tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post3826528573610018727..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Belief and EvidenceAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-74689121692856738132007-06-20T12:16:00.000-06:002007-06-20T12:16:00.000-06:00This reminds me of a very heated discussion I had ...This reminds me of a very heated discussion I had a while back on the message boards of the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.<BR/><BR/>Someone there had his signature line with the alleged quote: "To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin." - Cardinal Bellarmine.<BR/><BR/>A christian apologist attacked the quote claiming Bellarmine was aiding Galileo. His attack was condemned more based on his being a christian apologist than on any evidence. I disagreed with him about the motive but defended him in that the quote seemed fishy.<BR/><BR/>Much internet searching showed this alleged quote being sickeningly pervasive and almost always attributed to "Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galileo".<BR/>Now anyone with basic knowledge of the players should know that Bellarmine had been dead for ten years already when Galileo was tried so clearly the attribution is false, but what about the quote?<BR/><BR/>Well, further searching found a letter from Bellarmine to an Italian priest in which he said: "It would be just as heretical to deny that Abraham had two sons and Jacob twelve, as it would be to deny the virgin birth of Christ, for both are declared by the Holy Ghost through the mouths of the prophets and apostles."<BR/><BR/>The intent of the letter was to get the priest to stop defending Galileo. However, it's pretty clear that the alleged quote was a corruption of the actual letter and doesn't say what it was thought to say. It was just a chestnut that a lot of anti-church atheists like to toss around.<BR/><BR/>Despite all that, it still took 3 pages of arguing on the forum before the guy agreed to remove it from his signature line. <BR/>So, even on a site where everyone professes to be skeptical, people try to hang onto their sacred cows in the face of overwhelming evidence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-2206116888570505422007-06-20T11:28:00.000-06:002007-06-20T11:28:00.000-06:00Thank you for the thoughtful article. I commented...Thank you for the thoughtful article. I commented upon it here:<BR/> http://someonesaygrace.blogspot.com/2007/06/belief-and-evidence.html<BR/><BR/>SinbadSinbadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01116688014786297876noreply@blogger.com