From: Sam Norton (elizaphanian@tiscali.co.uk)
Date: Sun Aug 17 2003 - 08:17:25 BST
Hi Steve,
I thought I'd pick up on your postscript:
> "To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous
> as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin."
> Cardinal Bellarmino 1615, during the trial of Galileo
To be fair to Bellarmino, he also wrote:
"If there were any real proof that the Sun is in the centre of the universe and that the earth is in
the third heaven, and that the Sun does not go round the Earth but the Earth around the Sun, then we
would have to proceed with great circumspection in explaining passages of Scripture which appear to
teach the contrary, and rather admit that we did not understand them than declare an opinion to be
false which is proved to be true."
The whole crux of the Galileo debate was that there was, at the time, no *proof* that Galileo was
right - his model made excellent sense and fitted with the observable facts (as Bellarmino
conceded), but there was no over-riding justification for getting rid of the traditional position at
that time.
Sam
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