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The heliocentric theory puts the Sun - not the Earth - in the middle.

This annoyed the Church, which thought that humans - the finest of God's Creations - should be in the middle.


The Church was against the Heliocentric model because it basically undermined their authority. The Churches stance is based around the fact that humans are Gods chosen people and that we are the center of not only his attention but the universe itself.

The Earth not being the center of the universe is a direct contrast to this statement. It got people thinking "if we arn't the center of the universe, maybe we arn't the center of Gods attention either".

A more basic explain is that if one thing the church said was wrong whats to say that everything they say isnt wrong?
The heliocentric theory puts the Sun - not the Earth - in the middle. This annoyed the Church, which thought that humans - the finest of God's Creations - should be in the middle.

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Q: Heliocentric theory and why the church was so against it?
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Why were copernicus and the heliocentric theory so revolutionary?

The ruling thought of how the solar system was put together had for several hundred years had the Earth in the middle. Then came the heliocentric theory and put the Sun - not the Earth - in the middle. This annoyed the Church, which thought that humans - the finest of God's Creations - should be in the middle.


Why did Galileo's support of the heliocentric theory cause the conflict with the catholic church and how was the conflict resolved?

The church had been using the geocentric Aristotelian theory for many decades and the heliocentric theory challenged what they believed to be a system that worked in tandem with scripture. Galileo staunchly believed in the heliocentric theory so he struck a deal with Pope Urban VIII. Galileo could discuss heliocentric theory, but only so long at it was a hypothetical discussion. When Galileo wrote Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, not only was it apparent that he was not discussing hypothetically, but he made the Pope look stupid. Galileo was put on trial for his actions, because he recanted what he said and basically apologized, he was put on house arrest for the rest of his life. He was lucky because Giorgio Bruno was burned at the stake for challenging the dominant beliefs of the church.


What religious order was Galileo arguing with?

Galileo had a quarrelsome nature and said he was celeverer than all the cardinals. So his disagreement was with the whole Catholic Church. He promoted Copernicus's theory, which the church authorities said was OK as a theory, but he was told not to say it was the absolute truth, because that contradicted the scriptures as they stood then. But later he published a book supporting the heliocentric idea, in which the Pope was portrayed as a simpleton. He was asked for proof of the theory, but could not produce one in court and recanted his views. But many years later Kepler's theory of the planets' orbits was backed up by Newton's theoretical discoveries. The new theory, which is still in use today, retained Copernicus's idea of having the Sun at the centre, so the heliocentric idea promoted by Copernicus and Galileo was eventually demonstrated to be correct, many years after their lifetimes.


Why did church leaders feel so threatened by Galileo's support of the heliocentric theory?

the church leader's felt threatened because then the people who went to the catholic church would believe Galileo's theory, protest against the church and do the same as what martin luther did in the past which was to protest against the catholic church and preach his own believes to the people of rome.


Why did catholic church leaders oppose Galileo's sun centered model of the universe?

The Bible is written from an implicitly geocentric viewpoint, so if we take the Bible as the ultimate authority on everything, then it would be wrong to come to other conclusions such as the heliocentric theory, merely by observing the way the universe actually is. Incidentally, although Galileo did support the heliocentric theory, it was originally proposed by Copernicus. It isn't Galileo's model. Galileo did contribute to this theory with his astronomical observations, however.

Related questions

Why were copernicus and the heliocentric theory so revolutionary?

The ruling thought of how the solar system was put together had for several hundred years had the Earth in the middle. Then came the heliocentric theory and put the Sun - not the Earth - in the middle. This annoyed the Church, which thought that humans - the finest of God's Creations - should be in the middle.


Why did Galileo's support of the heliocentric theory cause the conflict with the catholic church and how was the conflict resolved?

The church had been using the geocentric Aristotelian theory for many decades and the heliocentric theory challenged what they believed to be a system that worked in tandem with scripture. Galileo staunchly believed in the heliocentric theory so he struck a deal with Pope Urban VIII. Galileo could discuss heliocentric theory, but only so long at it was a hypothetical discussion. When Galileo wrote Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, not only was it apparent that he was not discussing hypothetically, but he made the Pope look stupid. Galileo was put on trial for his actions, because he recanted what he said and basically apologized, he was put on house arrest for the rest of his life. He was lucky because Giorgio Bruno was burned at the stake for challenging the dominant beliefs of the church.


What religious order was Galileo arguing with?

