01-07-2010, 02:41 AM
Quote:Anyway, it had very little to do with Christianity, nor did it stop his continued writing, the publication or distribution of his works. Wrong? Yes. Impact on science? No. I don't see it.Failure to suppress information does not exonerate the Church - they tried to suppress Galileo's science, and part of the judgment against him was a ban on publishing any of his works. If they didn't succeed, then good for humanity and bully for the Church, but it doesn't change what they tried to do, or make it more attractive.
The idea that this has nothing to do with Christianity is simply ludicrous. This was the Pope, the head of the Church. Galileo was tried, and convicted, on grounds of heresy, of being contrary to Christian scripture. His offence, practically speaking, was to offend both the leader and the dogma of the Church. How could this not be about Christianity?
That the church let him publish the book, then imprisoned him for heresy for having published it, is evidence of remarkable capriciousness and hypocrisy, but hardly any kind of exoneration. They expected a whitewash - a discussion of 'hypotheses' that paid their scriptures reverence. What they got was a strong case for his scientific theory and evidence that trashed their preferred dogma, and Galileo was imprisoned accordingly.
As for the argument that the Church was politically powerful and the Pope was like a king, I don't see how that helps your case one whit. The Ayatollahs in Iran are politically powerful - does that mean we shouldn't consider it anti-scientific if they imprison or censor scientists whose views they find offensive?
-Jester