[Serious] Criticism of Aquinas' First Way or of the Proof of God from Motion.

[Belacqua]

it was impossible to move away from it without serious questioning of the faith.

Have you heard of the Oxford Calculators? They were a group of theologians at Oxford University in the 14th century.

Through a combination of physical experiment and mathematics, they proved that much of what Aristotle said about acceleration was wrong.

Of course they were burned at the stake for doing so.

Ha, no they weren't. They had long careers in the church and university, and one of them became Archbishop of Canterbury.

It was never impossible to question what Aristotle said. Universities like Oxford and Paris debated his writings for centuries. 

Galileo's case is far different from the simple religion vs. science parable that it has become for ideologues. 

https://www.amazon.com/Galileo-Rome-Rise...oks&sr=1-1

https://www.quora.com/Why-did-the-Cathol...m-ONeill-1