Friday, July 09, 2010
Mister, We Could Use A Man Like Urban VIII Again
Never let it be said that National Review Online isn't on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry. Today Rich Lowry recycled an old Jonah Goldberg piece which proclaimed that Galileo wasn't persecuted by the Church, but by other scientists (you know how they are). The Church, according to Jonah, didn't agree with the persecution and felt really bad about it; that's why they commuted his sentence of life in prison to house arrest. You see, house arrest was actually a reward; that's where Galileo did his best work!
Lowry then printed reader emails pointing out that the medieval Church wasn't anti-science -- heaven forfend! Galileo wasn't imprisoned because of his scientific theories, but because he spoke out against Church teaching.
Of course, Church teaching had the Sun going round the Earth, but really, there was a strict separation of Church and State. He had every right to believe it; he just couldn't say it.
This line of argument is reminiscent of another conservative trope: that the Civil War wasn't about slavery, but rather state's rights.
Yeah, okay, state's rights to legalize slavery. So? What's your point?
