Question #15a92

Galileo did not use religious belief to support science. This is the shortest answer I can give you. In fact it was exactly the opposite, he was persecuted for his scientific beliefs by the Catholic church.

Like most people of the time he was reportedly a Christian, and although described as devout by many current Christian texts there is absolutely zero evidence of this.

Galileo is known as the Father of modern science because he was way ahead of his peers and also because he did not let religion rule his scientific mind.

Galileo believed in heliocentrism basically what we know today to be true, that the earth revolves around a central sun. He was originally charged with Heresy by the catholic church who believed the earth was flat. There is some debate as to what happened next, but the latest (independent) research suggests he didn't want to be a victim of the inquisition so agreed to denounce his beliefs in exchange for a lesser charge. He did so and was imprisoned in his villa for the rest of his days.

He apparently made it clear in later life that he only denounced his beliefs in order to avoid a death sentence and his heliocentric beliefs were intact. As a side note Copernicus had a book out at the time and that was also banned by the church for mentioning heliocentrism.

He was however Christian and not an atheist as he is often purported to be. He simply believed that man took the bible to literally and was unable to read between the lines. He also felt that this biblical ignorance got in the way of true science. If you read his letters and his work it seemed that he believed in A god, but not necessarily the Catholic or Christian god; rather a more spiritual belief that a power was out there.

Religion is based on zero evidence and faith. Science is based on NOT having faith but research and evidence. Ignorance drives knowledge, yet often religion encourages remaining ignorant. The two do not fit well together.

Galileo based on his own scientific observations supported the Sun centered theory of the solar system over the previously accepted Greek Theories of Aristole and Ptolemy.

Galileo stated " I think in the first place the Bible can never speak untruth. ( Galileo in Drake page 181) To Galileo the Bible and science could never be in conflict. The Bible and the Science were two different books that both spoke truth. If there was a conflict between between the Bible and Science either or both must be being misinterpreted.

In defending Copernican science against Aristolian science Galileo quoted Scripture. Galileo used Job 9:6 " who moves the earth ". as proof that the earth moves, as Copernican theory stated. Galileo also used Job 26:7 as showing that the earth was suspended over a void to validate the scientific idea that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe. ( quote from Galileo a Very Short Introduction Stillman Drake Oxford Press 2001.)

Due to the influence of Augustine which had become entrenched tradition within the Catholic Church, the church and endorsed the Greek Science of Aristole as being truth. The Catholic church then interpreted the Bible in light of the "truth" of Ptolemy's idea of the earth being the center of the Universe.

Galileo used both Biblical verses and Scientific observations to argue that Copernicus not Ptolemy was correct. Galileo argued that Bible being truth could not be in error so that Greek Science must be in error. The Catholic church already under attack from the Protestant reformation on its interpretation of scripture reacted vigorously to defend the Augustine tradition of blending Greek Science with theology.

Galileo used the Bible and the religious concept of truth to challenge the prevailing scientific views of his time based on Greek Science to support the empirical scientific views of Copernicus. The conflict was not between science and Biblical religion but between empirical science and philosophical science endorsed by religion.