|
Post by stutefish on Mar 27, 2006 19:48:57 GMT -4
I don't know about the other claims, but WRT the "non-PC" Galileo story, I believe it goes something like this:
Galileo proposed heliocentrism, a theory not accepted by his scientfic peers at the time.
For some reason, his fellow scientists became very defensive about their paradigm, and greatly resented the paradigm shift Galileo had thrust upon them.
Therefore, Galileo's fellow scientists lobbied the Catholic Church to silence him on religious grounds.
Politics being what they are, and the Catholic Church being embroiled in politics even more so then than it is now, the Church officials did indeed come up with some arbitrary excuse to censure Galileo.
Nevertheless, the church officials presiding over the case were actually well-disposed towards Galileo, and served the interests of his peers only perfunctorily. He was placed under a mild form of house arrest, and continued his studies and experiments without significant molestation from church or state.
Thus, while the Catholic Church was indeed complicit in the persecution of Galileo, their motivation was entirely political; the supposed threat to its theology was a red herring then and continues to be a red herring today.
That's the counter-narrative, anyway.
|
|
reynoldbot
Jupiter
A paper-white mask of evil.
Posts: 790
|
Post by reynoldbot on Apr 13, 2006 12:11:39 GMT -4
Reminds me of that Indiana couple that let their baby die because they thought God would save her; forget medical science. Those are Christian Scientists. They are just as wacky as Scientologists but different in that they only pose a danger to themselves. The name is interesting because they generally avoid all standard science and medicine practices in favor of prayer.
|
|
lonewulf
Earth
Humanistic Cyborg
Posts: 244
|
Post by lonewulf on Apr 13, 2006 14:27:43 GMT -4
Reminds me of that Indiana couple that let their baby die because they thought God would save her; forget medical science. Those are Christian Scientists. They are just as wacky as Scientologists but different in that they only pose a danger to themselves. The name is interesting because they generally avoid all standard science and medicine practices in favor of prayer. And pose a danger to their children. Not really something to scoff at.
|
|