Recommended Reading: 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible
Originally published in 1995, the copy under review is the fourth printing from 2000. The last quote on the back book cover sets the tone for contents of the book: “There is abundant evidence that the Bible, though written by men, is not the product of the human mind. By countless multitudes it has always been revered as a communication to us from the Creator of the universe” (Sir Ambrose Fleming, electronics pioneer). The author is Ann Lamot, who has four degrees and lives in Brisbane, Australia. All of the 21 men described in this book, along with their achievements, are thoroughly documented (about ten sources per scientist). The chapters average about twelve pages, and each scientist has a brief biography of his life.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) “found that planets move in elliptical paths, not in a random, chaotic way” (15). He also confided: “I had the intention of becoming a theologian…but now I see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy, for ‘the heavens declare the glory of God’” (15). Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was a pioneer of modern chemistry (26). He demonstrated that objects fall at the same speed in a vacuum, invented the match, and was “the first scientist to distinguish acids, bases, and neutral substances” (31). He led fellow scientists in using the experimental approach.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) worked in several areas, developing the inverse square law in relation to gravity. He also worked with optics, the reflecting telescope, calculus, and laws of motion. He notably said: “All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer” (37). Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) developed the classification system, which has been refined, but it is still used today. Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) labored in the area of advanced mathematics. Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) worked in the field of anatomy.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) “invented the electric generator and the transformer: he “built one of the earliest electric motors” (90). The significance of the work of each scientist is spelled out in more detail, which makes the reader appreciative of what has been involved in things we take for granted. Samuel Finley Breese Morse (for those who always wondered what the F.B. stood for) (1791-1872) is associated with the telegraph, of course, but he also experimented with the forerunner of the photographic camera (101). He was prompted to invent the telegraph because of slow communications in his day. He was in Washington, D.C., when his wife died suddenly 300 miles away in New Haven, Connecticut. He did not find out until a week after her death (103). He wanted to spare others that kind of heartbreak. In order to have greater communication between nations, he proposed the trans-Atlantic cable. A ship’s anchor cut the cable, and the project was suspended. In 1844, the telegraph from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore began operation. The first words were, “What hath God wrought.”