“All of them to the end, clung to the theology of their age. They would surely not have been indifferent to knowing when the Last Judgement would come, and they could not have imagined the world without God. Moreover, the science they created was almost wholly concerned with questions of truth, not power.”
-Page 35, Technopoly by Neil Postman
Literally
The passage above is informing the reader as to how all of the scientists described prior to this passage; Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton; were men of religion. They had very deep foundations in the religion which they practiced. Although their work during their lifetime may have seemed unholy in the eyes of the church, they were innately religious men. The work which they did was done in the most honest and humble way possible, and their intentions were not to go against God. They were simply studious men who felt that there was more to discover about the world we live in.
Intellectually
The passage above is a doorway into understanding the nature of all men and women. No one truly sets out to defy society. If one follows their own passions, whether they intend to or not, they leave a permanent mark on society. Galileo, Newton, Copernicus, and Kepler were men who wanted to quench their thirst of knowledge and share their knowledge with the world. They felt that knowledge is power. Whether the knowledge that they share with the world was beneficial or not is up to debate because there is no way of knowing what the parallel universe would look like.
Emotionally
These highly intelligent men were men devoted to religion and science. Galileo even gave up his daughter to the church to show his devotion. I understand that due to their findings, our world has vastly changed in better and worse ways with one scientific finding to another. But change is inevitable. Technology will continue to rise in society. These men were amazingly brave enough to risk their lives in the hope of a better word through technology.
