[Osx-nutters] The separation of church and state.

[Matt Johnston]

--
http://cimota.com/blog

On 6 Dec 2007, at 13:06, Chris Gehlker <canyonrat at mac.com> wrote:
>
> Are you now willing to concede that Newton was both a committed
> Christian and a "genuine" scientist?
> --

Jesus Christ.

To be honest Chris, you're using the same tactics that Creationists use.

If we define a committed Christian as one who allows his life to be  
guided solely by the Holy Book, old testament and new, then we cannot  
in any conscience call Isaac Newton a committed Christian.

If we define a genuine scientist to be one who observes the world  
using the scientific method and who does not permit himself to be  
rules by shim or flights of fancy, then we cannot count Isaac Newton  
as a genuine scientist.

Isaac Newton was a great thinker and natural philosopher. He was also  
a human being in England in the 17th and 18th century. He sought to  
explain all he could and he attributed the variety and scope of the  
universe to God. To make this distinction of scientist OR Christian is  
to show a disingenuous interpretation of the period in which he lived.  
And if to win points we must argue about the lives of 300 year old  
astronomers then I think neither will win.

It's interesting to note that wikipedia does not call him a scientist.  
Nor does it define him as a Christian.