Dan Brown's portrayal of Christian history in "The Da Vinci Code" is inaccurate.

Even though my opponent forfeited all his rounds, I still believe that I have the burden of proof to demonstrate how the Vatican has suppressed science and truth in order to gain power. In my introduction I showed that the Vatican has committed many pernicious deeds in order to gain power, and thus we can rule out that the Vatican has been an innocuous and virtuous institution over the course of history. Hence, we can deduce that if the Vatican would have discovered any truth that would stand in opposition to what the Vatican held to be true, then those voices of truth would surely be silenced. First it is important to note and emphasize, as I did illustrate in my introduction, that the fear of heretics spreading teachings and opinions that ran contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, led the Vatican to persecute scientists who were deemed as heretics if they didn't agree with the Bible, and it forbade any books by those scientists that were at odd with the Catholic Church by placing these books on the index of Prohibited Books. Essentially a war was fought between science and religion - and the casualties were heavily skewed on the side of the science. Nicholas Copernicus and Galileo Galileo were two scientists who printed books that later became banned. Copernicus faced no persecution when he was alive because he died shortly after publishing his book. Galileo, on the other hand, was tried by the Inquisition after his book was published. Common for these two scientists were that they held the same theory, that the Earth revolved around the sun, which we now know be true. However, the Church wasn't fond of this theory because the Bible states that the Earth is at the center, not the Sun. As the contents of the Bible were taken literally, the publishing of these books were taken as proofs that they were sinners because they contradicted the Bible. Copernicus published his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies in 1543 shortly before his death. There are some interesting aspects in his books that deserves to be pointed out. In Revolutions, Copernicus states that the Sun is at the center and the Earth revolves around it while rotating on its axis daily However, the phrasing Copernicus utilized was "that if the earth were in motion then the observed phenomenon would result." Why this phrasing is so important is because Copernicus would have been able to deny any charges of him believing in heliocentrism; by fashioning it as a hypothesis (and not as a result) subject to scrutiny and correction by astronomers, rather than as a firm belief, he could effectively rid himself of any accusations of heliocentrism. Because he deliberately did not fully develop his theory, the hypothesis seemed weak and ill-contrived. Hence, Revolutions was not placed on the Index of Prohibited Books until 1616, seventy-three years after it was first published. A version with sections that was altered and with certain aspects omitted was released four years after it was prohibited. It is possible that Revolutions was not banned immediately because of its hypothetical nature. Thus, Revolutions managed to evade prohibition for many years and eventually influenced Galileo Galileo, who read it and wrote on the subject himself. At around 1610, Galileo came into conflict with the Catholic Church. In 1610, Galileo published his Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger), describing the phases of Venus and the Galilean moons of Jupiter. These observations bolstered the heliocentric theory that Nicolaus Copernicus tacitly promoted in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium and that Galileo further promoted in his works. With these observations he promoted the heliocentric theory of Nicolaus Copernicus (published in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543). Galileo's initial discoveries were met with opposition within the Catholic Church, and in 1616 the Inquisition declared heliocentrism to be formally heretical. Heliocentric books were banned and Galileo was ordered to refrain from holding, teaching or defending heliocentric ideas. In fact, In 1616 Galileo was issued an injunction not to "hold, defend, or teach" heliocentrism. Before that, Galileo had to defend his thesis because several Christian scholars from all different denominations were condemning it as heretical since they deemed it to violate Scripture. Galileo responded to the criticism of his Copernican views by writing a letter to Castelli, a mathematician whom was one of Galileo's most trusted friends, in which he defended the notion that Scripture shouldn't be interpreted literally. hence it would seem senseless to try to defend one view of the physical universe. He famously asked: "Who," Galileo asked, "would dare assert that we know all there is to be known?" Galileo thought that the letter might ease the tension between and reconcile faith and science, but the letter only served the increase the tensions further. His enemies, clergy and devoted Christians, accused him of attacking Scripture. One of those infuriated clergy was Father Lorini who in February 7, 1615, sent a modified copy of Galileo's letter to the Roman Inquisition. Galileo hoped that his Letter to Castelli might foster a reconciliation of faith and science, but it only served to increase the heat. His enemies accused him of attacking Scripture and meddling in theological affairs. One among them, Father Lorini, raised the stakes for the battle when, on February 7, 1615, he sent to the Roman Inquisition a modified copy of Galileo's Letter to Castelli. He submitted the following as a remark on what was written. "All our Fathers of this devout convent of St. Mark are of opinion that the letter contains many propositions which appear to be suspicious or presumptuous, as when it asserts that the language of Holy Scripture does not mean what it seems to mean; that in discussions about natural phenomena the last and lowest place ought to be given the authority of the sacred text; that its commentators have very often erred in their interpretation; that the Holy Scriptures should not be mixed up with anything except matters of religion....When, I say, I became aware of all of this, I made up my mind to acquaint your Lordship with the state of affairs, that you in your holy zeal for the Faith may, in conjunction with your illustrious colleagues, provide such remedies as may appear advisable....I, who hold that those who call themselves Galileists are orderly men and good Christians all, but a little overwise and conceited in their opinions, declare that I am actuated by nothing in this business but zeal for the sacred cause." The clergy was unanimously of the opinion that it ran opposite of the scriptural teachings and, consequently, was a danger to their faith. As a result, the Vatican needed to "provide such remedies as may appear advisable" in order to thwart the "Galileists". One such measure taken was to shut him up by the injunction imposed 1616. However, later in 1633, he was was ordered to turn himself in to the Holy Office to face trial for holding his Copernican beliefs. Galileo's rational arguments were dismissed on the basis that the Copernican doctrine ran opposite to scripture. He was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life and he agreed not to teach what the Vatican considered to be heresy anymore. Other astounding examples of the anti-science stance that the Vatican has held over the course of history are, for instance, that at the time of the Black Plague in the 16th and 17th century, the very Idea of vaccinations and Inoculations were shunned and forbidden by the Catholic Church and the fact that dissection of deceased human bodies wasn't allowed until the Black Plague reached its peak during the 18th century. The Vatican has, thus, to say the least halted and aggravated scientific advancements. http://en.wikipedia.org...