Excellent article.
We tend to take something like the laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation for granted. But why should the universe be governed by such elegant mathematical rules? They are themselves a fundamental form if Intelligent Design. Newton said it himself in the greatest scientific publication of all time:
“This most elegant system of the sun, planets, and comets could not have arisen without the design and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.” —Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), The Principia
Modern, dogmatic naturalists who categorically reject ID are blind to reality.
Yes, thanks. I was worried most were missing the thrust of the article. It is encouraging rather than discouraging to those of faith.
Newton believed that the solar system was inherently unstable. He thought that God must occasionally tinker with it, to reset the initial conditions, in modern parlance.
Laplace’s elegant application and elaboration of Newton’s Laws in his Celestial Mechanics demonstrates that Newton’s laws could indeed result in a stable solar system. When Napoleon asked him about the place of God in his solar system, Laplace reputedly replied, “Sire, j’ai pu me passer de cette hypothèse” — “Sir, I have been able to dispense with that hypothesis.”