Why was Newton a theist?

[Succubus]

Omnipotent = all powerful, unlimited power. To wield unlimited power takes unlimited energy and the universe has a finite amount of energy.
This universe is the only one that exists, the multiverse exist on blackboards only. If you are going to invoke multiverse's then you are just kicking the can down the road and all bets are off.

[RoadRunner79]

Omnipotent = all powerful, unlimited power. To wield unlimited power takes unlimited energy and the universe has a finite amount of energy.
This universe is the only one that exists, the multiverse exist on blackboards only. If you are going to invoke multiverse's then you are just kicking the can down the road and all bets are off.

I agree with most everything you have said.  A finite universe will have finite energy.  I agree there's little or no good reason to give to much credit to the multiverse, and it is just pushing the problem down the road if you do.  I agree that omnipotent means all powerful or power without limit. 

I don't see what you argument is here?  Genesis starts out with God created the universe. So I don't see where a finite amount of energy in the universe effects something that transcends the universe. I don't see what "law of the universe" you are referencing, nor how it makes God as described in the Bible to be impossible.

[Succubus]

Properties is mebbie a better term than 'laws' you can't place a six inch cube inside a four inch cube so If god is part of the universe then he can't possibly exercise more energy than the total amount of energy the universe contains.
Providing! God is part of the universe and as you agreed the universe is everything that exists, if God is outside of the universe then by definition he dose not exist. You can't have it both ways.

[polymath257]

Don't forget that Newton lived in the late 1600's and early 1700's. Religious fanaticism was an aspect of English society at the time (which included killing a Catholic king).

Also, one of the reason's Newton is so revered is that be produced the *foundations* to a modern understanding of the universe. But, in many ways, he did not live to see the building made upon those foundations. Other people took his ideas in physics and developed them into an overarching way of looking at the universe.

I think it is incredibly anachronistic to ask why Newton was, for example, an alchemist. Remember that chemistry was not invented for another hundred years and the *dominant* view of the time inclined towards alchemy, not just in methods (which were quite innovative), but in terms of the mystical aspects of the procedures. In this context, Newton's interest in Christian mysticism seems much more 'normal' and even reasonable for someone of his time. The idea that the heavens have an influence on our day to day lives and that we can learn from the motions of the planets what will happen here on Earth has a long tradition.

[RoadRunner79]

Properties is mebbie a better term than 'laws' you can't place a six inch cube inside a four inch cube so If god is part of the universe then he can't possibly exercise more energy than the total amount of energy the universe contains.
Providing! God is part of the universe and as you agreed the universe is everything that exists, if God is outside of the universe then by definition he dose not exist. You can't have it both ways.

I didn't agree, although I did mention "all that is"  as an understanding of the word "universe".  I had said, I tended towards an understanding of the term "universe" in which scientist suggest it is 14 billion years old.  That is the local universe that we see.    Under the "all that is" definition, then it would be non-nonsensical to talk about something outside of that.  However when you go to an "all that is" definition, you also have much more difficulty making the case, that you are trying to make, and stating very much about the universe.

[Amarok]

Omnipotent = all powerful, unlimited power. To wield unlimited power takes unlimited energy and the universe has a finite amount of energy.
This universe is the only one that exists, the multiverse exist on blackboards only. If you are going to invoke multiverse's then you are just kicking the can down the road and all bets are off.

Still more plausible then a God. And no a multiverse is an ender

[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.

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.

I never said it was. My point was theists can be smart too.

[notimportant1234]

For a brilliant man like Newton , I think that religion was his brake , I mean if you want to know a lot and you also have a lust for it you will need a brake from time to time.

[Jehanne]

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?

Newton also had some fantasies of burning his mother alive in her bed:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/24520/6-t...aac-newton

I think that he would have been shocked at the thought of women wearing pants, but having said that, he refused the Anglican sacraments on his deathbed:

https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Isaac-Newt...-his-death

By the way, being an atheist in the early 17th century could be deadly:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of...eformation

[Fake Messiah]

Yeah I really wonder why Newton or any scientist was a christian back in 17th century: