Religion Dbq

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Corey Langer Dr.Linn September 26, 2011 Word Count: 1205 Between the years of 1500 and 1650, their was a clear uprising of scientific observations to better explain the physical truths of the universe. This was the first time that the great minds were using science rather than Biblical belief, to explain the physical traits of the universe. While many Ptolemaists believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and the sun, moon, and planets revolved around it, a new form of belief came about, by astronomist, Nicolaus Copernicus revolutionizing the science of astronomy. Although many believers of the Bible were not easily accepting these ideas, the scientific observations of Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei formed what…show more content…
Galilei rejected the medieval division of the universe into higher and lower realms and proclaimed the modern idea of nature’s uniformity. Galileo then learned of a new device, a telescope, that had been invented in Holland. This device gave scientists and astronomers, the opportunity to view things of distance, such as the moon or Jupiter, as hundreds or even thousands times larger then they appear to the naked eye. After working with the device to make it as useful as possible, he was able to use it to further prove the rejection of the medieval division of the universe. Firstly he spoke of the surface of the moon, “… I have been led to the opinion and conviction that the surface of the moon is not smooth uniform and precisely spherical as a great number of philosophers believe it (and the other heavenly bodies) to be, but is uneven, rough, and full of cavities and prominences, being not unlike the face of the earth, relieved chains of mountains and deep valleys….” While the bible believes that the moon is pure, perfect, and immutable, Galileo was able to prove that there was no difference between the moon and the face of the earth, needless to say, nature was the same throughout. His next observation was one that, both disproved the arguments of Martin Luther and overcame a principle objection to the Copernican System. On January 7, 1610 Galileo discovered three starlets that seemed to be in a straight line parallel to the ecliptic. While at first he viewed these to be among the host of fixed stars, their ecliptic shape and intensity compared to others of similar size aroused his curiosity. The next day, on January 8th, he found that the stars had a completely different arrangement. The three starlets were

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