Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

• Genesis 1:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

• Psalm 19:1-4

Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
    who have eyes but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:
Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
    they have turned aside and gone away.

• Jeremiah 5:21-23

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
    before his deeds of old;
I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
    when there were no springs overflowing with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
    before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the world or its fields
    or any of the dust of the earth.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
    Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind.

• Proverbs 8:22-31

“The name given to this kind of enquiry was natural philosophy: because it was the attempt to understand the workings of nature. The distinction had not yet been made, and was not to be made until the following century, between philosophy and science. Meanwhile natural philosophy brought about one of the biggest revolutions in general thinking that had ever occurred. Pythagoras’ insight that the whole material universe was susceptible of explanation in terms of mathematics had at last, after two thousand years, been given its vindication and its proof.”

• Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

The book’s author made the quote above about Sir Isaac Newton’s discoveries.

Sir Isaac Newton(1643–1727) was an English polymath.  He made contributions in mathematics, physics, astronomy, and theology.  He was an inventor.  And one of his key books that he authored was the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.  As such, we could add philosophy, but as the author states, those two fields seem to diverge within another hundred years.

But I want to pick a bone with the author.  Not a surprise, but the same bone as usual.

He characterized Newton’s ideas as an attempt to understand “nature,” and applying mathematical principles to that to vindicate Pythagoras (570-490BC).  Or words to that effect.

Most of the meaningful biographical bits that I have read and heard about Sir Isaac Newton was that his pursuit was to figure out how God made such things happen.  These days, the word “nature” has been shanghaied by the secular world and evolution, even to the point of giving nature sentience just to avoid giving any idea to God being in charge, having created nature, or even the existence of God.

Newton was among the greatest thinkers of his time, and a devout Christian.  Many of his colleagues were also Christians.  Some scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers like Blaise Pascal have written enough theological works to leave no doubt in people’s minds, but those that kept their thoughts on the science have had their biographies altered.  Add to that the notion that the founding fathers of the USA did not establish the country on biblical principles, when many were pastors of churches and others were similar to Newton, polymaths trying to figure out how God did it.  This altering of history is absurd.

The Scripture from Proverbs above might be confusing, but it speaks of wisdom itself being there with God during creation, and it took scientists like Newton to find the mathematics and proof that backs up that Godly wisdom.

Much of the scientific discoveries of Newton and his contemporaries, and then for the next couple of centuries was trying to figure out the majestic order in things.  Without the design which God created, it is inconceivable, to someone attuned to conceive in the first place, that the universe could exist without the loving hand of its Creator, God.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.