The Astronomical Clockmaker: What Isaac Newton Said About God

Lisa R. Parker

You already know Astronomy is the field of study that focuses on the Universe and the planets and stars in it. However the more time I spend trying to figure out this subject, the more I find an amazing Creator in it and this is not an article about religion. Something so big, so timeless that created this clock so that it can run on its own. This idea was also supported by on of the most brilliant minds ever. The mind of Isaac Newton

Newton Explains the Law of Gravity.

After the great Galileo died the world waited for another great mind to be born. This happened and soon the young Newton stood on the shoulders of giants before him. By the time he was only 24 he realized the things Galileo and Kepler worked out behaved the way they did because behind them was something that ruled their motions. In fact not only that on Earth but also that of the sun and galaxies. According to him, there was a universal attraction between things and that was called gravitation. The degree of attraction depends on the mass of the object and the distance between them.

Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.

Newton published this work in 1687 and described the Universe as a giant clock. Its parts worked together perfectly and we could express this mathematically. Newton believed God was the creator of this order and the clockmaker who had set the clock in motion.

We see that Newton moved away from the thinking that the Earth was the centre of the Universe. Still he maintained that God was in control of this clock. He moved away from the old science thinking that common sense and reasoning could explain the physical world. He embraced the new science thinking where observation and scientific reasoning gathered knowledge and drew conclusions about the physical world. Newton did not try to disprove God, he actually found a Master planner behind the clock of the universe and he believed this planner was God. He gave God all the credit but proved the church had it wrong in their interpretation of the way in which God had created the Universe in general but specifically the position of the Earth in the universe. Since many people feel certain astronomical theories and facts disprove the existence of god, Newton showed the contrary. Astronomy studies the Universe, not religion facts.

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