Galileo:Scientific Martyr or Religious Heretic?
Galileo Galilei, an Italian physicist and astronomer, discovered that the Sun was at the center of the universe and that the Earth orbited on an axis around it. Because his beliefs and research went against the common belief that the universe was geocentric, he was criticized and forced to recant his beliefs. It was the Roman Catholic Church who made him recant his beliefs because the Church did not want any opposition that may weaken the power and influence they had over the people at that time. Reluctantly, Galileo did recant his beliefs and in retrospect many people have criticized him to be a heretic because of his opposition to the church and his level of confidence and pride in his work. However, closely examining and dissecting the words of Galileo himself and his actions, it is clear that he was a scientific martyr who was only interested in the truth. Firstly, Galileo is not a heretic because he signed the recan
Additionally, Galileo, in order to be a heretic would have to be against the Roman Catholic Church during his entire existence. However, for a time in Galileo’s life he was actually educated by monks. Undoubtedly, Galileo was educated about the Bible and matters of the Church during his childhood and adolescence, during which there is no record of Galileo disagreeing with the teachings of the monks. The only opposition that occurred from Galileo was concerning science, which he felt were too separate subjects which do not effect each other. He expresses his thoughts about this in the Letter To Christina and it is expressed also in documents written about Galileo, including the following: “Galileo wrote a long, open letter on the irrelevance of biblical passages in scientific arguments, holding that interpretation of the Bible should be adapted to increasing knowledge...” ("Galileo," Microsoft® Encarta®) Although Gali
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Approximate Word count = 628
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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