"Galileo was persecuted by doctrinal zealots of the Roman Catholic Church, who insisted that the very idea that the earth moves around the sun was an affront to Holy Scripture, and therefore had to be false. Even when the papal astronomer, Christoph Clavius, confirmed Galileo's findings as correct, the Church nevertheless considered Galileo to be a heretic. His writings were unacceptable, no matter how "true" they might be in some non-scriptural sense. The Inquisition forced Galileo to recant under threat of torture and death. Nevertheless, Galileo completed his writings on celestial mechanics (the "Discorsi"), which were smuggled out of Italy to survive and inspire others." -- Bernal Castillo

"The real problem with the all-powerful medieval church is its denial of all except what it believes to be true as evidenced by the Bible and convinced by Faith. The heresy of Galileo wasn't anything to do with a flat or round Earth. It was, rather, the competition with the church's advice that the heavens revolved around our Earth and our Earth was the center of our Universe because Galileo depicted that our Earth as revolving about our Sun. The church believed that only God could understand our Universe and no human was capable of that omnipresent authoritism. Because Galileo presented an opinion that, in the eyes of the church, was an affront to God he was, therefore, a heretic. This, basically was the church's view on science." -- Bruno Giordano -- http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_ylt=A9FJujMCVo9KAk4AIwTd7BR.;_ylv=3?show=4fqaQRnIaa 


"If you'd like to see an even better example of this, check out Giordano Bruno. His crimes were:

    * Holding opinions contrary to the Catholic Faith and speaking against it and its ministers.
    * Holding erroneous opinions about the Trinity, about Christ's divinity and Incarnation.
    * Holding erroneous opinions about Christ.
    * Holding erroneous opinions about Transubstantiation and Mass.
    * Claiming the existence of a plurality of worlds and their eternity.
    * Believing in metempsychosis and in the transmigration of the human soul into brutes.
    * Dealing in magics and divination.
    * Denying the Virginity of Mary.

What did he say? Basically the same thing as Galileo - that the "heavens" are simply other stars like our sun, the comets weren't messengers from God, etc. Read it here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno#Bruno.27s_cosmology 

Oh yeah, they burned his ass at the stake for that." -- Weaselmancer -- http://slashdot.org/~Weaselmancer


"Pope Denounces Some Biotech as Affront to 'Human Dignity'
Today in a speech the pope denounced human cloning, embryonic stem cell research and artificial insemination, citing them as a violation of ‘human dignity.’ That stated, the pope did ‘appreciate and encourage’ research on stem cells from non-embryonic cells in the human body. The pope encouraged the Vatican to be a leading voice in the philosophy and discussion of bioethics. ‘Church teaching certainly cannot and must not weigh in on each novelty of science, but it has the task to reiterate the great values which are on the line and to propose to faithful and all men of good will ethical-moral principles and direction for new, important questions,’ Benedict stated." -- eldavojohn -- http://slashdot.org/~eldavojohn


"There is no difference in principle between sharpening perception with an external instrument, such as a microscope, and sharpening it with an internal instrument, such as one of these...drugs. If they are an affront to the dignity of the mind, the microscope is an affront to the dignity of the eye and the telephone to the dignity of the ear. Strictly speaking, these drugs do not impart wisdom at all, any more than the microscope alone gives knowledge. They provide the raw materials of wisdom, and are useful to the extent that the individual can integrate what they reveal into the whole pattern of his behavior and the whole system of his knowledge." -- Alan Watts in The Joyous Cosmology 


"Some years ago I myself made some observations on this aspect of nitrous oxide intoxication, and reported them in print. One conclusion was forced upon my mind at that time, and my impression of its truth has ever since remained unshaken. It is that our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different. We may go through life without suspecting their existence; but apply the requisite stimulus, and at a touch they are there in all their completeness, definite types of mentality which probably somewhere have their field of application and adaptation. No account of the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these other forms of consciousness quite discarded. How to regard them is the question for they are so discontinuous with ordinary consciousness. Yet they may determine attitudes, though they cannot furnish formulas, and open a region, though they fail to give a map. At any rate, they forbid a premature closing of our accounts with reality." -- William James Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature



"The first American institution to adopt Braille was, ironically, the Missouri School for the Blind, located in St. Louis--a city named for Louis the Ninth, Crusader king of France. Dr. Simon Pollak, a member of the school's board, had earlier traveled to France and was much impressed with the Braille system. By some unknown means, students at the school learned Braille independently and taught it to each other after school hours, using it to pass notes to confound their sighted teachers.
Initially, the superintendent of the Missouri school resisted the use of Braille, saying it was "not pleasing to the eye," but his opposition did not stand. The school adopted Braille officially in 1860." -- Paula Kimbrough