opponents of Orthodox Catholics, since Aristotle was an atheist (or agnostic or deist, depending on how you look at it).
5. Now it was these academics who probably started Galileo’s troubles by reporting him to Church authorities as a heretic. (We don’t know exactly what they said, but we can make an educated guess.) Cardinal Robert Bellarmine investigated in 1616. He spoke with Galileo, and Galileo admitted there was no conclusive evidence for the heliocentric theory. In order to give the controversy time to calm down, Bellarmine asked Galileo to temporarily refrain from speaking out on the issue. Galileo promised to so in writing, and spent the next years on other scientific research.
6. In 1632 Galileo jumped back into the heliocentric vs. geocentric debate, breaking his promise. Moreover, he did it in a particularly aggressive work that openly mocked the Pope (for no apparent reason) and also treaded on other, purely theological and philosophical issues that were controversial because they related to the conflict of the Reformation. Galileo’s academic enemies came back and accused him of heresy again. His supporters (who included the Pope) wanted to basically give him a slap on the wrist, but the trial spiraled out of control. At this point we encounter several sub-myths:
6. A. Galileo was never imprisoned. He was placed under house arrest at a luxurious villa, and allowed to travel several times. (Kind of live being jailed at a beachfront condo or a luxury ski chalet. He probably had the time of his life.)
6. B. Some atheists will claim that Galileo was threatened with torture, tortured, or threatened with death. All of this if is flatly false.
6. C. Some will say that Galileo was prosecuted by the “Inquisition”, leaving readers to assume the Spanish Inquisition. Actually it was the final Inquisition located in Italy, the one that ordered six executions during its entire existence.
6. D. And lastly, that bit about Galileo staying true to his scientific findings under his breath, while pretending to admit to being wrong? Never happened.
So, to summarize: the Galileo myth is a myth plain and simple. The Catholic Church never attempted to eliminate the heliocentric theory for any reason. So with that said, shouldn’t atheists stop telling the Galileo myth
wheelrite wrote:
