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Galileo's Mistake A New Look At the Epic Confrontation Between Galileo and the Church by Wade Rowland Rowland seeks to dispel what he calls "the myth of Galileo": that he was attacked by an ignorant, closed-minded Church for having discovered the truth, which contradicted Church belief. Rowland (Ockham's Razor) argues that this traditional perspective on Galileo's 1633 trial is both simplistic and wide of the mark. Instead, he builds a compelling case that Galileo and the Church differed over something far more important than whether the earth revolved around the sun - they differed on the very nature of truth and how mortals can come to know it. Modeling the structure used by Galileo in his own book about Copernican theory, Rowland makes use of fictionalized dialogues to explore issues of epistemology and concludes that Galileo, by promoting the idea that scientific experiments alone can lead to a meaningful understanding of the natural world, was a very real threat to the coherence of the Church. Rowland does an impressive job of bringing the 17th century to life. It's important to note that, as he makes clear throughout, he believes that religion can allow for a comprehension of reality in ways that science cannot, and that many of the world's present ills are due to "the transition from the Age of Faith to the Age of Reason," which Galileo helped accomplish and the wisdom of which Rowland seriously questions.
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Retrying Galileo 1633-1992 by Maurice A. Finocchiaro "This is must reading for historians of science and a delight for the interested public. From his access to many primary sources in the Vatican Library and from his broad knowledge of the history of the 17th century, Finocchiaro acquaints readers in an interesting manner with the historical facts of Galileo's trial, its aftermath, and its repercussions. Unlike many other works which present predetermined and, at times, prejudiced judgments, this work provides exhaustive evidence to allow readers to develop their own informed opinion on the subject."--George V. Coyne, Director, Vatican Astronomical Observatory "If good history begins with good facts, then Retrying Galileo should be the starting point for all future discussions of the post-trial phase of the Galileo affair. Maurice Finocchiaro's myth-busting documentary history is not only a repository of little-known sources but a pleasure to read as well."--Ronald L. Numbers, co-editor of When Christianity and Science Meet "Retrying Galileo tells the less well-known half of the Galileo affair: its long and complex history after 1633. Finocchiaro has performed an invaluable service in writing a book that explores how the trial and condemnation of Galileo has been received, debated, and reinterpreted for over three and a half centuries. We are not yet done with this contentious story."--Paula E. Findlen, Ubaldo Pierotti Professor of Italian History and Director of the Science, Technology and Society Program, Stanford University
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Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible by Richard J. Blackwell “An interesting and important book on science and faith interacting in the Galileo affair. [Blackwell] gives us many new insights and describes well the conflict about Copernicanism as viewed by two very important persons involved: Galileo, the observational astronomer who was also an amateur exegete, and Bellarmine, Cardinal and Inquisitor, who was also an amateur astronomer. This book will make fascinating reading for students of modern and ancient conflicts between religion and science.” - Theological Studies
“Blackwell’s book admirably succeeds in its objective, which is to present ‘the intellectual ground occupied by serious Catholic thinkers who stood, as it were, on the other side of the fence from Galileo’ during his conflict with the Inquisition” - Choice
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The Galileo Affair A Documentary History by Maurice A. Finocchiaro Finocchiaro has made an excellent compilation of all documents pertaining the famous "Galileo Affair". But more than that, Finocchiaro in his "Introduction" to the book, deals with both sides of the affair, of those against Galileo, and of those in his favor. He then tries to make a very accurate interpretation about what really happened then, and pointing to both groups' flaws about their interpretation of history. Certainly the Galileo Affair was not just a case where the Inquisition was absolutely right, but also it is far beyond the statement that the Inquisition wanted him silenced to prevent the advance of science. The Galileo Affair is much more complex than that, and Finnochiaro takes into account the scientific, philosophical, theological and political realities of the time.
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Triumph The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H. W. Crocker III For 2,000 years, Catholicism—the largest religion in the world and in the United States—has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution. But until now, Catholics interested in their faith have been hard-pressed to find an accessible, affirmative, and exciting history of the Church. A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic, Triumph will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women. "A biting, unaplolgetic romp through Catholic history that debunks some long held myths and celebrates the glory of the Catholic faith. A much needed Triumph."
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How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr Ask a college student today what he knows about the Catholic Church and his answer might come down to one word: "corruption." But that one word should be "civilization." Western civilization has given us the miracles of modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of the rule of law, a unique sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, a philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts that we take for granted as the wealthiest and most powerful civilization in history. But what is the ultimate source of these gifts? Bestselling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. provides the long neglected answer: the Catholic Church. Woods’s story goes far beyond the familiar tale of monks copying manuscripts and preserving the wisdom of classical antiquity. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, you’ll learn: · Why modern science was born in the Catholic Church · How Catholic priests developed the idea of free-market economics five hundred years before Adam Smith · How the Catholic Church invented the university · Why what you know about the Galileo affair is wrong · How Western law grew out of Church canon law · How the Church humanized the West by insisting on the sacredness of all human life No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church—and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.
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Inventing the Flat Earth Columbus and Modern Historians by Jeffrey Burton Russell
Neither Christopher Columbus nor his contemporaries thought the earth was flat. Yet this curious illusion persists today, firmly established with the help of the media, textbooks, teachers--even noted historians. Inventing the Flat Earth is Russell's attempt to set the record straight. He begins with a discussion of geographical knowledge in the Middle Ages, examining what Columbus and his contemporaries actually did believe, and then moves to a look at how the error was first propagated in the 1820s and 1830s and then "snowballed" to outrageous proportions by the late 19th century. But perhaps the most intriguing focus of the book is the reason why we allow this error to persist. Do we prefer to languish in a comfortable and familiar error rather than exert the effort necessary to discover the truth? This uncomfortable question is engagingly answered.
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6 Modern Myths About Christianity and Western Civilization by Philip J. Sampson
In 6 Modern Myths, Sampson shows that all societies nurture myths that distort both science and history to further cultural goals. How often have you heard the story, for example, of plucky Galileo, armed merely with a telescope and reason, doing battle with a superstitious church only to be condemned as a heretic and harshly imprisoned? Even though most of the "facts" commonly assumed to be true about this story are just not so, the romanticized myth of Galileo boldly marches forward. Sampson dispels this myth and five others--that the rise of Christianity led to ecological crisis, that missionaries have oppressed native peoples, that Darwin's evolutionary ideas were embraced by scientists but vilified by religious leaders, that the church was responsible for persecution of witches, and that Christianity teaches the repression of bodily pleasures.
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