The Masters of Science
A few quotes of faith from the masters of science.
"Opposite to godliness is atheism in profession and idolatry in practice. Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors. Can it be by accident that all birds, beasts, and men have their right side and left side alike shaped; and just two eyes, and no more, on either side of the face; and just two ears on either side [of] the head; and a nose with two holes; and either two forelegs or two wings or two arms on the shoulders, and two legs on the hips, and no more? Whence is it that the eyes of all sorts of living creatures are transparent to the very bottom, and the only transparent members in the body, having on the outside a hard transparent skin and within transparent humors, with a crystalline lens in the middle and a pupil before the lens, all of them so finely shaped and fitted for vision that no artist can mend them? Did blind chance know that there was light and what was its refraction, and fit the eyes of all creatures after the most curious manner to make use of it? These and suchlike considerations always have and ever will prevail with mankind to believe that there is a Being who made all things and has all things in His power."
- Isaac Newton
Newton's Philosophy of Nature, Hafner Publishing, 1974, 65-66.
Isaac Newton (1643-1727). English mathematician and physicist, considered one of the greatest scientists in history, who made important contributions to many fields of science. His discoveries and theories laid the foundation for much of the progress in science since his time. Newton was one of the inventors of calculus, solved the mysteries of light and optics, formulated the three laws of motion, and derived from them the law of universal gravitation.
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"For when a man is occupied with things which he sees established in the finest order and directed by divine management, will not the unremitting contemplation of them and a certain familiarity with them stimulate him to the best and to admiration for the Maker of everything, in whom are all happiness and every good? For would not the godly Psalmist [92:4] in vain declare that he was made glad through the work of the Lord and rejoiced in the works of His hands, were we not drawn to the contemplation of the highest good by this means, as though by a chariot?"
- Nicholas Copernicus
On the Revolutions: Nicholas Copernicus' Complete Works, trans. by Edward Rosen (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), 7.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Polish astronomer, best known for his heliocentric astronomical theory that the sun is at the center of our solar system, and that the earth, spinning on its axis once daily, revolves annually around the sun.
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"I do not want to stress that I present important evidence of the creation of the universe - an evidence which has been denied by the philosophers. Nevertheless, here we see how God, like a human architect, approached the founding of the world according to order and rule and measured everything in such a manner, that one might think not art took nature for an example but God Himself, in the course of His creation took the art of man as an example, though man was to appear only later on."
- Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler: Life and Letters, ed. Carola Baumgardt (New York: Philosophical Library, 1951), 34.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). German natural philosopher, mathematician and astronomer who although visually impaired from a childhood attack of small pox formulated and verified the three laws of planetary motion.
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"And finally by elevating us to the ultimate end of our labors, which is the love of the divine Artificer, this will keep us steadfast in the hope that we shall learn every other truth in Him, the source of all light and verity."
- Galileo Galilei
Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, trans. Stillman Drake (New York: Doubleday Publishing, 1957), 124.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Italian physicist and astronomer who discovered sun spots, lunar mountains and valleys, the laws of falling objects and the motions of projectiles and observed the four largest satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Venus.
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"The ancient philosophers had very little knowledge of these important truths. Jesus Christ alone has expressed them divinely well, and in a manner so clear and so familiar...that is why His Gospel has completely changed the face of human affairs."
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Leibniz's Philosophical Writings, ed. Mary Morris (London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1934), 236.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). German philosopher, mathematician, and statesman who independently invented the fundamentals of infinitesimal mathematics nine years after Isaac Newton but published his system three years before Newton.
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"If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity."
- Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, Ideas & Opinions (Random House, Inc., 1995), 184-185.
Albert Einstein (1897-1955). German-born American physicist and Nobel Laureate known as the creator of General and Special Relativity.
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"Whether I am alone or in the sight of others, in all my actions I am in the sight of God who must judge them and to whom I have devoted all of them."
- Blaise Pascal
Mind on Fire, ed. James M. Houston (Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House, 1997), 232.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). French philosopher, mathematician and physicist who introduced Pascal's Theorem of Projective Geometry, Pascal's Principle of Pressure Distribution, the Mathematical Theory of Probability and the inventions of the barometer and mechanical computer. In philosophy, he became well-known for introducing Pascal's Wager. Pascal posed that if God does not exist, then the believer risks nothing at the end of their life from believing in Him but if God does exist then the skeptic would risk their eternal existence. Through his apologetic work, Pascal discussed how the skeptic's position could never be proven, for if there is no God then there is no power beyond death to show that the believer was ever wrong. Pascal claimed that ultimately it is the believer who is in a no-lose situation in a bet concerning the existence of God. Pascal achieved fame as a mathematician, physicist, philosopher, theologian and litterateur for the work of a career that lasted only 23 years.
