Remembering Giordano Bruno

17 February 2010

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ZJ: 410 years ago, Giordano Bruno died in a city square in Rome. He was a philosopher. He was an astronomer. And he was murdered by religion.

Bruno was one of the first to postulate that the stars in the sky are much like our own sun, and move in their own way, possibly even with their own planets inhabited by other lifeforms. Naturally, he denied that the earth could occupy a unique and fixed place in the universe. He developed various mnemonic methods as memory aids, which some suspected to be a kind of black magic. He spoke out against the doctrines of the Catholic church, such as transubstantiation and the virgin birth, and instead proposed a form of pantheism, where the universe was synonymous with God. And he believed that Jesus was not divine, but rather a magician of great skill.

For all of this, Bruno was brought before the tribunals of the Inquisition on charges of blasphemy and heresy. He was extradited to Rome, where he was imprisoned for seven years. Throughout his trial, he was given several opportunities to recant—an offer which Galileo would later accept. Bruno did not, and was subsequently found guilty of heresy. At his sentencing, he was said to have told the judges: "Perhaps you pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it."

In the year 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned to death as a heretic. His life was ended by the church, all in the name of preserving the purity of their lies.

This terrible episode serves as an instructive example of what can happen when religion is in power. If religion is allowed to take on the authority of government, and dogma acquires the force of law, everyone's freedom is in jeopardy: the freedom to think, the freedom to believe, the freedom to express oneself, and yes, the freedom to exist.

Even to this day, the Catholic Encyclopedia maintains that Bruno was only condemned for his "theological errors", which is about as meaningful as accusing someone of heresy for disagreeing about the ending of Evangelion. Fortunately, the church now recognizes that a death sentence, or indeed any legal sentence, is not an appropriate consequence for holding different beliefs. If only they had realized this in the year 1600.

Such an obvious and tragic error calls into question the very notion that religion has any enduring claim to truth, or authority, or morality. Who is to say that in the next decade, the church won't reverse its stance on birth control, abortion or gay marriage, in the same way that its views have evolved since the 17th century? It could happen. It has happened.

So how can we know that the church is not just as mistaken today, and that in the years to come, its views won't be renounced yet again? And in light of this, how can its moral proclamations be considered in any way authoritative? They may believe that their present views are, at last, correct. But keep in mind, in the year 1600, they also believed that their views were correct.

If there's anything we can be certain of, it's this: Always be skeptical of the claims of religion. Always question its authority. And never let religion take power again.

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