The (False?) Injuction

Although the actual text of Caccini's famous sermon against Galileo and the Copernican Theory in general has been lost, this represents our interpretation of how the sermon might have been. This was used in our in-class presentation.

And so I say to them "Ye men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into Heaven?" Why do these so called astronomers stare at the stars attempting to explain such heretical notions as the Earth's movement. Why do those people question the authority of the Bible or even go as far as to interpret the scripture to suit their own needs and further their own causes?

In the book of Joshua, Chapter 10, verse 13, it is written that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still to allow the Israelits a victory over the Amorites. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped till the nation avenged itself upon its enemies. The Bible explains "the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day."

This is the word of God, and therefore it is true. Those astronomers among us who would think otherwise are a rebel minority faction that must be quelled before their erroneous ideas infultrate the thought of society. These people are nothing more than blasphemous heretics for trying to postulate the notion that the sun is stationary and it is the Earth which moves. Psalm 104 contends "God set the Earth on its foundations; it can never me moved."

It is a fact that Aristotle's views of the universe are correct, and all other interpretations or ideas dealing with the substance of the the universe are false. In Isaiah, Chapter 40, verse 22, it says God sits enthroned abouve the circle of the Earth. This belief has bee held for centuries and cannot be erased by a small group of dissenters who believe the contrary.

These astronomers cannot be correct -- the Bible far exceeds any common man's opinion. Furthermore, the very illustrious and most respectable Galileo Galilei -- who is a prominent Copernican -- speaks nothing but nonsense. This man is a threat to all that is holy and he is nothing more than an overblown menace to us all. He has conspired with member of the Servite order who are know to be rather impious. Persons such s this Galileo should be excommunicated for attempting to force his own Biblical interpretation on us all and blatantly disregarding the Council of Trent and Pope Leo X. In addition to all of this, his radical notions threaten the very foundations of Christian thought and theology. So again I ask the famous Biblical question, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into Heaven?" Except the men now stand in Florence, not in Galilee.