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"I have long felt that there was a general impression in the non-scientific world that the scientific world believes Science has discovered ways of explaining all the facts of nature without adopting any definite belief in a Creator. I have never doubted that impression was utterly groundless. It seems to me that when a scientific man says - as it has been said from time to time - that there is no God, he does not express his own ideas clearly. He is, perhaps, struggling with difficulties; but when he says that he does not believe in a creative power I am convinced he does not faithfully express what is in his mind. He is out of his depth."
- Sir William Thompson
America's God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations, William Federer (Texas: Fame Publishing, Inc., 1994), 344.
Sir William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), famous scientist who developed the Kelvin temperature scale and formulated the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. Among his other great contributions were the invention of a ship's compass which was largely freed from magnetic influences of iron as well as helping to design and lay the first trans-atlantic telegraph cable.
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"For God is the sovereign of every country on this earth; the whole world with all its treasures and all its horrors is subject to Him, and there is no portion either of the realm of nature or of the mind without His omnipresence."
- Max Planck
Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, Max Planck (London: Williams & Norgate Ltd., 1950), 159.
Max Planck (1858-1947), German physicist and Nobel laureate, who was the originator of the quantum theory. He was appointed professor of physics at the University of Kiel in 1885, and from 1889 until 1928 filled the same position at the University of Berlin. In 1900 Planck postulated that energy is radiated in small, discrete units, which he called quanta. Developing his quantum theory further, he discovered a universal constant of nature, which came to be known as Planck's constant. Planck's discoveries, which were later verified by other scientists, were the basis of an entirely new field of physics, known as quantum mechanics, and provided a foundation for research in such fields as atomic energy.
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"Bacon, in his instruction, tells us that the scientific student ought not to be as the ant, who gathers merely, nor as the spider who spins from her own bowels, but rather as the bee who both gathers and produces. All this is true of the teaching afforded by any part of the physical science. Electricity is often called wonderful, beautiful, but it is so only in common with the other forces of nature. The beauty of electricity, or of any other force, is not that the power is mysterious and unexpected, touching every sense at unawares in turn, but that it is under law, and that the taught intellect can even now govern it largely. The human mind is placed above, not beneath it, and it is in such a point of view that the mental education afforded by science is rendered supereminent in dignity, in practical application, and utility, for, by enabling the mind to apply the natural power through law, it conveys the gifts of God to man."
- Michael Faraday
The Philosopher's Tree: A Selection of Michael Faraday's Writings, Peter Day (London: Institute of Physics Publishing, 1999), 187.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), British physicist and chemist, best known for his discoveries of electromagnetic induction and of the laws of electrolysis. Despite his humble beginnings and leaving formal schooling at age 12 to help support his family, Faraday became the recipient of many scientific honors and awards, including the Royal and Rumford medals of the Royal Society; he was also offered the presidency of the society but declined the honor. Faraday became one of the most celebrated scientists of his day and received no fewer than 95 honorary titles and marks of distinction from the scientific communities of Europe and America. Among the many discoveries attributed to him, four are considered monumental: magneto-electric induction, the chemical phenomenon of the electric current, the magnetism of light and diamagnetism. Also important were his contributions in the liquefication of gases, frictional electricity, regulation, the discovery of benzene and the experimental determination of the composition of diamond (1814). Faraday is considered by many to be the greatest experimental scientist of all time and one of the greatest teachers in the history of science.
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"There are things which have meanings so deep that if we follow on to know them we shall be led into great mysteries of divinity. If we despise these relations of marriage, of parents and children, of master and servant, everything will go wrong, and there will be confusion as bad as in Lear's case. But if we reverence them, we shall even see beyond their first aspect of spiritual meaning. For God speaks to us more plainly in these bonds of our life than in anything that we can understand. So we find a great deal of Divine Truth is spoken of in the Bible with reference to these three relations and others."
- James Clerk Maxwell
Men of Science, J.G. Crowther (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1936), 312.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), British physicist, whose research and writing explained the properties of electromagnetism. Maxwell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. He was professor of physics at the University of Aberdeen from 1856 to 1860. In 1871 he became the first professor of experimental physics at Cambridge. Maxwell formulated the fundamental mathematical laws of electromagnetic theory, known as Maxwell's equations, which he derived from the experimental work of Michael Faraday. His work was further supported experimentally by German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. Maxwell also developed the kinetic theory of gases, which explains the physical properties and nature of a gas. His other accomplishments include the investigation of color vision and the principles of thermodynamics. Maxwell published his greatest work in "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" in 1873. Maxwell's contributions made him one of the most important scientists of the 1800s.
