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GYC Southeast

Great in God's Sight Season 2

Rhonda Grakov

Johannes Kepler: Thinking God’s Thoughts

Blaise Pascal: Where Faith and Reason Intersect

Sir Robert Boyle: Christian Virtuoso

Sir Isaac Newton: On the Shores of the Ocean of Truth

The Celestial Railroad: Part 1

The Celestial Railroad: Part 2

The Celestial Railroad: Part 3

The Celestial Railroad: Part 4

Johann Sebastian Bach: This Art Still Lives

John Bunyan: Progress in Prison


Hello and welcome to Grading God's Sight, the podcast that explores underrated heroes. This is Season 2, and we're so glad you've joined us for this episode entitled Sir Isaac Newton on the Shores of the Ocean of truth. Please be sure to subscribe and check out the amazing artwork that goes along with today's story on our website, thegreatpodcast.org. The 22-year-old college graduate found his world dramatically altered when a pandemic swept through his country, shutting down the university he was attending. Now he was stranded at home on the family farm, with an uncertain future before him.

To us, this scenario seems eerily familiar, in light of the events of 2020. But the year was not 2020, it was 1665. The pandemic was the bubonic plague that terrorized Europe, the college was Trinity College, Cambridge, and the student was Isaac Newton. Isaac was born on Christmas Day, 1642. His father had died several months earlier, but when little Isaac was about 3 years old, His mother married a wealthy minister named Barnabas Smith.

Unfortunately, Barnabas Smith did not want the responsibility of caring for Isaac, and the newlyweds left him in the care of Hannah's mother. Understandably, It seems the boy must have greatly resented this arrangement. At the age of 19, he wrote a list of sins from his childhood, among which was threatening to burn down his stepfather's house with his mother and stepfather inside. The separation between Isaac and his mother lasted for about 8 years, until Barnabas Smith's death. Shortly after, Isaac went to study at the King's School in Grantham.

His academic track record was rather interesting, to say the least. Paying little attention to the required material, he preferred to be left alone with his thoughts as he made diagrams or performed experiments. But a dramatic change came when Isaac was about 16 years old. With land bequeathed to her by both of her deceased husbands, Mrs. Newton needed someone to manage her estate.

For this, she turned to Isaac. However, her firstborn son was not at all interested in farming or managing property. Persuaded by friends, relatives, and even farmhands, Mrs. Newton finally decided to allow her son to prepare for college. He quickly rose to the top of his class at Grantham, and in 1661, he enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge.

While Newton was at university, a scientific revolution was underway. For hundreds of years the teachings of Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek philosophers had been a primary influence in scientific understanding. Individuals such as Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus were maligned and mistreated for harboring deviant scientific ideas. By Newton's time, however, things were changing. The Protestant Reformation brought a renewed emphasis on the Bible, teaching that the scriptures should be the supreme standard of Christian faith and practice.

The Renaissance swept through Europe as well, resulting in new philosophies and ideas about the natural world. Scientists such as René Descartes asserted that the world operated according to a logical and rational system of scientific principles, rather than the capricious will of inanimate objects. As a young man, Newton was attracted to Descartes' ideas and passionately studied his works. He gained mastery of many mathematical concepts and developed these ideas further in his spare time. Newton graduated with his bachelor's degree from Trinity College in April of 1665, the same month that the bubonic plague began in London.

Due to the epidemic, Trinity College shut down, and Newton, although intent on pursuing a career in academia, was forced to return home. This period of exile and isolation was unexpected, but it proved to be a tremendous blessing to himself and to the world. Newton's time at home during the bubonic plague has been referred to by scholars as the Annus Mirabilis, a Latin expression meaning year of wonders. During this period, Newton achieved 2 major milestones in mathematics, the development of the binomial theorem, and the invention of calculus. He also furthered his understanding of light and optics, and began to formulate his law of universal gravitation, or gravity.

