Posted on 04/15/2017 8:48:53 AM PDT by Kaslin
See my several posts.
The examples you give are examples of political disagreements.
Descartes belongs in the article because he was a Christian believer who contributed greatly to the foundations of science.
All of what you state about Descartes are examples of political conflicts and have no effect on the contributions of this Christian believer to the foundations of science.
One of the biggest misunderstandings has to do with what people think about the nature of religion.
Religion simply refers to strong beliefs about reality and related practices.
All political belief systems are in this category, as is atheism.
Descartes believed in God, he was no more a Christian than Plato or Moses.
Strong beliefs about reality, and practices emerging from these beliefs.
This includes each of the following: religion, politics, science, lifestyle.
Other terms are “idol” or “god.”
All of what you state about Descartes are examples of political conflicts and have no effect on the contributions of this Christian believer to the foundations of science.
Consider what would have happened to a Muslim who behaved as Decartes did. Oh.. Descartes was not allowed to be studied and copied in Muslim lands...
Which is much of the premise of the article. If Descartes was accepted and studied in Muslim countries, the West would not have prospered so much more spectacularly than the Muslim world.
That could be the case regarding his particular belief, although it would seem his worldview must have been formed in the context of Christianity.
“All of what you state about Descartes are examples of political conflicts and have no effect on the contributions of this Christian believer to the foundations of science.”
They weren’t political conflicts. They were conflicts with the church.
Please enlighten me where Descartes professed a belief in Jesus Son of God.
Re: “Descartes was considered an atheist by many in the church. The church suppressed his writings. They put his books on the banned list. The author extolled the universities of that time. Descartes revolted against the ‘scientific’ teachings of the universities which at that time were teaching that the sun went around the earth among other things.”
But, what does that have to do with the author’s thesis that the idea of modern science arose from the belief that a rational God created a rational universe that is governed by physical laws which can be studied, predictions made, i.e. The Law of Causality?
Descartes was not an atheist - he plainly said so. Misinformed, sinful, and jealous people, inside and outside the Christian churches, have always existed and have done terrible things in God’s name, but that doesn’t mean that the author’s premise regarding the Christian view of an ordered, rational universe led to the rise of scientific method is incorrect or that the people of science he lists weren’t motivated by that Christian world-view.
They may, and certainly did not always agree, but their underlying premise of an ordered universe created by God still existed.
“Consider what would have happened to a Muslim who behaved as Decartes did.”
You are aware that the church suppressed the writings of Descartes. Italy banned his books.
It’s clear from this article that western science is the fruit of a Christian worldview.
Descartes believed in God, he was no more a Christian than Plato or Moses.
He considered himself a devout Catholic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes
It could very well be that I was wrong in saying Descartes was a Christian believer.
You are aware that the church suppressed the writings of Descartes. Italy banned his books.
And your point is?
Although according to post #33, he was Catholic.
Bottom line, it’s probably a bit trivial to pick on the author for including Descartes.
And the whole Descartes question has no bearing on the larger point that western science is a direct result of Christian culture.
Totally. Well stated.
“Descartes was not an atheist - he plainly said so.”
But the Christian Church thought him to be so. At least a heretic.
Conflicts within churches, among men, are always political.
Remember, politics = power structures.
But heresy is not atheism.
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