Isaac Newton and ArianismIsaac Newton along with John Locke were two men that are noted to be an influence on Deism. But like the often deliberate misuse and misunderstanding of Deism, Newton's position is also distorted. Newton like Locke was clearly a Unitarian or perhaps Arian or semi-Arian. Neither were hostile to Christianity. The radical French Encyclopedists present both in their mostly atheist image. Special thanks to Richard S. Westfall for his work below. 1. Dates
2. Father
3. Nationality
4. Education
5. Religion
6. Scientific Disciplines
7. Means of Support
Although it is difficult wholly to decypher his personal estate, he was the heir to his father's property at Woolsthorpe, and his stepfather added a property as part of the marriage settlement. It appears that Newton had income of about £150 from the estate. What is not clear is the point at which he received it--was it at the time of his majority (for he was his father's heir), or was it at the time of his mother's death? Note that his stepfather, who died when Newton was eleven, was a very wealthy man, so that his mother had an extensive estate after Smith's death. Newton was appointed Warden of the Mint (salary £500) in 1696. He moved then from Cambridge to London, where he lived for more than thirty years. In 1699 he became Master, a position he held until his death. The income from this position (which had a base salary of £400) varied according to the amount of money coined, but averaged about £2000. Newton died quite a wealthy man. 8. Patronage
Nevertheless, there were points at which he, like everyone else, needed patrons, and he had them. First, in Cambridge. Someone had to have stood behind the election, first to a scholarship and then to a fellowship in Trinity, of an unconnected student who ignored the established curriculum. He was not in fact wholly unconnected. Humphrey Babington, one of the Senior Fellows in Trinity, was the brother of the woman with whom Newton lodged while a student in grammar school in Grantham. Although this is not established beyond doubt, it appears probable that Babington stood behind Newton's appointments in Trinity. Although it is again not established beyond possible doubt, it appears virtually certain that Isaac Barrow arranged for Newton to succeed him as Lucasian Professor. And it is hightly likely that it was Barrow, who was then Master of Trinity, who arranged for the royal dispensation that freed Newton from the necessity of ordination in 1675 and made possible his continuation in Cambridge. Charles Montague, a veryk prominent member of the Whig junto, arranged Newton's appointment to the Mint in 1696, and later his knighthood. I am listing him as governmental official. In the second and third decades of the 18th century, Newton had a close relation with Princess Caroline, whom he called his "particular friend," and (more distantly) her husband, who became George II. There is no evidence of which I am aware of material favors that Newton received, but I am listing this nevertheless as courtly patronage. 9. Technological Involvement
10. Scientific Societies
Sources Richard S. Westfall, Never at Rest, (Cambridge, 1980). I have drawn up this sketch by skimming through my biography to remind myself of details. In writing the biography, I consulted all of the existing literature on Newton, of course, and references to the rest of the literature can be found in the bibliography and notes in Never at Rest. Compiled by:
Original url (below) http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=5428 Newton’s God I read with pleasure Avery Cardinal Dulles’ rich essay on “The Deist Minimum” (January). The timing seems providential in that just this week I read that Anthony Flew, the British poster boy for atheism, has at the age of eighty-one abandoned his atheism in favor of belief in a super-intelligent being who is the designer of the universe. Flew explains that he continues to reject the biblical God of the Christians and Muslims (and Jews?) as an “oriental despot” akin to Saddam Hussein but favors the idea of the deist conception of God held by Jefferson. Cardinal Dulles makes the statement that deism served as a kind of “halfway house on the road to atheism.” One now wonders if it may provide shelter on the return trip. Let us pray. I would, however, like to raise a question about Cardinal Dulles’ assessment of Isaac Newton. He leaves the impression that Newton was a deist, or nearly so. This represents an earlier scholarly consensus that should now be abandoned. Not only was Newton not a deist; he believed deism heretical and harmful. For this reason he was instrumental in the formulation of the Boyle Lectures, whose avowed purpose was “to prove the truth of the Christian religion against infidels.” The infidels du jour were the atheists and deists. Cardinal Dulles writes that Newton discovered mathematical laws that henceforth made divine intervention superfluous. This was the conclusion that the French Encyclopedists imposed on Newton’s mechanics. Newton himself believed that God was actively involved in upholding creation by the continual exercise of His will. Deists rejected the concept of revealed religion. Newton embraced it—especially in regard to biblical prophecy and chronology, on both of which he was expert. Even Newton’s Trinitarian views, which Cardinal Dulles says caused him to “reject the doctrine of the trinity and incarnation as irrational” are under reassessment. I believe that by the 1690s Isaac Newton’s Trinitarian position could be considered compatible with the position of the Eastern Church Fathers of the fourth century, especially Eusebius of Caesarea and Basil of Ancyra. Scholarship on Newton’s religion is gradually bringing him in from the cold. People may continue to debate various elements of his religion, but, in the words of Newton scholar James Force, one thing is sure: “He was no deist.” Thomas C. Pfizenmaier Bonhomme Presbyterian Church Chesterfield, Missouri Avery Cardinal Dulles replies: I agree, and actually said, that Newton was not a deist and that his God was active in the universe. Newton accepted revealed religion and was in some sense a Christian. On these points there is no dispute. In saying that Newton rejected the Trinity I was following the standard accounts. According to James Gleik, in his 2003 biography, Newton regarded Christ as God’s son, a mediator between God and humanity, chosen to be a prophet and messenger, and exalted to God’s right hand. But on the ground that Christ was not God, he refused to use the initials “ad” for reckoning dates. He likewise denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Not only did he reject the Trinity; he regarded Trinitarianism as a sin of idolatry. I am grateful to Dr. Pfizenmaier for the information that Newton at some point in his life accepted positions similar to those of Eusebius of Caesarea and Basil of Ancyra, who are generally classified as semi-Arians. That removes him from the strictly Arian camp but still leaves him short of a robust Trinitarian orthodoxy. I did say that Newton’s mathematical physics gave “indirect support” to deism. The use made of him by the French Encyclopedists may be considered evidence. See The Deist Minimum Copyright (c) 2005 First Things (April 2005). This data file is the sole property of First Things. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (c) 2000 by First Things") and this Copyright/Reproduction Limitations notice. This data file may not be used without the permission of First Things for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. See http://www.firstthings.com
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