An important thing that Galileo stated was that it is wrong to interpret the Bible literally. He declared that the Bible could at times be very abstruse, and only the ‘rude and learned’ would take its literal, grammatical meaning. He said that to take the Bible literally would at times be to pass the main point and even commit heresy. For example, to interpret the Bible literally would be to assign God hands and feet and also to assign him human emotions. Galileo said that those who wish to genuinely and intelligently understand the biblical passages should look for the ‘true sense of the passages.’ According to him, the Bible has kept something obscure so that it does not go beyond the mind of the ordinary perception. According to him, Nature never exceeds the rules set for it, and it is irrelevant to nature whether man understands the Bible’s abstruse laws.
Newton expressed a strong belief in God, and specifically, in the later editions of his scientific work, he talked extensively about God’s ‘providential role in nature. He showed deep respect for the Bible and accepted its account of the creation. However, Newton also believed that Christianity had been corrupted in the 4th century A.D. He was critical of the Council of Nicea and Trinitarian dogmas. He also claimed that some passages of the Testament had been corrupted.
The difference here can be noted that Newton firmly believed in the Bibles account of creation literally, and otherwise, Galileo believed that just looking at the surface was not enough. According to Galileo, for an intelligent person, just exploring the surface was not enough. On the other Newton believed that Bible was absolutely and literally correct but that it had been corrupted to a certain extent.
References
- Galilei Galileo “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615” Modern History Sourcebook. Web.
- “Isaac Newton’s Life” Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences