[Avodah] religious scientists?

[Zev Sero]

On 20/09/18 13:46, Micha Berger via Avodah wrote:
> Just to consider another way the community's culture could have played
> out. Had history not included things like the Church denying Copernicus,
> which set up an adversarial background even before Darwin was born....

Historical nitpick: The RC Church did not deny Copernicus; on the 
contrary, it honoured and valued him.  He was himself a churchman, and 
was encouraged in his research and speculations, all the way up to the 
pope himself.   The key factor, though, was that he never pretended to 
be doing more than speculating.  He didn't claim that his theory was The 
Truth(tm), since there were many scientific problems with it that he 
could not resolve.  He was so embarrassed by his inability to resolve 
these that he delayed publishing his theory until what proved to be the 
last year of his life.

Galileo, on the other hand, despite the serious unresolved problems with 
it, asserted that heliocentrism was the absolute truth, and proposed 
ways to reinterpret the Bible to fit it.  The Church's position was that 
there are only two sources of absolute truth: science and the Bible, and 
since Galileo's theory was confirmed by neither one he had no right to 
present it as more than a theory to be discussed. Cardinal Bellarmine 
told him at his trial, if you could prove this scientifically then we 
would have to accept it, would have no problem reinterpreting the Bible 
accordingly, and wouldn't need or appreciate your help with that; but so 
long as you not only can't prove it but can't answer the strong evidence 
against it we see no need to do so.

-- 
Zev Sero            A prosperous and healthy 5779 to all
zev at sero.name       Seek Jerusalem's peace; may all who love you prosper