rtwngAvngr
Senior Member
- Jan 5, 2004
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- #101
Mariner said:AbbeyNormal,
I agree that Newton was probably important enough that if he had come out with his heretical thinking he probably wouldn't have been burned at the stake. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget the long history of religions persecuting scientific heretics, which to me is one of the best reasons to support a secular government.
In support of this view, here's the intro paragraph from a paper in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 1999:
"Isaac Newton, Heretic: the strategies of a Nicodemite
STEPHEN D. SNOBELEN
...
Isaac Newton was a heretic. But like Nicodemus, the secret disciple of Jesus, he never made a public declaration of his private faith which the orthodox would have deemed extremely radical. He hid his faith so well that scholars are still unravelling his personal beliefs.
"...His one-time follower William Whiston attributed his policy of silence to simple, human fear and there must be some truth in this. Every day as a public figure (Lucasian Professor, Warden then Master of the Mint, President of the Royal Society) and as the figurehead of British natural philosophy, Newton must have felt the tension of outwardly conforming to the Anglican Church, while inwardly denying much of its faith and practice. He was restricted by heresy laws, religious tests and the formidable opposition of public opinion. "
http://www.isaac-newton.org/
Mariner
What was heresy then, was the difference between being a methodist and a presbyterian today. He was a christian. Can you get this concept? It's already been explained to you at least once that I've seen.