Appendix 7: Bible-Believing Scientists of the Past
by Dr. Henry M. Morris:
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
Many scientists today insist that no true scientist can believe in special creation or in the inspiration of the Bible. They are wrong, however, for there are thousands of living scientists who believe in special, recent creation, who believe in Christ and have accepted Him as personal Savior, and who believe in the inerrancy and full authority of the Bible. Over a thousand such men have belonged to one particular organization, the Creation Research Society, and there are numerous similar organizations around the world.
Furthermore, manyprobably mostof the greatest scientists of all times, the founding fathers of science in fact, believed in a personal Creator God, the inspiration of the Bible, special creation, and professed faith in Christ and the gospel. Whether all were truly “born-again,” as we would understand that term in a Bible-believing church today, we cannot know. Some were unorthodox in their specific doctrinal beliefs, but all were creationists.
A tabulation of some of these great scientists of the past, with the disciplines they founded or the particular discoveries or inventions they made, is given below. It is surely extremely wrong for anyone to allege (as many do) that one cannot be a true scientist and still believe in special creation.
Scientific Disciplines Established by Bible-believing Scientists
Discipline | Scientist |
1. Antiseptic Surgery | Joseph Lister (1827-1912) |
2. Bacteriology | Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) |
3. Calculus | Isaac Newton (1642-1727) |
4. Celestial Mechanics | Johann Kepler (1571-1630) |
5. Chemistry | Robert Boyle (1626-1691) |
6. Comparative Anatomy | Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) |
7. Computer Science | Charles Babbage (1792-1871) |
8. Dimensional Analysis | Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919) |
9. Dynamics | Isaac Newton (1642-1727) |
10. Electrodynamics | James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) |
11. Electromagnetics | Michael Faraday (1791-1867) |
12. Electronics | Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) |
13. Energetics | Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) |
14. Entomology of Living Insects | Henri Fabre (1823-1915) |
15. Field Theory | Michael Faraday (1791-1867) |
16. Fluid Mechanics | George Stokes (1819-1903) |
17. Galactic Astronomy | William Herschel (1738-1822) |
18. Gas Dynamics | Robert Boyle (1627-1691) |
19. Genetics | Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) |
20. Glacial Geology | Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) |
21. Gynecology | James Simpson (1811-1870) |
22. Hydraulics | Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) |
23. Hydrography | Matthew Maury (1806-1873) |
24. Hydrostatics | Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) |
25. Ichthyology | Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) |
26. Isotopic Chemistry | William Ramsay (1852-1916) |
27. Model Analysis | Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919) |
28. Natural History | John Ray (1627-1705) |
29. Non-Euclidean Geometry | Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) |
30. Oceanography | Matthew Maury (1806-1873) |
31. Optical Mineralogy | David Brewster (1781-1868) |
32. Paleontology | John Woodward (1665-1728) |
33. Pathology | Rudolph Virchow (1821-1902) |
34. Physical Astronomy | Johann Kepler (1571-1630) |
35. Reversible Thermodynamics | James Joule (1818-1889) |
36. Statistical Thermodynamics | James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) |
37. Stratigraphy | Nicholas Steno (1631-1686) |
38. Systematic Biology | Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) |
39. Thermodynamics | Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) |
40. Thermokinetics | Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) |
41. Vertebrate Paleontology | Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) |
Notable Inventions, Discoveries, or Developments by Bible-Believing Scientists
Contribution | Scientists |
1. Absolute Temperature Scale | Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) |
2. Actuarial Tables | Charles Babbage (1792-1871) |
3. Barometer | Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) |
4. Biogenesis Law | Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) |
5. Calculating Machine | Charles Babbage (1792-1871) |
6. Chloroform | James Simpson (1811-1870) |
7. Classification System | Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) |
8. Double Stars | William Herschel (1738-1822) |
9. Electric Generator | Michael Faraday (1791-1867) |
10. Electric Motor | Joseph Henry (1797-1878) |
11. Ephemeris Tables | Johann Kepler (1571-1630) |
12. Fermentation Control | Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) |
13. Galvanometer | Joseph Henry (1797-1878) |
14. Global Star Catalog | John Herschel (1792-1871) |
15. Inert Gases | William Ramsay (1852-1916) |
16. Kaleidoscope | David Brewster (1781-1868) |
17. Law of Gravity | Isaac Newton (1642-1727) |
18. Mine Safety Lamp | Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) |
19. Pasteurization | Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) |
20. Reflecting Telescope | Isaac Newton (1642-1727) |
21. Scientific Method | Francis Bacon (1561-1626) |
22. Self-induction | Joseph Henry (1797-1878) |
23. Telegraph | Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) |
24. Thermionic Valve | Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) |
25. Trans-Atlantic Cable | Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) |
26. Vaccination and Immunization | Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) |
This tabulation, showing that many of the founding fathers of modern science were men who believed in God, the Bible and creation, was first published as an ICR “Impact Article” in Acts and Facts, (Jan. 1982), then in Men of Science, Men of God, by Henry M. Morris (San Diego: Master Books, 1982, 1988), 107 pp.