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

[Belacqua]

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

True. Some myth and hyperbole has been injected into Galileo's story. Some of the church v. science stuff is pomp and spectacle.

But Galileo was placed on house arrest and instructed not to teach his ideas. We can all agree Galileo was a visionary and didn't deserve this kind of treatment, regardless of his demeanor.

I don't think anybody here is arguing that Galileo deserved punishment.

I just want to be clear about what he was punished for. He wasn't punished for doing science. 

It just occurred to me that he was a forerunner of Krauss, Dawkins, etc., in that he thought that his knowledge of science also made him qualified to pass judgment on non-science topics. In those days talking out of your field could bring censure, while these days it gets you a book contract.