Forgiving Galileo

[pmurray]

The next thing we know, the Church will be forgiving Galileo. Oh, wait a minute. They already did that – or didn’t you hear? It only took them three centuries to think it over. Way to go!

Yeah - it only took the Southern Baptist church 150 years to repudiate slavery. In 1995. That's right - the SB church of the USA finally admitted in 1995 that slavery is wrong.

Check out here, or google.

 

[TjW]

So, from the data, Baptists adapt about twice as fast as Catholics?

 

[Bronze Dog]

Somewhere, I remember hearing that they could re-convict Galileo at any time.

 

[YouBelieveWHAT?]

Didn't they once dig up a Pope to put him on trial?

Re-convicting Galileo ought to be a piece of cake.

Oops - sorry for the disturbing image that leaves.

YBW

 

[ceo_esq]

Yeah - it only took the Southern Baptist church 150 years to repudiate slavery. In 1995. That's right - the SB church of the USA finally admitted in 1995 that slavery is wrong.

Even worse, it took the U.S. government until 1998 to repudiate slavery!

Don't try to convince me that the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments, and various civil rights legislation of the 19th and 20th centuries indicate that the United States had substantially repudiated slavery long before President Clinton's 1998 apology. That would be like arguing that the fact that the Catholic Church began teaching heliocentrism in its schools in the 17th century and never looked back, or that the Church was sponsoring the publication of Galileo's pertinent works again by the first half of the 18th century, indicate that the Church had substantially repudiated the Italian Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo long before Pope John Paul II's 1992 apology.

 

[Cleopatra]

Even worse, it took the U.S. government until 1998 to repudiate slavery!

Don't try to convince me that the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments, and various civil rights legislation of the 19th and 20th centuries indicate that the United States had substantially repudiated slavery long before President Clinton's 1998 apology. That would be like arguing that the fact that the Catholic Church began teaching heliocentrism in its schools in the 17th century and never looked back, or that the Church was sponsoring the publication of Galileo's pertinent works again by the first half of the 18th century, indicate that the Church had substantially repudiated the Italian Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo long before Pope John Paul II's 1992 apology.

*Hugs the undercover cardinal with admiration*

 

[Darat]

Even worse, it took the U.S. government until 1998 to repudiate slavery!

Don't try to convince me that the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments, and various civil rights legislation of the 19th and 20th centuries indicate that the United States had substantially repudiated slavery long before President Clinton's 1998 apology. That would be like arguing that the fact that the Catholic Church began teaching heliocentrism in its schools in the 17th century and never looked back, or that the Church was sponsoring the publication of Galileo's pertinent works again by the first half of the 18th century, indicate that the Church had substantially repudiated the Italian Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo long before Pope John Paul II's 1992 apology.

Yet according to the report in the opening post Southern Baptist church's continued a policy of racial discrimination into the 1970s including exclusion:

...snip...
The church was silent on civil rights, or actively opposed them, through the 1970s, and many congregations excluded blacks. In 1989, the denomination declared racism a sin. The apology resolution was approved by a show of the orange ballot cards after just a few minutes' debate - then celebrated with prayer and applause.
...snip..

The quote also states they only declared racism a "sin" in 1989, therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the Southern Baptist church did take longer then other institutions to recognise that racial discrimination is morally wrong.

 

[SezMe]

I don't have the statistics at hand to substantiate this claim, but I remember reading that organized religion in the USA is one of the most segregated institutions in America. I also suspect that the same is true in Europe and, in fact, around the globe.

If this is true, formal declarations such as those from the Catholics and SBs may not reflect the real, on-the-ground state of affairs.

 

[ceo_esq]

Yet according to the report in the opening post Southern Baptist church's continued a policy of racial discrimination into the 1970s including exclusion:

...

The quote also states they only declared racism a "sin" in 1989, therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the Southern Baptist church did take longer then other institutions to recognise that racial discrimination is morally wrong.

That certainly seems likely.

 

[HeyLeroy]

"The problem with Baptists is, they don't hold 'em under long enough."
-Penn Jillette