Back To Home Page To Archives - Spring of Life - H. Roger Bothwell Galileo On June 22, 1633, the Italian astronomer, Galileo, in response to the condemnation of the church spoke the following, “…suspected of heresy, that is, of having held and believed that the Sun is the center of the universe and immovable, and that the Earth is not the center of the same, and that it does move … I abjure with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the same errors and heresies,…” Tradition tells us he then turned away and said quietly, “But it does move!” So much for the retraction. I think it is called, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” In our modern age we are tempted to think that things have changed. We now have satellites either orbiting our earth or seemingly sitting in fixed positions as they move through space with the movement of the earth. There is no scientific question about what revolves around what. However in regard to the pressure of an institution or organization to intimidate and force individuals into an acceptable mode of thought, I am not sure that much has changed. Often our churches encourage us to personal Bible study and prayer but then are not pleased if as a result of such we return with ideas no longer in harmony with those of the group. Unfortunately institutions, which are usually founded upon some truth or idea, take on a life of their own and later generations of believers live not for the discovery of new truth but to defend the old. We even sing a songs about such behavior. One of them is “Give me that old time religion. If it was good enough for grandpa it’s good enough for me.” How fascinating! Especially since Proverbs 4:18 reads, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Truth is not stagnant. It is a process of enlightenment. It is the unfolding of the character and nature of God and how we can continually grow to become more and more like Him. Woe be to those who believe they have “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Believing that ultimately dooms any church or group to the curiosity pile of history. I'm Roger Bothwell and my address is hrb1@tiac.net or 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453. Thank you for your support of our faith ministry. Past devotionals can be accessed at Archives