Heliocentric Theory Of Galileo Galileo

Galileo Galilei was an outstanding figure in the Renaissance. Through his work as an astronomer, Galileo was able to prove Copernicus’ theory of the existence of the heliocentric model. The heliocentric model is the depiction of the earth rotating around the sun, rather than the geocentric model that depicts the sun revolving around the earth. Galileo’s observations were subject to harsh criticism by the Roman Catholic Church because it was thought that Galileo was contesting the infallible truths of the Bible. In his Letter to Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo defends his research by making the argument that his research is not opposed to the message that is prescribed by the Bible. Galileo states that if one were “to confine oneself to the unadorned grammatical meaning, one might fall into error” (Galilei, FYP Handbook, 167). Galileo is arguing that it is not man’s job to interpret God’s creation and likeness, nor is the Bible describing God. Rather, Galileo believes that through examining the physical world that God created, man can come to understand the inner workings of God’s creation.

The Church uses a literal interpretation that puts humans at the center of the universe due to renaissance ideologies, such as humanism. Elements of humanism are quite clear in the geocentric model because it places humans at the center of the universe and furthest away from God due to falling from grace because of original sin. This idea coincides with the idea that the universe was made for humans found in Genesis. Therefore, in order for the ideas within Genesis to remain uncontested by science, the Church created the indisputable interpretation that that a geocentric model is the only rational model that validates their beliefs and the Bible. This concept was problematic to Galileo because he believed that it is not the place of the Church to define the works of