From: ldo@nz.invalid   
      
   On Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:50:23 -0800, Paul S Person wrote:   
      
   > And "tried to muzzle Galileo" is not necessarily a major problem,   
   > provided it refers to keeping him from spreading his beliefs, since   
   > Freedom of Speech did not exist at the time.   
      
   That’s not an explanation of anything. Saying “you couldn’t speak   
   freely because freedom of speech didn’t exist” is just a circular   
   statement.   
      
   > It is pointless to apply to particular events of the past the   
   > standards of today as if the standards of today were somehow the   
   > only standards possible.   
      
   But when you still have large groups of people around today who claim   
   to be heirs to the same, supposedly immutable belief system, you can   
   indeed present them with what their predecessors did, supposedly as a   
   result of following the dictates of that exact same belief system,   
   and ask them what they think.   
      
   For example, this particular belief system has the notions of “heaven”   
   as a reward for good behaviour after death, and “hell” as the   
   corresponding punishment for bad behaviour. So, did those high-ranking   
   Christians who put Galileo under house arrest, burnt Giordano Bruno at   
   the stake, and all the other things we would consider crimes against   
   humanity today, end up in hell for doing what they thought was right,   
   or are they in heaven?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)