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"Science has thus helped us to appreciate the inspiring setting in which we find ourselves. We recognize the greatness of the program of nature which is unfolding before us, and we feel that we are an essential part of a great enterprise in which a mighty Intelligence is working out his hidden plan. In our hands we hold the conditions of life on this planet. If indeed the creation of intelligent persons is a major objective of the Creator of the Universe, and if, as we have reason to surmise, mankind is his highest development in this direction, the opportunity and responsibility of working as God's partners in his great task should inspire us to the highest achievement of which we are capable. What nobler ambition can a man have than to co-operate with his Maker in bringing about a better world in which to live?"
- Arthur Holly Compton
Man's Destiny in Eternity: The Garvin Lectures, Arthur H. Compton (New York: Ayer Company Publishers, Inc., 1949), 19-20.
Arthur Holly Compton (1892-1962), American scientist who received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1927, at age 35, for his experimental work in quantum mechanics. Compton's discovery of wavelength changes in high energy electromagnetic radiation as it scatters off electrons was later termed the Compton effect. This phenomenon confirmed that electromagnetic radiation has both wave and particle properties, a central principle of quantum theory.
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"Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure - the adventure into the unknown, an unknown that must be recognized as unknown in order to be explored, the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered, the attitude that all is uncertain. To summarize it: humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics - the basics of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual, the humility of the spirit. These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent."
- Richard Feynman
The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist, Richard P. Feynman (Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998), 47.
Richard Feynman (1918-88). American physicist and Nobel Laureate who worked on the early stages of the Manhattan Project; is cited for his research on the transformation of a photon into an electron and a positron and for his discovery of a method of measuring the resulting changes in charge and mass; and on presidential commission determined the root cause of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion.
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"No man has a capacity for virtue who sacrifices honour for gain. Fortune is powerless to help one who does not exert himself. That man becomes happy who follows Christ."
- Leonardo da Vinci
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, ed. Edward MacCurdy (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1939), 86.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine artist, one of the great masters of the High Renaissance, celebrated as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His innovations in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for more than a century after his death, and his scientific studies particularly in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics anticipated many of the developments of modern science.
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"An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God."
- Ramanujan
The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan, Robert Kanigel (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991), 7.
Ramanujan, Srinivasa (1887-1920), mathematician most noted for his work in the development of continued fractions. Ramanujan was born in Erode, India. At age twenty three he left home and was brought to Cambridge University by English mathematician Professor G.H. Hardy, to whom Ramanujan had written for help. During his stay at Cambridge, Ramanujan was given license to explore many areas of mathematics. It was widely thought from those he worked with that Ramanujan's insight into algebraical formulae and transformation of infinite series and his ability for manipulating equations was only equaled by the likes of Euler or Jacobi. Ramanujan's work has not only benefited the field of mathematics but also a broad spectrum of industrial projects such as blast furnaces, plastics (repetitive molecular unit prediction), telephone cable splicing as well as cancer research (soliton switching in malignancy). Perhaps Ramanujan is most noted for his paper entitled "Modular Equations and Approximations to Pi" (1914) which led to the development of the fastest known algorithm for determining pi. The very first term of his infinite series computes pi to eight decimal places.
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"I was born on this Day of July 1635 and God has given me a new Birth, may I never forget his Mercies to me; whilst He gives me Breath may I praise Him."
- Robert Hooke
Restless Genius: Robert Hooke And His Earthly Thoughts, Ellen Tan Drake (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 133.
Robert Hooke (1635-1703), considered as one of the greatest inventors of all time whose work would span the areas of astronomy, meteorology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, architecture, oceanography, instrumentation, microscopy, telescopy, horology, music, art and cartography. Hooke is responsible for inventing the pneumatic engine, pendulum clock, spring-loaded pocket watch, the universal joint, iris diaphragm, an underwater breathing apparatus, telescopic sights, the bubble level and the weather wiser which could record time, temperature, air pressure, humidity, accumulated rainfall, strength and direction of the wind. Along with his inventions, Hooke is responsible for his discoveries of Jupiter's Giant Red Spot, micro-organisms (coining the term "cell"), the experimental validation of Boyle's Law and his own, Hooke's Law, which quantifies the relationship between stress and strain.
