Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love

When my husband reads a book he thinks I should read, he leaves the book on my computer chair. It is his not so subtle way of saying, "You ought to read this book!" I found Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love on my chair one day. History should be told just like a story with an interesting plot, characters who aren't one dimensional -- very good or just plain evil and a setting in which the culture (and its impact on the story) are well defined. Galileo's Daughter is a good story from history. 

Suor Maria Celeste Galilei's (Galileo's oldest daughter) story survives in letters she wrote to her father. Their relationship serves as a background to tell the story of Galileo's pursuit of science and the inquisition that determined he was a heretic for supporting Nicolai Copernicus' theory of a sun-centered universe.

"As to the first general question of Madama Cristina, it seems to me that it was most prudently propounded to you by her, and conceded and established by you, that Holy Scripture cannot err and the decrees therein contained are absolutely true and inviolable. I should only have added that, though Scriptures cannot err, its expounders and interpreters are liable to err in many ways... when they would base themselves always on the literal meaning of the words. For in this wise not only many contradictions would be apparent, but even grave heresies and blasphemies, since then it would be necesary to give God hands and fee and eyes and human and bodily emotions such as anger, regret, hatred, and sometimes forgetfulness of things past and ignorance of the future." (page 63) ~ Galileo in a letter to Benedetto Castelli discussing the subject of science and religion

After I finished the book, I added Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, the book that got Galileo into so much trouble to my Amazon wishlist. According to Christopher Morley, "The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking." Galileo's Daughter served that purpose; it ignited a desire to learn more.

The Covenanted Self

I like to read with book darts! Before even beginning the first chapter, I line up twenty or so book darts at the back of the book where they will be handy when I want to mark a quote, highlight a main point or identify a section of text that I want to re-read. As a rule of thumb, the more book darts that I use while reading, the more I enjoyed the book. That wasn't the case with Walter Brueggemann's The Covenanted Self. The pages of this highly quotable book are simply littered with book darts. I didn't like it.

First the foundational understanding of God as other and our "othering" relationship is described using psychological theories based upon a relationship between a child and a mother -- essentially attachment theory. I am sure I have preconceived biases in this area; I am the parent of an anxiously attached adult. I have parented her through some very difficult relationship dynamics. I understand what it means to be too self-centered and too other-centered. I know the struggle of trying to create balance in a relationship. I believe I understood the author's intended message. The family dynamics explored by Brueggemann in this text was based upon research on interactions between mothers (primary caretakers) and young children. I would buy his argument if he was describing the relationship between the church and an individual. Yet, Kodesh Avinu, Holy Father, neither the Torah nor the writings of the Apostles ever teaches in a parable that describes God in a feminine role. Research on Father-Child bonding is relatively new. The relationship dynamics are not the same.

As I write this review, the Christian church is celebrating Lent. While today, the season is used to cleanse oneself in preparation of remembering Christ's Resurrection, even the Greek work Pascha hint to the truth that the Ancient Church remembered the Crucifixion of the Lamb. The Exodus imagery led me to study slavery during Lent last year. The books I read are reviewed on this blog.

Into such a context came the burning bush, Moses, and the possibility of rescue from slavery (Exod. 3:1-6). The break in the imperial command of bricks came from a God whose name they had not known (Exod. 3:13-15). Pharaoh did not know this challenging God (Exod. 5:2), nor did Israel, nor did even Moses. Yahweh (the best version of the name now give for God ) did not lie to this bondaged people. Yahweh never promised or even suggested autonomy as the outcome of the Exodus. From the beginning, Yahweh intended that Israel should be in "bondage" to the commands of Yahweh. From the first utterance, Yahweh had consistently said, "Let them go, and serve me" (5:1). Consistently, the governing verb is "serve" (abad), "enter into my service." Yahweh never said, "Let my people go that they may be autonomous," or "Let my people go that they may enjoy unmitigated freedom." "That they may serve me" means to come under a sovereign command. Thus the "freed slaves" have a freedom that is new servitude, under new commands and new demands.  (Page 24)

The church in America, with their emphasis on simple salvation and fear of legalism has failed to teach this truth.We aren't freed from our bondage to sin that we can have unmitigated freedom. The Hebrew word abad is the word behind slave and servant. After salvation we are called to work and serve God as our master.

Obedience is the daily voice of faith because on all days, days of plenty and want, of richness and poverty, in sickness and in health, faith shows up as obedience. (page 29)

Early in the book, I had hoped that the author would clearly define what this looked like. But, he didn't. There is very little about personal holiness. Instead the author's political agenda is presented as the very heart of the gospel message. The Ten Commandments and the 613 mitzvot are Moses' attempt to set up a system to ensure compliance to a liberal socialist agenda. Israel failed but America doesn't have to. We just need to get on the vain train to create a better tomorrow, today.

In the end, I found nuggets of gold, real wisdom in this book; however, they were deeply buried and hard to mine.