Nowadays we hear too often of super-smart atheists (e.g. Stephen Hawking), but what about the far more brilliant men who are Christians? A look at the history of the world never lacks for the many influential and very intelligent men and women who also happen to be fervent believers in the God of the Bible.
Leonhard Euler is one such super-brilliant man. Never heard of him, you say? If you've ever taken an (advanced) Mathematics class, you can't help but be the recipient of his powerful, productive mind.
He defends the Book of Revelation in the post below.
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| Leonhard Euler, 15 April 1707 – 18 September 1783 |
In this, he began by asserting that happiness involves understanding the truth, because God is truth and the world is the product of His omnipotence and wisdom (Defence paragraphs #1&2). A perfect knowledge of God and His works would be infinite (#3). God is the source of all truth and is the ultimate good (#4). God has written natural law in the hearts of men and requires that men’s actions conform to this law (#5). Since this law originates from God Himself, disobedience to it is rebellion against Almighty God, and this brings divine judgement (#6).
Concerning the Bible, Euler argued that it presents the unique and true source of all our duties in a way that cannot be attributed to the talents of its authors, and so we regard the Bible as having come from God (#26). A multitude of Christians not only saw Christ after He rose from the dead, but they also communicated with Him, so this was not the product of their imagination (#34). Thus the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an incontestable fact, solely the work of God, and hence we can believe all the promises of the Gospelboth for this life and the one to come (#36).
Concerning the freethinkers, Euler said that they cannot put forward anything against the arguments on which the divinity of Scripture firmly rests (#37). Yes the Bible does contain things the freethinkers disagree with; if it didn’t, this would be harmful to the Bible (#38). With regard to apparent contradictions in the Bible, there is no science, including mathematics, against which similar or even stronger criticisms re contradictions cannot be made. Yet no one dismisses the certainty of mathematics (#39–41). The objections of freethinkers have long been thoroughly refuted, but because they are not motivated by a desire for the truth, they reject refutations and continually repeat weak and absurd objections (#46). They do not believe that the world had a beginning or will have an end because this would acknowledge the direct action of God (#47).
(Defence of the Revelation [i.e. the Bible] Against the Objections of Freethinkers). |
| Euler's influence on mathematics |
Leonhard Euler, Physicist
Pierre-Simon Laplace, Astronomer
Mathematical Genius
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