Fire and Knowledge

Responses

1. Robert Morphis says:
   

   January 10th, 2007 at 5:14 pm (#)

   FWIW a minor point to start with, your version is from somebody who was not present at the table when Luther made his comment.

   But to the meat of the matter:

   I’m not a big fan of leaderu however I think they put things in better perspective
   quoting:

   The famous (or infamous) remark of Luther was made in 1539. In the spring of that year, Georg Joachim Rheticus, a professor of mathematics at the University of Wittenberg, was granted a leave to visit Nicolaus Copernicus in Frauenberg, Poland to learn more about his new theory that the earth and planets revolve about the sun. At that time not very much was known about the new theory, except from hearsay. The purpose of Rheticus’s trip must have prompted discussion among the faculty and students of Wittenberg, especially in Luther’s home [17].

   Anthony Lauterbach, who dined with the Luthers, quotes the conversation pertaining to Copernicus as follows [l8]:

   There was mention of a certain astrologer who wanted to prove that the earth moves and not the sky, the sun, and the moon. This would be as if somebody were riding on a cart or in a ship and imagined that he was standing still while the earth and the trees were moving. [Luther remarked] “So it goes now. Whoever wants to be clever must agree with nothing that others esteem. He must do something of his own. This is what that fellow does who wishes to turn the whole of astronomy upside down. Even in these things that are thrown into disorder I believe the Holy Scriptures, for Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and not the earth [Jos. 10:12].”

   To put this remark in perspective, it was made four years before the publication of Copernicus’s book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres [18].

2. Ben Snell says:
   

   November 2nd, 2008 at 10:12 am (#)

   The article you quote is attributed to Professor Donald Kobe whose conclusion seems poorly construed in light of the following:

   “In 1530 Copernicus summed up all of his theories, ideas, and observations in his book De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium (“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”) … This manuscript was printed and published in 1543 …” {http://www.polskiinternet.com/english/nicolascopernicus.html}

   And,

   “Copernicus summarized it [his theory] in 1530 and circulated it among Europe’s scholars, where it was greeted with enthusiasm.” {http://www.answers.com/topic/nicolas-copernicus}

   It should have been well within Luther’s power to learn more about Copernican theory during the decade in which it circulated among “Europe’s scholars.” The Pope himself had received a presentation of it with some interest.

   “In 1533 John Widmanstad, a papal secretary, lectured on Copernicus’s theory before Pope Clement VII and several cardinals. Widmanstad’s hand was behind the letter which Cardinal Schönberg sent in 1536 from Rome to Copernicus, urging him to publish his thoughts, or at least to share them with him.” {http://www.answers.com/topic/nicolas-copernicus}

   Given the other cosmological comments made by Luther and the fact that there is no record of his having ever recanted from his anti-Copernican sentiments, there is no reason to assume that he was more broadminded than he appears to be in that regard.

3. Hans says:
   

   February 9th, 2012 at 5:55 am (#)

   Luther also said that reason and intellect were enemies of faith, to be utterly crushed and destroyed.

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