The Truth About Galileo

Depths of Pentecost ^ | February 23, 2019 | Philip Cottraux

[pcottraux]

Just to be clear, the center of the universe is precisely where I am at any given moment. Thank you.

Give it back!!

[pcottraux]

The Heliocentric solar system was discovered by Aristarchos in 200BC. Copernicus and Galileo only made it popular in the Renaissance.

I don't deny that entirely, but as I said, Aristotle's model was more popular (due to the influence of Thomas Aquinas) until Galileo...you also can't deny that the telescope made it more or less undeniable.

[pcottraux]

Ashes can't recant.

That part of the story was always problematic to me. I mean, they didn't have a dial to turn it down. Would they have doused it in water?

[pcottraux]

Unfortunate? Baloney.. The idea of a church, conducting a trail and placing him under house arrest is what people are generally disgusted by. There are all kinds of games to evade responsibility, but yes, the Church was despotic at that time. Bur it was hundreds of years ago, so it is the worst kind of apologetics to “unpack” it and pretend that it really wasn’t that bad.

Look, I'm Protestant so you're not going to find me defending the Catholic church, especially during Inquisition times. But I'm reacting to the extreme exaggeration and untrue lore surrounding Galileo that carries the implication that he was persecuted because Christianity as a whole is a superstition that was threatened by the discovery of a heliocentric universe. THAT needs to be debunked, because the story is way more complicated.

(I also try to discourage against "heroes and villains" narratives in history as much as possible--things are rarely so black and white).

[pcottraux]

This should probably be in Religion.

I usually put posts in religion but this was aimed at correcting historical misconceptions moreso than promoting the truth of any religion over another.

But thank God you’re here to explain to all of us how wrong history is

Cognitive dissonance like that is usually a sign I've hit a nail on a head somewhere. So thank you.

[pcottraux]

I love history when it has been modified, revised and sanitized.

I love history when it's TRUE.

[pcottraux]

Then I would point out Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian Priest who was responsible for the big bang theory. I would direct further inquiries to the Vatican observatory in Arizona. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Advanced_Technology_Telescope

The modern Roman church’s actual activity regarding science today is the best apology Galileo would have ever asked for. That mean’s far more than some farcical apology. I’d bet a paycheck on it.

No argument.

[pcottraux]

No one tried to claim that Gallileo was an atheist when I was in school. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard anyone try to characterize him as such, much less that he is some icon for atheism. Sounds like a straw man.

Not meant as an insult, but when were you in school? My high school years were 1998-2002. My tenth grade world history teacher taught this version of the story with great relish. She DESPISED Christianity (personal issues) and made no bones about it. She loved teaching us that the flood was a myth and jumped at the opportunity to portray Christianity in a bad light.

As a Christian myself, my faith was somewhat damaged after school. Until I started independently researching and finding out much of what I'd learned in that class was false. In fact, almost everything I learned in high school was a lie or propaganda.

And I'm not trying to build a straw man, as atheists have confronted me with this version of the story in attacks on Christianity. I'm trying to present the claim honestly before addressing it.

[Artemis Webb]

It took you three days to think up a response?
Really?
hmmm

[pcottraux]

Or, it could be that I was busy having a life outside the internet and was just now getting around to responding to people.

[Boiler Plate]

The Planets (the wanderers) puzzled astronomers for thousands of years until Aristarchos provided the model that explained 2 things. First a simple explanation of how the solar system worked and second how the sun which was so large compared to everything was actually positioned. IOW why would such a large body be traveling around a smaller body.

[Vermont Lt]

Hmmm... you start your post with a lie. Why should we even read the rest of it?

[pcottraux]

To disprove it. Because a lot of people believe it.

[pcottraux]

Just try the second paragraph... especially the last sentence...and go from there. (You’re going to feel very silly when you do)

[21twelve]

Well, they even missed the start of that statement.

“The story goes that....” makes it pretty clear that you later will be debunking the story.

[Texan4Life]

I recommend the film “Galileo,” about his astronomical conflicts with the the Catholic Church hierarchy, of the 1600’s. It’s available to stream for free through the service “TV Time Feature Films” channel on Roku, for example.

https://www.tvtime.com/

[Ezekiel]

Great timing for to resurrect this almost 3 YO thread.

I see my telescope post at #20, with the pic of the leaning cylinder of Pisa, Galileo's town of birth.

Galilee is "galil", the Hebrew word for a cylinder. The root is all about revelation (unrolling) and rolling, circular motion and so forth.

Galileo was famous for his cylinder:

Come to think of it, so was Cyrus, aka the "Gentile Messiah."

Let's Roll..

[Texan4Life]

Just Released....

Leo & Layla’s History Adventures with Galileo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVlOLGN-Z7M