Scientific Revolution of the Reformation...Isaac Newton

ISAAC NEWTON

   The story of Isaac Newton learning the law of gravity when an apple fell on his head has been told for generations; however, behind this little tidbit of information is the story of one of the great geniuses, it is said, of all time. His life’s work has been the forerunner of our scientific leaps and bounds today, and would not have been possible with the 1450 invention of Gutenberg’s movable printing press, and the 1530’s translation of the Bible into the English language.

   Isaac Newton was born to a prosperous farmer in 1642 or 1643, in Lincolnshire, England, into the middle of Europe’s ‘’Scientific Revolution’’, whose masters of science had already included Galileo, Copernicus, and Kepler; as if Galileo’s mantel had fallen on Newton, Newton was born the year Galileo died. The work done by these men, mainly Newton, made possible the bursting inventions of our time!

    Newton first attended the King’s School, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, founded in 1329; his uncle, a graduate of Cambridge, Trinity College, saw genius in him and suggested this college for his nephew.

   Newton interests and abilities were remarkably varied and mastered and he was often considered the most brilliant scientist who ever lived. He invented calculous, used his discoveries in physics to calculate the motions of the planets and earth-bound objects; found wonders in color and light in optics, invented a reflecting telescope; discovered interpreted laws of motion and gravity; and much more in the areas of math, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry. He often studied and wrote 18 hours a day for weeks at a time, eating and sleeping little, greatly affecting his health. It is said that he wrote upwards of 700,000 words on all his inventions and findings.

   As remarkable as all his works were, and the influence on so much until today, there is something nearly always ignored, yet extremely vital to knowing the man, the times, the influence on science, and the great destruction its absence creates, and that is the approximately 1.3 million words he wrote concerning the Bible and faith in Jesus Christ; nearly twice as much as his scientific works!  He read the Bible daily throughout his lifetime, and likely made notes every day.

   Directly because of the Reformation and the first readings of the Bible in English, our lives today have been impacted to the point of living in a nation of freedom and nearly unlimited opportunity; everyday conveniences, health care, manufacturing, and every other thing that touches our lives today.



Sources:   Kingdom Treasure Ministries:  http://reformation.org/newton.html

Christianity Today:  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/translator-william-tyndale-strangled-and-burned-11629961.html

Holistic Numerical Methods:   http://nm.mathforcollege.com/anecdotes/newton.html

Christianity.com:  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/translator-william-tyndale-strangled-and-burned-11629961.html

Wikipedia