Moving Heaven and Earth: The True Story of the Galileo Affair CD

Ask most people about Galileo and you’re likely to get a story that goes something like this: Back in the Middle Ages, when the all-powerful Catholic Church ruthlessly controlled people’s minds and souls, one man stepped forward to challenge the powers of ignorance. He had the audacity to insist that the earth revolves around the sun, and for this “heresy” he was tried, tortured, and imprisoned by the Inquisition. His ordeal will be remembered forever as a symbol of the Church’s hostility toward science. It’s a thrilling story . . . only problem is it’s completely false. In Moving Heaven and Earth, Christopher Check corrects that prevailing narrative with the real facts of the Galileo affair. First, he places it in context: explaining the Church’s actual teachings and pastoral concerns, the scientific background to Galileo’s theories, and the motives of the major players in the case. Then, vividly but with attention to the many nuances, he pursues the historical evidence of Galileo’s trial and its aftermath to where it leads—and that’s a story you may not have heard before. For too long, the alleged persecution of Galileo has been a stick used to beat the Church. Listen to Moving Heaven and Earth and prepare yourself to answer that attack with the truth.

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