Do you think Christiantiy is limited to natural laws?
No, what I am saying is that Christians in history have not been limited by a philosophy that says a truth isn't worth learning since that truth could become a falsehood tomorrow, if God so wills it. This mentality has precluded scientific progress in the Muslim world. I am talking about the limits upon which scientific advancements can be made. Whether Christians believe in miracles or not, doesn't seem to have hindered the progress of science in Christian nations.
I do not get the impression that at any time the Christian view of God limited "him" to natural laws.
Well, according to Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic priest who was perhaps Christianity's most influencial thinker, "Since the principles of certain sciences - of logic, geometry and arithmetic, for instance - are derived exclusively from the formal principal of things, upon which their essence depends, it follows that God cannot make the contraries of these principles; He cannot make the genus not be predictable of the species, nor lines drawn from a circle's center to its circumference not to be equal, nor the three angles of a rectilinear triangle not to be equal to two right angles."
I agree with Rodney Stark, when he says Islam does not have "a conception of God appropriate to underwrite the rise of science. Allah is not presented as a lawful creator but is conceived of as an extremely active God who intrudes in the world as he deems it appropriate."
Robert Spencer touches on something significant when he says, "Christian mathematicians and astronomers believed they could establish scientific truths because they believed God had established the universe according to certain laws - laws that could be discovered through observation and study."
Hey scottie,
wasn't Christianity the force that was keeping the early scientists like Galileo and Newton and DaVinci down?
Actually, Pope Urban VIII was a friend and admirer of Galileo, and had opposed his condemnation in 1616. The book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, was published in 1632, with formal authorization from the Inquisition and papal permission. But the point here is that under Islam, his work never could have taken off the ground to begin with. At least not in the 17th century.
Galileo, who is often considered the Father of modern science, was considered a heretic only because he was a Christian first. Non-Christians didn't meet the status of heresy. And besides, Galileo never argued that his discoveries were at odds with biblical scripture. Instead, he maintained that people in the Church were misinterpreting scripture. Heliocentrism was never formally or officially condemned by the Catholic Church. Galileo was not executed, he was confined to house arrest,but only after it was believed that he had intended to publicly ridicule the Pope.
Responses to LCD2YOU will be forthcoming, probably after the playoff games tonight.