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Christianity and Famous Inventors
The influence of Christianity
on society can be felt in the area of technology. Technology is the
science of industrial art or applied science according to New Webster’s
dictionary; so if science means to know then technology means to apply
what you know. The Bible says, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law
of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but
a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:25)
How can one tell what is legitimate technology and what is not? The
truth is simple. True technology frees those who use it; while others
are enslaved by the mere “sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby
they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph. 4:14) This is the difference between
a real medical doctor and a witch doctor.
The Middle Ages were known as the Dark ages because
ignorance of the Scriptures abounded and there was no technological
innovation. The Gospel is responsible for such men as Johann Gutenburg,
who aided in turning the light on all over Europe. By his invention of
the movable type printing press, 1455, the Gospel spread like fire. Now
the truth was free to be read by all who would hear. Gutenburg said,
“Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in
inexhaustible streams the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that
has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of men. Through it, God will
spread His word; a spring of pure truth shall flow from it; like a new
star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light
hitherto fore unknown to shine among men.” The first book he printed on
it was a 42 line Bible that bears his name. His invention led to what is
known now as the Reformation. Men began to study and to learn what God
expected of them; consequently, they improved their lifestyles according
to the Scriptures and thereby improved society.
Sir Isaac Newton, who was born in 1642, discovered the
laws of gravity and motion. From him we get our understanding of
thermodynamics, taught more explicitly through Calculus, a branch of
math he developed. These laws always applied. Men still fell if they
jumped off a cliff, but now they could understand why and apply it in
their area of trade. He constructed the first reflective telescope and
developed the particle theory. Where did he get such understanding? –
the Bible. He would have never made such inroads in scientific discovery
if Gutenburg had not invented the printing press for the Gospel to
enlighten his path. Before, only monks had the privilege of reading the
Bible. Newton confesses, “We account the Scriptures of God to be the
most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the
Bible than in any profane history whatsoever…. Worshipping God and the
Lamb in the temple: God, for his benefaction in creating all things, and
the Lamb, for his benefaction in redeeming us with his blood” (Federer,
272).
Robert Boyle, born in 1626 and Newton’s contemporary,
is known as the father of modern chemistry. He was responsible for
discovering such laws of nature as gas pressure to temperature and
volume. He would lecture from his work to the spreading of the Gospel.
He said, “The Books of Scripture illustrate and expound each other; as
in the mariner’s compass, the needle’s extremity, though it seems to
point purposely to the north, doth yet at the same time discover both
east and west, as distant as they are from it and each other, so do some
texts of Scripture guide us to the intelligence of others, for which
they are widely distant in the Bible” (Federer, 61).
Blaise Pascal, born in 1623 and another one of
Newton’s contemporaries, is known as “’Father of the Science of
Hydrodynamics.’” Through his publication of his Essay on Cones, he
contributed to the theory of probability, differential calculus, and
helped develop the barometer through his study of fluid mechanics. He
also built a calculating machine later in life. “He had stood boldly as
a champion of freedom of conscience, of truth, and justice against the
all-powerful Jesuits disregarding the fear of the Bastille or galleys,
even though his body suffered utmost physical agonies” (Fellows, 253).
He wrote numerous articles of his belief in Christ. He was a Jansenist,
a Calvinistic sect, who defended the Huguenots during the French
persecutions. It was the Gospel that gave him such understanding of
nature and enabled him to enhance society through his discoveries and
inventions.
Antonius van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutchman born in
1632, was not a scientist; yet he invented the microscope with double
convex lenses of a magnitude of +40-160. He was responsible for
discovering microbes in a tiny drop of water, which led to the science
of today called microbiology. He proved what the Bible already said, “
So is this great and wide sea wherein are things creeping innumerable,
both small and great beasts” (Psalm 104:26). He overthrew spontaneous
generation, from which scholars of his day believed insects and animals
came. He also discovered the capillary circulation of the blood. He is
an example of what David said in the Bible, “I understand more than the
ancients because I keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:11).
