Galileo vs. Church

Galileo is viewed as the father of modern science because he made and tested theories which we still go by in the current years. In the present day we are thought and live by the heliocentric theory. This basically means that the sun in in the center and the planets are in its orbit. The Roman Catholic Church believed that the earth was in the center, therefore the sun and other planets were in the Earth’s orbit. Galileo was charged of false teaching. The charge against Galileo was grounded on a report that Galileo had been personally ordered in 1616 not to discuss Copernicanism either orally or in writing.

Cardinal Bellarmine had died, but Galileo produced a certificate signed by the cardinal, stating that Galileo had been subjected to no further restriction than applied to any Roman Catholic under the 1616 edict. No signed document contradicting this was ever found, but Galileo was compelled in 1633 to avoid and was sentenced to life imprisonment The Dialogue was ordered to be burned, and the sentence against him was to be read publicly in every university.

At the time, the church was the legal authority of the land and anything that went against the church’s doctrine of what the Bible said, was considered heresy and punishable by excommunication, imprisonment, or death. In this case Galileo violated the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching the heliocentric theory. According to the church these theory’s by Galileo was trying to prove the bible false. The stronger side is Galileo’s side. In my opinion I would pick Galileo’s argument over the church because he tried to explain to the church his findings.

The church being filled with pride and single-minded did not give Galileo a chance to explain and reveal his findings because they automatically thought he was going against the bible and trying to prove it wrong. They then prosecuted him. In conclusion, Galileo is known as the father of modern science, his theory which was overlooked in the past is now accepted and thought in the present day. This shows that the Roman Catholic Church was biased in the past and did not want to give him a chance to reveal and explain his findings.