Christian History Magazine—Issue 76: The Christian Face of the Scientific Revolution
Overview
Christianity and science have a complex relationship. From the days of Plato, a chasm has existed between faith and scientific inquiry, between the supernatural and natural. But was Plato accurate? Are the things of science and the things of God incompatible? For Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe and Newton, there was only one answer: No. These men were a few among many in the early Modern era who labored to know God by investigating the inner workings of the universe. They were convinced that when they peered through their lenses, worked out their equations, or conducted their experiments, they were gaining a privileged insight into God’s glory, in all of its macroscopic and microscopic detail. This issue of Christian History & Biography reveals the spiritual foundations of their scientific explorations, and it provides an intriguing glimpse into the minds of God-fearing scientists.
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Top Highlights
“For the Middle Ages, natural laws had been universal moral rules established by God. The injunction against murder, recognized by all cultures, was a typical example of a natural law. The concept of a physical law of nature was completely absent. That came only as Christian thinkers extended God’s legislative power to the natural world. As philosopher and scientist René Descartes (1596–1650) expressed it, ‘God alone is the author of all the motions in the world.’” (source)
“Despite his general disinterest in explaining his ideas to the public, Newton’s work greatly impressed his fellow members of the Royal Society, and by mid-career he became very famous. But he harbored a dark secret that had the potential to bring his rising star plummeting to earth.” (source)
“Isaac Barrow, experimentalists ‘do not suspect that Nature is inconstant, and the great Author of the universe unlike himself.’ Only because they assume that God’s decrees are unchanging do they expect the consistent results of a number of experiments to hold true ever after.” (source)
“‘I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but, as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.’” (source)
“While the Principia is primarily a work of mathematical physics, there are some interesting theological interludes. In the second edition of the Principia, Newton suggests that comets might refuel the sun, replenishing the energy lost illuminating the earth. Newton’s intuition, informed by his concept of God’s providence, suggested to him that the God-given purpose of comets in the creation was to keep the sun healthy. Such speculation, while consistent with Newton’s view that God sustains the universe at all times, still stands out against what is otherwise a much more straightforward scientific approach.” (source)
- Title: Christian History Magazine—Issue 76: The Christian Face of the Scientific Revolution
- Author: Christian History Institute
- Series: Christian History Magazine
- Publisher: Christianity Today
- Print Publication Date: 2002
- Logos Release Date: 2009
- Era: era:Contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Science; Europe › 16th-18th centuries
- Resource ID: LLS:CH76
- Resource Type: Magazine
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-05T16:40:49Z