“i do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
“in questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
“mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.”
“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
"passion is the genesis of genius.”
yep. galileo is one of my favorite, favorite scientists in history. he said all of the above quotes (minus the facebook ones, obviously) and some other stuff i love too. john lennox, an oxford professor of mathematics who is also my adopted grandfather, (though he doesn't yet know it) writes about galileo in God's undertaker;
"Galileo wanted to decide theories of science on the basis of evidence, not of arguments (based on) the authority of Aristotle....Galileo, who believed in the Bible, who was advancing a better scientific understanding of the universe, not only against the obscurantism of some churchmen, but (and first of all) against the resistance of secular philosophies of his time who, like the churchmen, were disciples of Aristotle".
sometimes, like the churchmen and academics who opposed galileo, i assume i'm right without stopping to humbly question and reason my way through a topic. i'm lucky to be surrounded by people who challenge my views constantly, because defending what i believe requires critical thinking and deeper learning. i'm also thankful for god's word, which, (although my understanding and interpretation may sometimes be lacking) is in itself, absolutely perfect.
you rock, galileo!