Sometimes it is during the periods of change and isolation in our lives that God can best shape, mold, and use us for His glory and for the blessing of humanity. By 1667, the plague had subsided, and Newton returned to Trinity College to pursue his master's degree. After graduation, the 26-year-old Newton was elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a position he would hold for over 30 years. He continued to research and lecture on mathematics, optics, and other concepts that he would eventually publish in his monumental work, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, commonly known as Principia. Newton's invention of the first reflecting telescope secured his membership in the prestigious Royal Society of London, where he would eventually serve as president.

In addition to his impressive academic and scientific career, Newton went on to be elected as the Royal Society's representative in Parliament. Later, he would serve as head of the Mint, which involved overseeing the production of coins and prosecuting counterfeiters. Today, Newton is known worldwide primarily for his scientific contributions, but there is a side to Newton that many are not aware of. While he wrote extensively on mathematics, physics, and chemistry, most of Newton's writings were on theological subjects, for he was a devout Christian. He believed firmly in the Protestant principle of sola scriptura and upheld the scriptures as the supreme standard for Christian faith and practice.

He said, I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily. This commitment even put him at odds with the Church of England, of which he was a member. He specifically disagreed with the doctrine of the Trinity as taught by the church. While he did not deny Christ's eternal existence and oneness with the Father, Newton disagreed with creedal terminology that seemed to originate more from Greek metaphysics than from a plain reading of the Bible.

Upon becoming a professor at Cambridge, Newton was required to take holy orders from the Church of England, but felt it would be dishonest to claim full agreement with church doctrine. The issue was resolved when the King of England permitted him to obtain the professorship without taking the orders. Sir Isaac Newton was also fascinated by apocalyptic prophecy. He delighted in tracing the fulfillment of prophecies throughout history, and even wrote a book entitled, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John.

Newton agreed with the teachings of the Protestant Reformers regarding the Antichrist, and was a firm believer in the principle that 1 prophetic day is equal to 1 literal year. Regarding his Bible study, the brilliant scientist said, we account the scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. With Newton's tremendous knowledge of the scriptures and commitment to his Christian faith, we can expect that his religious beliefs influenced his professional work. It has been said, the ultimate goal of Newton's scientific studies was to know God and give him honor and glory. Newton believed that all knowledge, including knowledge of nature, was in the end knowledge of God.

Knowing was worship. Newton himself wrote, Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being. All variety of created objects which represent order and life in the universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original creator, whom I call the Lord God. Today many people perceive faith in science as conflicting, but the example of Sir Isaac Newton teaches us otherwise.

A knowledge of the Creator and a committed relationship with Him assist us as we seek to learn more about His creation. If they are indeed true and reliable, any apparent contradictions between the scriptures and current scientific understanding lie in our flawed human perception of the data available to us. Of himself, Newton said, I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." Sir Isaac Newton died at the age of 84 on March 31, 1727. His remains lie in Westminster Abbey, along with those of other great individuals from history. He was a man who was blessed with great wisdom from God, wisdom that he employed first and foremost in searching the Scriptures and gaining a knowledge of his Creator.

In turn, God opened to his mind important principles that govern the physical world, And through his work, succeeding generations have been greatly enriched. In Newton's life, we see the words of Scripture again confirmed. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy 1 is understanding. Thank you for listening to Great In God's Sight, a podcast by GYC Southeast. We hope you have enjoyed this adventure through time and pray it serves to deepen your relationship with God.

While we strive to bring you a unique perspective on each believer, we encourage you to use your God-given curiosity to explore these topics for yourself. Please remember to hit the subscribe button and Share this episode with your friends via text or social media. You never know who might be encouraged! Until next time, we wish you God's blessing as you

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Series

Great in God's Sight Season 2

Sir Isaac Newton: On the Shores of the Ocean of Truth

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Johannes Kepler: Thinking God’s Thoughts

11m

Blaise Pascal: Where Faith and Reason Intersect

10m

Sir Robert Boyle: Christian Virtuoso

11m

Sir Isaac Newton: On the Shores of the Ocean of Truth

11m

The Celestial Railroad: Part 1

13m

The Celestial Railroad: Part 2

13m

The Celestial Railroad: Part 3

11m

The Celestial Railroad: Part 4

13m

Johann Sebastian Bach: This Art Still Lives

13m

John Bunyan: Progress in Prison

9m

Sound Doctrine