Galileo had a quarrelsome nature and said he was celeverer than all the cardinals. So his disagreement was with the whole Catholic Church. He promoted Copernicus's theory, which the church authorities said was OK as a theory, but he was told not to say it was the absolute truth, because that contradicted the scriptures as they stood then. But later he published a book supporting the heliocentric idea, in which the Pope was portrayed as a simpleton. He was asked for proof of the theory, but could not produce one in court and recanted his views. But many years later Kepler's theory of the planets' orbits was backed up by Newton's theoretical discoveries. The new theory, which is still in use today, retained Copernicus's idea of having the Sun at the centre, so the heliocentric idea promoted by Copernicus and Galileo was eventually demonstrated to be correct, many years after their lifetimes.


Was the heliocentric theory considered heresy by the Catholic Church?

At the time it was first proposed by Galileo, yes the heliocentric theory was considered heresy by the Catholic church because it contradicted several statements in the Old Testament as well as undermined the implicit assumption that the Earth was the center of the universe.However, as scientific evidence has supported the heliocentric theory, the Catholic church has stopped calling it heresy and now accepts it as truth..Catholic AnswerNo, the Heliocentric theory, first published in "modern" times by Copernicus, a Catholic, and dedicated to Pope Paul III was subsequently published, erroneously, by a Lutheran, as a "theory" since he knew that Martin Luther and the other protestants would never accept it, but the Church looked very favorably upon it. There were some in the Church who resisted the idea as it appeared to disagree with Sacred Scripture. So when Galileo later took up heliocentric theory, he ran into trouble with various individuals in the Church who told him he could not publish the "theory" without proof - which he did not provide. Amazingly, Galileo was a good friend of the Pope at the time, and, even though the Pope tried to help him, he went his own way, broke his word, and published without proof anyway - for which he got into trouble. However, heliocentrism was never condemned as heresy.


Why did Catholic Church oppose Galileo heliocentric?

They did not oppose the theory, known as the heliocentric theory, but they told him he could not promote it as the absolute truth. As long as he taught it as a theory that would be OK.But he said he was cleverer than all the cardinals and continued to promote the theory as the truth by publishing a book that portrayed the Pope as a simpleton, so he was tried for heresy. By this time he was old and tired and when it was shown in court that the theory had no proof, he recanted and said he had been wrong all along.At least a century later science had advanced to the point where it was realised that the Sun is at the centre, so the heliocentric theory was right all along. But that does not make Galielo right, because scientific knowledge during his lifetime did not support the theory.


Is the Heliocentric theory still accepted?

Even more so. It's not even a theory anymore, it's a proven fact.


Why did Catholic Church leaders oppose Galileo heliocentric?

They did not oppose the theory, known as the heliocentric theory, but they told him he could not promote it as the absolute truth. As long as he taught it as a theory that would be OK.But he said he was cleverer than all the cardinals and continued to promote the theory as the truth by publishing a book that portrayed the Pope as a simpleton, so he was tried for heresy. By this time he was old and tired and when it was shown in court that the theory had no proof, he recanted and said he had been wrong all along.At least a century later science had advanced to the point where it was realised that the Sun is at the centre, so the heliocentric theory was right all along. But that does not make Galielo right, because scientific knowledge during his lifetime did not support the theory.


Why did church leaders feel so threatened by Galileo's support of the heliocentric theory?

the church leader's felt threatened because then the people who went to the catholic church would believe Galileo's theory, protest against the church and do the same as what martin luther did in the past which was to protest against the catholic church and preach his own believes to the people of rome.


Why did catholic church leaders oppose Galileo's sun centered model of the universe?

The Bible is written from an implicitly geocentric viewpoint, so if we take the Bible as the ultimate authority on everything, then it would be wrong to come to other conclusions such as the heliocentric theory, merely by observing the way the universe actually is. Incidentally, although Galileo did support the heliocentric theory, it was originally proposed by Copernicus. It isn't Galileo's model. Galileo did contribute to this theory with his astronomical observations, however.


Why did galileos scientific discoveries cause problems for the Roman Catholic Church?

Catholic AnswerThere were many problems on both sides. Galileo had no proof but refused to publish his theory as just a theory. In addition, he had a belligerent attitude and went so far as to deliberately alienate the Pope, who was a personal friend of his. The Church believed that the heliocentric theory contradicted Sacred Scripture and would pose innumerable problems if it was published as fact.


Why is the Copernican model called the Heliocentric Theory?

Helios is Greek for the Sun, so helio-centric means the Sun is at the centre.


What did the church order Galileo to abandon the Copernican idea of the nature of the universe?

It happened after Galileo published a book supporting the heliocentric theory that portrayed the Pope as a simpleton. The official view still supported the scriptural teaching that the Earth was at the centre. The church was unwilling to change its ideas until there was good evidence, which science did not have until the 18th century, so Galileo was taken to court, the lack of evidence was exposed and he recanted. The heliocentric theory, with the Sun at the centre, was eventually accepted when the evidence for it was discovered, which happened well after Galileo's lifetime.