Of the dozens of texts held sacred by the school of Judaic mysticism known as Kabbalah, perhaps the most important is the Sefer Hazohar, (literally the Book of Splendor. Indeed, students of this collection of several lengthy Kabbalistic commentaries on the Torah — most commonly known in the West as the Holy Zohar – often assign it the same stature as Judaism’s two most holy books, the Torah and the Talmud. 
And there was good reason for Jewish scholars to keep to the Zohar away from public scrutiny. The book maintains that the Torah and, by extension, all of reality exists on two distinct levels: the exoteric and the esoteric. It further posits that there is no one true interpretation of the Old Testament and that every soul is given – and, more importantly, encouraged — to make its own unique reading of scripture. 
“…swear that I have always believed, do believe, and by God’s help will in the future believe, all that is held, preached, and taught by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. But whereas — after an injunction had been judicially intimated to me by this Holy Office, to the effect that I must altogether abandon the false opinion that the sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center of the world, and moves, and that I must not hold, defend, or teach in any way whatsoever, verbally or in writing, the said false doctrine…”
June 22, 1633 in Rome, Italy Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), famed scientist of the future and notorious mad heretic of his own age, was forced to recant his beliefs about the solar system. His crazy notion that the planets rotated around the sun rather than the sun around the earth was sheer heresy. Galileo challenged God and was forced to recount, becoming one of the many examples of how progress and religion have clashed in history.
This severe case of heliocentricity had plagued Galileo for some time, since 1610 in fact when he first began thinking that Copernicus had got it right. Copernicus was the first to challenge the belief that the earth was not the center of the universe. Faith was out of step with logic and scientific observation. Yet Galileo agreed with the concept so much he wrote a book about it.
The book was based on his own observations. After discovering the moons of Jupiter by using a telescope and charting the activity of the planet Venus, Galileo became convinced of the rightness of Copernicus’ concept. He created charts, took calculations and earned his title as the father of physics.
The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in which Galileo took Copernicus’ theory and the geocentric ideas of Aristotle, put them side by side and appealed to reason, became his undoing. This public challenge to God’s authority had the Inquisition calling. First notified of Galileo’s beliefs by a slighted monk in 1615, the Inquisition declared Galileo a heretic. An earlier work regarding the atomic structure of the universe had already made the scientist a problem for the Church. The 1630s publication just finished things off. But Galileo was determined to defend himself and traveled to Rome willingly to face his tribunal.
Why the determined physicist wrote and signed the confession is a matter of the adverse effects of torture. Whether it was only the threat of torture or the physical act itself, the reputation of the diabolical Inquisition was ubiquitous. Galileo made his confession and was then put under house arrest. He went home to Sienna, Italy to live out his days.
But although his eyes failed him and the confinements of unending confinement must have plagued his mind, Galileo continued to work. His final publication, Two New Sciences would become his greatest work solidifying his post in scientific history. After a few years, his sentence was lighted only so much that Galileo could move to his favorite home in Florence to live out his days. The rebel died peacefully in 1642.
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The story that states Galileo said “and yet it moves” after testifying that the earth, as the bible stated, did not move is just that, a story. There is no proof the words were ever spoken. Rather, they have become a symbol of the man’s rebellious and defiant nature. A nature that helped steer the world towards modern thought.
It wouldn’t be until 1992 that the Roman Catholic Church would repeal the heresy claim against Galileo. |
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Tags: 1564-1642, 1610, 1633, Bible, Confession, Copernicus, Galileo, Galileo & the Sinful Spyglass DVD, Geocentric, Heliocentric, Heliocentric Solar System, Inquisition, June 22, Jupiter, Roman Catholic Church, Solar System Wall Map, The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, The Planets DVD, The Universe Season 2 DVD Set, venus
