Why was Newton a theist?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Isaac Newton, who practically invented physics and calculus, is easily one of the most intelligent people to have ever lived. But he was also a theologian and spent decades studying the bible, theology and church history. Why didn't he use his rationality to denounce Christianity and become an atheist? He lived before Darwin; is this sufficient to excuse his belief in the Christian god?

There are plenty of brilliant people around even today who are religiously devout.  What of it?  Having crackpot ideas in one area doesn't necessarily preclude one from doing good work in other areas - Francis Collins fairly leaps to mind.

Boru

[chimp3]

Considering the fates of atheists living around the time of Newton:

Wiki: "How dangerous it was to be accused of being an atheist at this time is illustrated by the examples of Étienne Dolet, who was strangled and burned in 1546, and Giulio Cesare Vanini, who received a similar fate in 1619. In 1689 the Polish nobleman Kazimierz Łyszczyński, who had denied the existence of God in his philosophical treatise De non-existentia Dei, was imprisoned unlawfully; despite Warsaw Confederation tradition and King Sobieski's intercession, Łyszczyński was condemned to death for atheism and beheaded in Warsaw after his tongue was pulled out with a burning iron and his hands slowly burned."

Not much motive for admitting a lack of belief in a deity!

[Catholic_Lady]

This may be news to you, but smart people can be theist too. The guy who proposed the big bang theory was as well.

[chimp3]

This may be news to you, but smart people can be theist too. The guy who proposed the big bang theory was as well.

Lemaitre ! Sure, but his knowledge was gained by the scientific method not his religious studies. Religion is not a method for gaining knowledge about physical reality.

[GrandizerII]

This may be news to you, but smart people can be theist too. The guy who proposed the big bang theory was as well.

Lemaitre ! Sure, but his knowledge was gained by the scientific method not his religious studies. Religion is not a method for gaining knowledge about physical reality.

And he would've strongly agreed with you on this.

By 1951, Pope Pius XII declared that Lemaître's theory provided a scientific validation for Catholicism. However, Lemaître resented the Pope's proclamation, stating that the theory was neutral and there was neither a connection nor a contradiction between his religion and his theory.[20][21] When Lemaître and Daniel O'Connell, the Pope's science advisor, tried to persuade the Pope not to mention Creationism publicly anymore, the Pope agreed. He persuaded the Pope to stop making proclamations about cosmology.[22] While a devout Roman Catholic, he was against mixing science with religion,[23] though he also was of the opinion that these two fields of human experience were not in conflict.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

[robvalue]

What we're saying is that people can be highly intelligent, even brilliant, in spite of having certain superstitions or mental blind spots.

Take me for example. I'm a fucking idiot, and I'm not superstitious at all. I walk into door frames a lot. Sometimes it's even an accident.

What I'm trying to say here (and I'm being really careful to be patronizing) is that people who carry anvils around can still climb ladders, if they're prepared to put the anvil down for a bit.

[Fireball]

What we're saying is that people can be highly intelligent, even brilliant, in spite of having certain superstitions or mental blind spots.

Take me for example. I'm a fucking idiot, and I'm not superstitious at all. I walk into door frames a lot. Sometimes it's even an accident.

What I'm trying to say here (and I'm being really careful to be patronizing) is that people who carry anvils around can still climb ladders, if they're prepared to put the anvil down for a bit.

Then how am I going to crush Wile E. Coyote with the anvil, if I can't take it up on the roof? #AnvilsNeedFriendsToo

[Minimalist]

Probably so he could do some work without people cutting his head off. (J/k)

No joke, man.

[Amarok]

Lemaitre ! Sure, but his knowledge was gained by the scientific method not his religious studies. Religion is not a method for gaining knowledge about physical reality.

And he would've strongly agreed with you on this.

By 1951, Pope Pius XII declared that Lemaître's theory provided a scientific validation for Catholicism. However, Lemaître resented the Pope's proclamation, stating that the theory was neutral and there was neither a connection nor a contradiction between his religion and his theory.[20][21] When Lemaître and Daniel O'Connell, the Pope's science advisor, tried to persuade the Pope not to mention Creationism publicly anymore, the Pope agreed. He persuaded the Pope to stop making proclamations about cosmology.[22] While a devout Roman Catholic, he was against mixing science with religion,[23] though he also was of the opinion that these two fields of human experience were not in conflict.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

I will also point out anyone at that period could have discovered it if they were looking .

[Minimalist]

While a devout Roman Catholic, he was against mixing science with religion,[23] though he also was of the opinion that these two fields of human experience were not in conflict.

So even Lemaitre didn't get it all correct!