In the mid-1800’s, during a time when disease was so
rampant and uncontrollable, Louis Pasteur was born. It was God’s answer
to men’s plagues. He chose to remind men of His word and truth by
bringing help through Louis Pasteur, who was responsible for developing
pasteurization of milk to kill the bacteria infecting so many people. He
also developed vaccines to cure anthrax, rabies, and more. Pasteur
stated, “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of
the Creator. Into his tiniest creatures, God has placed extraordinary
properties that turn them into agents of destruction of dead matter” (Federer,
493). Solomon states, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but
the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2)
Eli Whitney, born in 1765 and a graduate from Yale
College, was the grandson of Timothy Dwight, President of Yale, and the
Great-grandson of Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan preacher. He
befriended Nathaniel Greene’s Widow in Savannah Ga., and helped a
company of rich planters who asked him to invent a cotton gin to aid in
the manufacturing of cotton. This he did in a remarkable amount of time.
He never profited from it though he won the claim to having invented it;
however, he did profit from his inventions that aided the gun
manufacturing business. It is said of his character that “dishonesty,
envy and greed had pursued him for a dozen years left no bitterness to
poison his life” (The New Student Reference Work, V: 2080). He was
responsible for helping to make the South rich.
And, Alexander Graham Bell, born in 1847 in Edinburgh
to a famous preacher, invented the telephone and the first thing spoken
on his new invention was “what hath God wrought!”
Time would fail me in mentioning all the great
inventors and innovators brought about by the introduction of one book
to the common man – the Bible. Yet, one last one that could not be left
unmentioned perhaps as one of the greatest innovators of our day is
George Washington Carver, 1864-1943. When the South was reeling from the
outcome of the Civil War, famine swept across the land. The Cotton that
once made the South rich was now infected by the boll weevil. Families
were literally starving and having to move West. God again looked down
in pity on the poor Southerners and sent Carver, son of a slave. He
discovered multiple uses of the peanut, soybean, pecan, and sweet
potato, which also replenished the soil that was depleted through years
of cotton growth. The peanut did so well in recovering the South’s
economy that the South even dedicated a statue to the Boll weevil to
remind people of God’s blessing. When he was asked how he came to
discover the hundreds of uses of the peanut, Carver replied, “Years ago
I went into my laboratory and said, ‘Dear Mr. Creator, please tell me
what the Universe was made for?’
“The Great Creator replied, ‘ You want to know too much for that
little mind of yours. Ask for something more your size, little man.’
“Then I asked, ‘Please, Mr. Creator, tell me what man was made
for?’
“Again the Great Creator replied, ‘You are still asking too much.
Cut down the extent and improve the intent.’
“So then I asked, ‘Please, Mr. Creator, will you tell me why the
peanut was made?’
“That’s better but even then it’s infinite. ‘What do you want to
know about the Peanut?’
“’Mr. Creator, can I make milk out of the peanut?’
“’What kind of milk do you want? Good Jersey milk or just plain
boarding house milk?’
“’Good Jersey Milk.’
“And then the Great Creator taught me to take the
peanut apart and put it together again. And out of the process have come
forth all these products.” (Federer, 95) When Carver was offered a
six-figure income by another inventor, Edison, he said that he was
committed to helping the South. Roosevelt rewarded him as a liberator
“to men of the white race as well as the black.” (Federer, 98). Later,
when he was asked how he learned all these things, he claimed it was
from an old book – the Bible.
All of these inventors openly
acknowledged that the secret of their success was found in the Word of
God. The technological discoveries enjoyed today are a direct result of
the Reformation. These inventors freed society and elevated it to
greater usefulness. In all lands where the Gospel has been repressed,
technology has been suppressed; and men have been held in bondage by
fear and ignorance. When America, who has introduced in many lands the
technology American society enjoys, rejects the Gospel, will she
continue to make technological advancements that frees men, or will she
decay like other lands from lack of knowledge? “… If there be any
virtue, if there be any praise; think on these things.” (Phil 4:8)
_________________________________________________
Federer, William. America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotes.
Fame Publishing Inc. Coppell, Texas. 1994.
Fellows, Timothy. Of Whom the World was not Worthy: Today in Church
History. Copyrighted: 1981.
The New Student’s Reference Work. F. E. Compton and co. Chicago:
1915.
Wolthius, Enno. Science, God and You. Baker Book House. Michigan:
1963.