Episode 103. In 1610 Galileo's book Starry Messenger was published. Its thesis argued that telescope findings reveal the Aristotelian universe is incorrect. Once again, Galileo claimed That Aristotle was wrong but in this book Galileo was ambiguous about heliocentrism. The second edition of Starry Messenger made Galileo famous throughout Europe and led to a frenzy of telescope watching. They were a variety of Aristotelian reactions to Galileo's telescope findings in the Starry Messenger. Some refused to use the telescope, others claimed to see nothing. There were those who argued flaws in the lenses. Some Aristotelians claimed the findings were optical illusions, and some even accused Galileo of fraud. We can ask the question of whether these Aristotelian reactions are similar to the anti-evolutionary arguments today. Some anti-evolutionists refuse to study fossils. Others claim to see no transitional fossils. And there are those who argue flaws in the fossil record. Some claim transitional fossils are illusions and even represent diseased creatures. Sadly there are anti-evolutionists that accuse paleontologists of fraud and even demonic deception. It was following the publication of the Starry Messenger that the clergy was drawn into the debate. We have to remember Galileo wrote his books in Italian, the language of the common people. As a result a reasonable pastoral concern was emerging was Galileo undermining the faith of Christians with his astronomy. Still in 1610, Galileo left the University of Padua and returned to Florence. There he became the philosopher and mathematician of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Positions like this were the opportunity to challenge the ideas in the universities. In 1611, Galileo visited Rome. It was a very positive visit. He had a very good dialogue with the astronomers at the Roman college. The priests of this college are Jesuits, who were known for their excellent scholarship. In fact, Galileo was elected to the Lincean Academy which is a scientific society. And Galileo even had an audience with the pope who was impressed with him and his work. The following year, in 1612, saw the publication of Galileo's Discourse on Floating Bodies. The thesis of this book was that authority in science is based on experiments. In other words, induction is the method of science. Galileo argued that science is not based on the works of Aristotle. Such an approach uses deduction. Once again, Galileo in this book continued to show that Aristotle is wrong. In 1613 Galileo's Letters on Sunpots was published. In this book he fully embraces Copernican heliocentric astronomy. And notably, the Lyceum Academy in Rome publishes it. In the same year of 1613, there was a famous breakfast in which the Grand Duchess Christina asked about the theological implications of Galileo's astronomy. In particular, was Galileo undermining Christian faith? Benedetto Castelli was at this breakfast. And he informed Galileo of the concerns raised by the Grand Duchess, who was the mother of Galileo's employer, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. This led Galileo to outline his hermeneutics, and views on science and religion. His first response was known as the letter to Castelli, written in 1613. And it was later expanded to the letter to the Grand Duchess in 1615. In the next sub-section we will examine the letter to Christina, and I assure you, you will find it to be quite a remarkable theological document. End of Episode.