Stephen Speicher posted this [*] on Newton:
Newton was a fanatic fundamentalist deeply steeped within religion. He consumed vast amounts of theological writings and devoutly held to an Arian view of Christ; the New Testament was corrupted and the Holy Trinity was blasphemy. Newton filled notebook after notebook with Biblical quotes and writings, obsessing over God as Supreme. There was no pantheism in Newton’s religiosity, but rather a Puritan spirit; understanding nature was a duty to God, revealing God’s master plan. It was a religious decoding, as was his lifelong search decoding the scriptures for revealing divine prophecy, decoding the symbolism and calculating when would be the Second Coming. Newton devised rules for the proper interpretation of scripture, rules if followed would lead to accurate interpretations from prophecy. In endless notebooks Newton wrote, analyzing these divine prophecies and revelations, expressing a deep rage against blasphemers. Newton’s theological writings far exceed his scientific writings, perhaps as much as 2.5 million words on religion. In short, Newton was passionate for theology throughout his life, and at times his religiosity spilled over into his science as well.
Mr. White seemed more intent on outlining the secret role alchemy played.
One of the requirements of the university Newton taught at was to become a minister, to which he was opposed.
Understanding nature was a duty to God, strikes me as a precursor or forerunner to Deistic tendencies.
I am struck by an analogy trying to form in the back of my mind using Thomas Aquinas’ search to reconcile his theistic beliefs with Aristotle’s works and wonder if there might be a parallel lurking here.
[*] brought to light by this post in this ‘Announcing Study-group’ thread.