"I do not know what I may appear to be to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me... The true God is a living, intelligent, and powerful being. His duration reaches from eternity to eternity; His presence from infinity to infinity. He governs all things."
—Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton (1855) by Sir David Brewster (Volume II. Ch. 27); Principia, Second Edition
What a beautiful, humble and true statement. I have found myself from time to time in prayer contemplating God's handiwork - the laws of physics, mathematics, the periodic table, the intricate complexity of matter, of the human body...etc. I have been known to spend time gazing upon the heavens and seeing not the chemical and physical nature of what I see but rather being awestruck at the power of God who is the All Powerful Creator of All. Now I am surprised to find a like minded soul in none other than Sir Isaac Newton who studied God's creation and gave HIM all the credit instead of placing himself as God.
Excellent quote and commentary, Sanctus Belle.
ReplyDeleteThere are alot of science & religion book popularizations done by astrophysicists these days - and never do they mention, or at least allude to, to deep religious devotion of scientists of times past.
The atheism of scientists today is a recent development, probably starting from around the beginning of the twentieth century.