Steve Shaw
There is no excuse for racism, homophobia and misogyny either now or in the past and it ill-behoves us to be too free with the "of their time" getout.

I don't think anybody is saying that are they? The question, in this context, is whether or not those of Newton's ideas that seem weird 300 years later were excusable when you make allowances for the prevailing understanding of the nature of the universe in the late 17th/early18th centuries.

He was not able, in some regards, to think outside the box, but Galileo managed it all right

I hadn't realised that Galileo had expressed strong opinions on racism, homophobia and misogyny. Could you give me a reference?