The idea that Christianity has not made any contributions to science, mathematics, or medicine is puzzling. Of course, Christians have made enormous contribution to all three of these fields. Isaac Newton was no secular humanist. Of course, you can then say that just because Christians made a contribution doesn't mean that Christianity made a contribution, but you could make the same argument about atheism or agnosticism. The Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th Century happened on Christians' watch. Not on the watch of the Hindus or the Buddhists. C. S. Lewis said "Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Legislator." Monotheism supplanted polytheism, and it is hard to imagine belief in a uniform system of natural laws if people really think the sky is run by Zeus and the sea is run by Poseidon.
3 comments:
Most of the propaganda thrown around by Dawkins and Harris and their acolytes, such as the idea in this post, crumble under the slightest bit of scrutiny.
There's a reason that type of atheist whines that Christians reject science but also heavily criticizes Christians who don't. It isn't difficult to discern the true complaint motivating them.
One of my regular haunts is History for Atheists, devoted to debunking such historical nonsense.
The monotheistic attitude is indeed important for the development of science. Let's not forget the great contributions of Islamic and Jewish researchers. These other monotheists have been just as insightful as the Christians.
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