Quote:

---

Remember Aristotle too.

---

Quote:

---

Galileo formed his beliefs based on evidence. The church was dogmatic in its beliefs, regardless of the lack of evidence. Yes, some still suffer from that malady.

---

1. • Galileo's church believed that it was very important for the earth to be at the center of everything - the universe revolved around humanity. This was supposedly based upon inspiration, but it was not.
     
   • Today, there are many theories that place man at the center. We are, as they were, and as fallen Adam was, selfish. That fact casts its shadow upon our theology. But inspiration is clear that God is at the center. Period.
   
   
   
2. • The ancients assumed that orbits were circles, since that was the "perfect" way. But astronomy (as opposed to superstition) not only displaced the earth from the center of the universe, but it squished the orbits - closer inspection showed them to be ellipses. A few hundred years later, even the ellipses were discarded. Things are not always as simple as we would like.
     
   • Like razors we use in the morning, Occam's Razor is good for cutting out unwanted stubble, but it could cut your neck if used too much. As Einstein supposedly said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
     
     All else being equal, the simpler explanation is preferred. But when "all else" is not equal, we must sometimes discard the simple in favor of the complex. In my experience, tradition and dogma contribute both complex and simple explanations, where other options may be closer to reality. The trick is to use the razor wisely.