Monday, May 24, 2010


It seems like it takes a long time for the Church to learn or get a message from God. Sometimes I wonder where these theologians in authority get their information and who they communicate with.

Nicolas Copernicus died in 1543. He was a brilliant Polish astronomer who was the first to figure out the earth revolved around the Sun rather than the other way around, as the church believed. For that he was excommunicated. This past weekend, after several hundred years, he was reburied as a hero. The church had finally realized its error and that the earth does revolve around the sun. Copernicus made his observations without the aid of a telescope.

Almost a hundred years later, Galileo used a telescope to confirm the findings of Copernicus. Galileo also discovered the phases of Venus and the moons around Jupiter. The church considered him a heretic and confined him to house arrest for the remainder of his life. In 1992 Pope John Paul expressed regret for how Galileo had been treated and admitted the errors of the church.

Michael Servetus, a Spanish theologian and anatomist, discovered the circulation of blood a hundred years before the Englishman William Harvey, who got the credit. Servetus published his findings in a book that contained some remarks that challenged the teachings of the Church. He was critical of infant baptism and had some dispute regarding the concept of the Holy Trinity. He, along with his books were burned at the stake. Three of his books survived.

In the 20th Century, John Rock invented the birth control pill. Dr. Rock was a devout Catholic but believed in hormonal control of fertility. The Church was very opposed to this idea and the Church harshly criticized Dr. Rock. Dr. Rock stopped attending mass.

It’s not just the Catholic Church. I was brought up being taught that it was a sin to dance, and now the Baptist church even promotes and sponsors dances. Lots of folks believe the world was created 6000 years ago and dinosaurs and other ancient creatures such as Neanderthal and Cro Magnon Man have lived since that time.

It‘s tough handling some of these concepts. I have no problem with God. I just wonder about those receiving the message. I’m not sure a collar and a robe help serve as a conduit or antenna for the information any better than the rocking chair on the porch.

1 Comments:

Blogger jeff ludwick said...

Most theologians are a lot like politicians, they seldom practice what they preach. Even though I have no problem with most of the Catholic teachings how can they be taken seriously when no Pope has ever even said the opening prayer at the Super Bowl?

6:21 AM  

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