INDIA SUMMARIZED

In the 16th-17th Century, the Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei shook the world of planetary science – and Christian orthodoxy – by propounding the heliocentric theory of the universe. This theory held that, contrary to Biblical texts that depicted the universe as revolving around a stationary earth, it was in fact the earth, and other planets, that revolved around the sun. For his exertions in advancing astronomy that Christendom considered “heretical”, Galileo was pilloried in his lifetime, subjected to the Roman Inquisition – and forced to recant his views. Even in humiliation, however, Galileo remained unyielding. Contemporaneous historical accounts recall that the moment he was set at liberty, Galileo looked up to the sky and down to the ground, and said, in a low voice: “Eppur si move.” Still, (the earth) moves. The orthodoxy may have forced him to publicly renounce his theory, but his own faith in his theory was unshaken. Galileo’s unbending integrity, articul...