13 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Marcellin Berthelot Does Not Want Faith In Science
I do not want chemistry to degenerate into a religion; I do not want the chemist to believe in the existence of atoms as the Christian believes in the existence of Christ in the communion wafer. He does not want chemistry to "degenerate into a religion."
12 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Mystery is a Cover for Absurdity
A pleasant morning. Saw my classmates Gardner, and Wheeler. Wheeler dined, spent the afternoon, and drank Tea with me. Supped at Major Gardiners, and ingag'd to keep School at Bristol, provided Worcester People, at their insuing March meeting, should change this into a moving School, not otherwise. Major Greene this Evening fell into some conversation with me about the Divinity and Satisfaction of Jesus Christ. All the Argument he advanced was, "that a mere creature, or finite Being, could no...John Adams comment on a debate he had with a a Major concerning the Divinity.
08 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
William Tyndale Translates the New Testament into English
In the sixteenth century the scholar William Tyndale had the temerity to contemplate translating the New Testament into English. But if people could actually read the Bible in their own language instead of arcane Latin, they could form their own, independent religious views. They might conceive of their own private unintermediated line to God. This was a challenge to the job security of Roman Catholic priests. When Tyndale tried to publish his translation, he was hounded and pursued all over ......and was met with stiff resistance by the church.