Aryabhatt (Elder)

[Stephen Hodge]

----- Original Message -----
From: Vidyasankar Sundaresan <vsundaresan at HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 1999 11:54 PM
Subject: Re: Aryabhatt (Elder)


> george9252 <george9252 at EMAIL.MSN.COM> wrote:
>
> >Do you really mean that, Richard? You can't mean that the RC Church
> >"adopted" Ptolemy's theory of epicycles as official RC doctrine. If
it had,
> >then, even today, the RC Church would insist that its adherents
accept the
> >Ptolemaic theory. It doesn't.
>
> The Ptolemaic theory was certainly upheld by the Roman Catholic
church,
> mainly because of its geocentric nature. Heliocentric theories were
> associated with the pagan worship of the sun. That was the reason
why
> Galileo was arrested and asked to recant his "heresy" in championing
the
> Copernican theory. The church finally caught up with science only as
late as
> 1992, when it officially accepted that it was wrong for condemning
Galileo.
> Official Catholic doctrine is subject to change, but in its own
sweet time.
>
> Vidyasankar

This is an old chestnut.  As I can recollect, what actually happned
was this:  The Church had independently by the time of Galileo begun
cautiously to accept the Copernican view.   The pope was consulted at
the time and it was decided that if Galileo included a mention of the
possible alternative/traditional view he would have had the blessing
of the Church.   The pope wrote something for Galileo who in his
arrogance ridiculed the pope -- he labelled the person supposed to be
giving those views "simplicio" -- idiot, in modern parlance.  This so
incensed the pope as a direct insult, permission to publish was
withdrawn and Galileo was ordered to "recant".   The matter was
therefore less of a question doctrinal heresy than a clash of
personalities, typified by two arrrogant people who both thought they
were right.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge