September 11th is a huge day in history. On that day, in 1822, the Catholic church finally admitted that Galileo was right. (Of course, he’d been dead for nearly 200 years.) The Earth wasn’t the center of the universe, and indeed there exists the actual possibility that other planets with ecosystems just like ours may exist, but more importantly, that it’s “OK” to teach scientific truth (ie: heliocentrism) in school.

As I’m pondering the state of our world today, I feel sad for all the history that has brought us to this point. Decisions made not because of facts, but for the pursuit and protection of a myth. I love myth, but not at the cost of human life. Had the church recognized the truth about human’s place in the universe earlier, would that have prevented them from crusading to the holy land, sacrificing millions of lives, and permanently dividing the Arab and European worlds? Without that divide would we be in this mess today? Would the attacks on the twin towers have occurred?

I know that faith is the source of solace for many people, but historic decisions made by organized religion, defining reality by committee vote, are causing horrible repercussions, which we, and our children, are having to deal with.

Whose holy land is it? Who is the bastard? Does it really matter any more?

And when will we be able, if ever, to get a clean slate?

The image above captures the scene of Galileo’s trial before the Inquisition in 1633. “Nearly two centuries later, however, the weight of scientific evidence was so overwhelming that the College of Cardinals finally reversed itself and allowed the teaching of heliocentrism. Still, it would take another 170 years, until 1992, for a pope — in this case, John Paul II — to officially concede that, yes, the Earth isn’t stationary in the heavens. Eight years after that, in 2000, John Paul apologized for the way the Catholic Church treated Galileo.” (source)