Derek+Belanger+Week+3

As it is today some people believe that science and religion do not go hand and hand and that while “They both survive, neither can live” is how some view the conflict between religion, an age old method of explaining the unexplained and science, the human ability to come up for tangible solutions to problems. Galileo frowned upon the blind acceptance the church was forcing over the people. In his letter to the Duchess of Tuscany he stated “Showing a greater fondness for their own opinions than for truth they sought to deny and disprove the new things which, if they had cared to look for themselves, their own senses would have demonstrated to them. To this end they hurled various charges and published numerous writings filled with vain arguments, and they made the grave mistake of sprinkling these with passages taken from places in the Bible which they had failed to understand properly, and which were ill-suited to their purposes.”(Galileo) By these statements it is clear that Galileo could be one who would stand up against the church in the name of science. At this time the church was ruling with an iron fist, they would burn books that may have contradicted scripture or even if they believed that the authors attempt was to disprove the bible. Galileo knew this, he knew that with his theory of a sun being the fixed center of the solar system he would anger the church and they would damn his work call him a heretic and even burn his books. Galileo, though; was a man of great faith, so why would an institution turn against one of its own just over a controversial idea? The answer again lies in Galileo’s writings; he speaks of the people in the church who use their authority as holy people to suppress ideas such as his. They would “have endeavored to spread the opinion that such propositions in general are contrary to the Bible and are consequently damnable and heretical. They know that it is human nature to take up causes whereby a man may oppress his neighbor, no matter how unjustly, rather than those from which a man may receive some just encouragement. Hence they have had no trouble in finding men who would preach the damnability and heresy of the new doctrine from their very pulpits with unwonted confidence, thus doing impious and inconsiderate injury not only to that doctrine and its followers but to all mathematics and mathematicians in general. Next, becoming bolder, and hoping (though vainly) that this seed which first took root in their hypocritical minds would send out branches and ascend to heaven, they began scattering rumors among the people that before long this doctrine would be condemned by the supreme authority. They know, too, that official condemnation would not only sup press the two propositions which I have mentioned, but would render damnable all other astronomical and physical statements and observations that have any necessary relation or connection with these.”(Galileo). The simple truth is, the church had main control over the common people and even lords of this time. They were the major players in the world but even with all the power and control over the people, the greatest threat to a totalitarian system such as the church is that of knowledge. If the people see that Galileo ‘s work is supported fully by the church then they will be free to look into it. What they might find there isn’t much to be inferred against the church, but what it does do is encourage scientific thinking, thus the church must destroy Galileo and his work by calling it heresy. If the church can instill the public opinion against Galileo then they can theoretically deter him against making any more discoveries that may challenge the authority of the church. Science though as we should know is not the mortal enemy of religion. As Galileo points out in his defense Nicholas Copernicus was a scientist as well as being a man of great faith. The church in fact, is the reason why he was able to do what he did. When the church needed reform to the standard calendar system the task was given to Copernicus, and through his work major change was formed in the fields of science. This is where Galileo seems to get upset, Copernicus was commended by the church for his discoveries, so why was he a man of similar faith and similar scientific aptitude being crucified in the name of his science. It is simply because the Church fears losing its grip on the people they do not care about the betterment of life but simply on keeping the power. So because the church tried to destroy the scientific work of Galileo to keep power, that means religion and science cannot co-exist? No, it is not religion nor is it science that hurts the other one in theory, but it is the way Men use these two ideas that create destruction.