Science & Religion

Nicholas Copernicus&

Galileo Galilei

Introduction• The Scriptures and the teachings of the Church

support a geocentric view.

• Geocentrism is the view that the earth is the center of the universe and that the universe (sun, moon, stars, planets) revolve around the earth)

• Copernicus and Galileo, are two astronomers who challenged the Church and spark a huge scientific versus religion debate

Geocentrism

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus• Nicolaus was born on February 19, 1473 in

Northern Poland

• Copernicus studied astronomy, law and medicine in college

• He studied in Bologna, Italy

• He became fascinated in astronomy and soon after gave lectures at the university

• He studied the movements of the Earth

• In early 1500s, Copernicus began developing his theory that the Earth and planets orbited the sun

• He did not want to tell anyone because he was afraid that others would ridicule him AND that the Church would consider this heresy: ideas or opinions that go against Christian beliefs

• By 1514, Copernicus developed his theory of the heliocentric (sun-centered) solar system

• Copernicus explained that the Earth rotated along its axis and orbited the sun once a year

Heliocentric Model

• He explained why the seasons occurred and listed all the known planets at the time

• Copernicus also argued that the distance from the Earth to the sun, is much less than the distance from the Earth to other stars

• Copernicus died in 1543

• His work caused a lot of controversy (disagreement)

• Copernicus’ ideas were so important in the development of astronomy

• Every astronomer who lived after him, was influenced by his theories… Like Galileo

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei• Galileo was born on Feb 18, 1564 in Pisa, Italy

• Galileo attends the University of Pisa to pursue a degree in medicine but then changed his mind to mathematics

• He had to leave school due to lack of money but began teaching at the University of Pisa

• He tested an experiment: He dropped two objects from the same height, and they both fell at the same rate, regardless of their weight

• At this time, there was a huge debate about Copericus’ theory – the heliocentric universe

• In 1609, Hans Lipershey from Holland invented the telescope. When Galileo found out about this, he also set out to build his own version

• With Galileo’s new telescope, he was able to see mountains and craters on earth’s moon.

• He also discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter.

• With the evidence he discovered from his telescope, he began advocating (supporting) the Copernican theory

Galileo vs. bible• Galileo began teaching his scientific findings

as TRUTH

• The Bible says otherwise:

• Joshua 10:13 “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed

• Psalms 93 “The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved”

• Psalms 104 “You have set the earth firmly on its foundations, and it will never be moved”

• What are your thoughts on the sayings above?

The Catholic Church & Galileo

• The Catholic Church disapproved of heliocentricity: the sun as the center, and the planets orbit around it

• The Catholic Church felt that this belief went against the Bible

• The Bible believed in Geocentrism:

• Definition: The earth is the center of the universe

• In 1616, the Church sent Galileo a warning and told him his teachings go against the Church

• Galileo stopped publishing anything for the next decade.

• But in 1632, he published a book which discussed Copernicus’ views.

• The church accused Galileo of heresy, he was trialed in Rome, and forced to leave the Church

• Galileo lived under house arrest for the last 8 years of his life. He died on Jan 6, 1642 (age 77).

Faith vs. facts• Science is based on fact and logic. Scientific

theories are based on facts and things that can be seen and documented.

• Religion is based on faith and The Holy Bible. Religious views are formed on the basis of faith in what cannot be seen.

• Science and Religion have come into conflict. Scientific theories have challenged the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.

• There has been a long history of debate, but over time and academic findings, the church slowly began to accept some parts of modern science as truth

• Activity: With a partner, discuss something that you believe to be true that science does not support. Ie; Global Warming, Zombies, Aliens, Heaven, Hell,

• If you can’t think of anything that science disagrees with you on, think of something that you normally find yourself arguing with the “majority” of other people about.

Write your answers on a piece of paper:1. How do people respond or treat you when you tell them you believe in

this thing(s)?2. How does this make you feel? How is this similar to what

Galileo/Copernicus felt?3. Explain the statement: Science has become the new Church in our

society when it comes to what we believe. Give an example of how this can be good, give an example of how it could be bad.