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But of course, Newton was not always a brainiac as evidenced by his being suckered into a speculative financial bubble, and barking up the wrong tree in regards to developing a method/device of establishing time at sea.

And Galileo didn't believe that the moon caused tides. He thought tides were caused by the earth spinning. This is what got him in trouble with the Council of Bishops. Galileo thought gravity was astrology.

It is fascinating to look at how Christianity has created for us the greatest freedom anyone has ever known.

[VOA]

It is fascinating to look at how Christianity has created for us the greatest
freedom anyone has ever known.

Not to say that everything is perfect in that sphere, but it sure has at least
proved out over the long run.

(And I'm not saying that a Judeo-Christian environment is a prerequisite for
the appearance of great minds/thoughts...but it certainly seems to engender and
feed them better than most systems...just my opinion...)

[HiTech RedNeck]

The Catholic Church (which ought not to have been the center of government, but that's another story) was not in its entirety opposed to Galileo. Galileo got caught in some unfortunate politics. It could have easily gone a different way, with the Church acknowledging his idea as a "hypothesis." Galileo and the Church would have gotten along nicely if the Church had gone with that option. Of course Galileo could have willingly resigned from Catholicism, but his personal faith in Christ did not make that an option. It seems that AAAS is trying to get American scientists to do to ID now, what the Catholic Church did to Galileo -- put their power, prestige, and influence behind denying the option to those who would consider themselves part of that group.