tianity were not altered by this new science to the point of extinction. Rather it was the institution of the Church which had to undergo a radical change. The church had long taken the liberties of interpreting the scriptures and deciding which theories were correct, based on these interpretations. With each new discovery, not only was the very powerful church forced to admit these specific errors, but faced the possibility the people would lose faith altogether. For these reasons many early church leaders were very outspoken against certain theories, such as Copernicus’ view, which contradicted them. One interesting thing to note is the reversal of the position of the Catholic Church. At first the Catholics were more tolerant, reserving judgement of Copernicus while the Protestants and Jews immediately condemned his theory. But history was much kinder to the Protestants who, overall, took a milder approach than the Catholics and were even occasionally credited with furthering science. The most famous example of the how the Catholics turned against science may be when Galileo was threatened with execution and forced apparently against his will to “denounce” his own theories. However, the book disputes this popular view saying that until the turning point of Galileo’s trial the Catholics had been tolerant and allowed science in Italy to flourish. Also according to the text, this trial symbolized the inherent struggle of science vs. church in the minds of many. However, the church wasn’t always or inherently against scientific exploration. On the contrary, science was seen as a branch of theology and most of the scientists discussed believed their purpose was to further religion by trying to glorify the “handiwork of God.” The most profound effect science had on the Church was not to prove or disprove any actual teachings or events as many had thought it might. Instead, science erod...
