Authority Quote by David Bentley Hart
“Lest we forget, the birth of modern physics and cosmology was achieved by Galileo, Kepler and Newton breaking free not from the close confining prison of faith (all three were believing Christians, of one sort or another) but from the enormous burden of the millennial authority of Aristotelian science. The scientific revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was not a revival of Hellenistic science but its final defeat.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Scientific Revolution and Faith,” 2015
The modern scientific era emerged as Christian thinkers broke from Aristotelian authority, not from faith itself.
In simple terms: Christian scholars freed science from old doctrines, not from belief.
Key Takeaway
Recognize that faith and reason can coexist.
Themes
science
religion
history
philosophy
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
philosophical
historical
When to use this quote
- education
- public discourse
- policy
- personal belief
Key Concepts
Rationalism
theology
Questions to Reflect On
- Can belief coexist with scientific inquiry?
- What role does faith play in modern science?
A Different Perspective
Faith can be used to suppress inquiry.
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