Edward Garboczi
Tag: Book Review
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Review of Men of Science and Men of God, A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal, and The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton
The Bible is true, and science, if done carefully, can lead to truth about how God’s creation works. Truths found by any means, rightfully understood, never conflict with each other but are always in harmony. Therefore, good science and the Bible are totally compatible, and great scientists, including mathematicians, can also be great Christians! In fact, Michael Faraday, one of the five greatest physicists of all time (and also one of the five greatest chemists of all time) said that God’s truth was higher than scientific truth, and if there was a conflict, the Bible should be believed. It is hard to argue with someone like him!
This review covers three books that discuss the lives of great scientists who were also firm believers. The first is a short but interesting book entitled Men of Science and Men of God, by Dr. Henry Morris. This is a collection of short biographies of famous scientists, not all of whom are well-known, who made great contributions to the advance of science and who were also personally Christian believers. This collection is a great introduction to the lives and faith of famous scientists and can be read by a middle-school reader.
Each of the second two books focuses on the life of one individual, illustrating his technical achievements and his personal faith. A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal, by Joyce McPherson, tells the story of the French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal, who in any history of mathematics or physics plays an important part. Even though he died young, at age 39, he made original contributions to the solution of equations, and as a boy he built a mechanical calculator for his father.
As a physicist, he investigated fluid dynamics and pressure and even invented the syringe. His contributions were so important that the standard metric unit for pressure, one Newton per square meter, is called the pascal (Pa) and an important computer programming language, Pascal, is named after him. In religious matters, he is still known today for his famous Wager – live your life as if God existed, since if you are wrong, you lose very little, but if you are right, you gain eternity.
The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton, also written by Joyce McPherson, opens the mind of the high school or advanced middle school reader to the life, faith, and scientific achievements of Sir Isaac Newton, probably the greatest physicist and most influential mathematician of all time. His greatest mathematical achievement was the invention of calculus, which dominates all physics and engineering applications. Using his calculus, along with his probing thoughts about gravity, he was able to calculate Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion and closely match the predictions of mathematical theory to Kepler’s painstaking experimental planetary observations. His work on relating force to acceleration and mass is the basis for classical mechanics and is recognized in the metric unit of force, which is called a newton (N). Sir Isaac Newton did a lot more than even these great achievements, which you will find out about in this wonderful book. Through all his long life he remained a firm follower of God.