According to the world history book from Bob Jones University, Galileo was a heretic, when it states “When Galileo published his findings, however, he also came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, which tried him for heresy.” I think the textbook was accurate in its belief that Galileo was a heretic because the definition of heresy is a “belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine.” Galileo was an iconoclast because his theory that stated the earth revolved around the sun disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church’s belief of a geocentric galaxy. Galileo was opposed by cardinals, the Roman Catholic Church, philosophers, scholars, and, according to the holy Fathers, the Bible itself. Galileo was a heretic because his discoveries …show more content…
For example, the New York Times Article “Vatican Science Panel Told by Pope: Galileo was Right” mentions, “Moving formally to rectify a wrong, Pope John Paul II acknowledged in a speech today that the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning Galileo 359 years ago for asserting that the Earth revolves around the Sun.” This excerpt states that Galileo’s theories about the sun centered universe was correct. The church admits to their mistake and have recognized the truth in Galileo’s beliefs. In addition, the article includes a comment form Pope John Paul, “This led them to unduly transpose into the realm of the doctrine of faith, a question which in fact pertained to scientific investigation.” This means that the Roman Catholic Church at the time was in the wrong and had interpreted the scriptures incorrectly. A heretic again is a person whose ideals oppose the church. Galileo by definition was a heretic during his lifetime up until his death. Today Galileo is no longer considered a heretic because the Church has amended its views on the positioning of the planets, but that does not change the fact that he was previously a