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enterfornone <> wrote: > On Mon, 27 Aug 2001 11:35:53 +1000, Barry OGrady

> <> wrote:

>

>>Like I said, I am only the messenger. The fact remains that without undue

>>pressure and probably threats homosexuality would remain an aberration

>>in the DSM.

>

> Without undue pressure from Galileo people would still beleive the

> earth is flat.

Galileo was concerned with whether the Earth moved; not whether it was flat.

It has been common knowledge in Europe that the Earth is round for the last two thousand years. The church did not advocate a flat earth at any time. Some isolated clerics in the very early years argued for a flat earth, back about a thousand years before Galileo, but even then they were idiosyncratic and unrepresentative.

There is a common myth that belief in a flat earth was wide spread during the middle ages. Most often this myth is reflected in stories about Columbus or Magellan, fighting against the church and popular superstition for the flat earth. Galileo is a new spin on this.

This myth is an invention of the nineteenth century. There was no widespread belief in a flat earth during the middle ages in Europe.

For those who want to consider this further, a good starting point is: <http://id-www.ucsb.edu/fscf/library/RUSSELL/FlatEarth.html>

An even better reference is “Heaven and Earth in the Middle Ages — The Physical World Before Columbus” by Rudolf Simek (1992, Boydell Press), (translated to English by A Hall, 1996).

Cheers — Chris

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