by !Baha, 26 August 2009

When the telescope was 'invented' 400 years ago, Galileo Galilei was tried as a heretic by the all powerful Roman Catholic Church because he disproved church doctrine that the sun, not the earth, is the center of the universe. In those days, that was equal to calling the church a liar. Earlier this year, the Roman Catholic Church has revoked their edict to honor this anniversary, where Truth had been rightfully acknowledged, thus paving the way for human enlightenment and the period of unprecedented growth based on scientific discoveries which served to improve the human condition from the time of Galileo. It is worth knowing that we are perhaps once again, in need of realigning our compass to "True North" rather than to continue lying to ourselves about whether we are taking humanity in a positive direction, making mountains of waste for the sake of rampant consumerism and get rich quick schemes.

HISTORY REVISITED - GALILEO GALILEI: From Religious Heretic to a revered Man-of-Science-and-Faith...by nycScribbler, published 6 January 2009
"In May, several Vatican officials will partake in an international conference to re-examine the Galileo case. Top Vatican officials are in agreement that Galileo should be named the patron of the “dialogue” between faith and reason.

For years now the Church has been trying to soften their image and shed its reputation for being antagonistic and in opposition to science. The Galileo anniversary may be the opportunity they need to succeed in changing their image. Vatican officials are stressing that faith and science are not mutually exclusive. ..."

: IS GOD DEAD? published 2 April 2007
i3 April monthly editorial
"Religion is all about having Faith in things that are difficult, if not impossible, to prove. But then the Men-of-Science came along – and Science is all about Evidence – and their work started to cast doubts on the many immutable doctrines of the All-Powerful Church.

...disproved Church doctrine which posited Man and mankind’s planet earth as the Center-of-the-Universe, saying that instead of all the other planets and the sun revolving around earth, in fact, all the planets – including earth – actually revolved around the sun!

All this Enlightenment-Era-work to take away the “mysteries” – to unveil the cloak of Darkness under which the Medieval Church thrived – revealed the world to be somewhat mechanical and predictable – “Rational” even – and, certainly not in any way, whimsically reliant on The-Will-of-Jehovah. The Scientific Revolution meant that an all out war had been ignited between Science and Religion, a war that is still being fought on many levels, and that is due to misinformation rather than any actual inconsistency between Science and Religion. ..."

Read the articles excerpted above and come back and share your thoughts on whether modern science is leading us into a period of disenlightenment where men of science toil not for the sake of Truth, but rather for the promise of profit which they are willing to sell to the highest bidder.

..... Stop here Please click here to read: HISTORY REVISITED - GALILEO GALILEI: From Religious Heretic to a revered Man-of-Science-and-Faith, by nycScribbler, 6 January 2009 IS GOD DEAD? ...i3 April monthly editorial, by Margaret Chen, Editor-in-Chief, published 2 April 2007