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Most people know Isaac Newton as the scientist who gave us gravity and the reflecting telescope. Far fewer know that the bulk of his intellectual life was poured into theology. He brought the same amount of obsession and depth to this subject as he did any of his others that were hailed as achievements.
Did you know that Newton left behind more than four million handwritten words on biblical and theological subjects - roughly twice the volume of all his scientific and mathematical writings combined?
For decades he worked in secret for hours on end through the night filling notebook after notebook with detailed studies of the original Hebrew and Greek texts, the early church father's words and writings, Jewish sources such as the Talmud and the Temple itself. He treated theology not as a hobby but as the highest and most serious inquiry a human being could undertake.
What emerges from those private manuscripts is a man who refused to let any human tradition - whether Catholic, Protestant, or philosophical - stand between him and the plain words of Scripture. He read every voice he could find: rabbinic literature, Josephus, the earliest Christian writers, even Jewish mystical texts available in his day; in as close to the original as possible. He went out of his way to learn Hebrew and even transcribed multiple sections of the Talmud in his own papers. He never silenced a source simply because it disagreed with the prevailing orthodoxy. Instead he weighed everything against the text and Christ, asking one question over and over: “What did the apostles actually teach?”
His framework is built on two clear, repeated convictions that appear on page after page of his own handwriting:
He never published any of this in his lifetime. He knew what it would cost him. He knew that people of the world would not only be ignorant to what he was trying to say but would also refuse to hear it. Yet he kept writing, measuring the Temple, tracing prophecies, and comparing manuscripts because he was convinced that recovering the original apostolic faith mattered more than his reputation; at least to the point where he wrote it down.
In short, Newton was not trying to invent a new doctrine. He was trying to strip away centuries of later additions and hear the Bible on its own terms. His private papers show a mind of extraordinary logical rigor and an unwavering commitment to Christ and the one God the Father - a commitment so deep that he was willing to risk everything to follow the evidence wherever it led.
If you’ve only ever heard a casual label thrown at him, such as those calling him definitively a follower/supporter of Arianism, I heavily and deeply encourage you to read the actual manuscripts, many of which are digitized and freely available.
The real Newton is far more interesting - and far more devout - than the caricature we're shown.
Did you know that Newton left behind more than four million handwritten words on biblical and theological subjects - roughly twice the volume of all his scientific and mathematical writings combined?
For decades he worked in secret for hours on end through the night filling notebook after notebook with detailed studies of the original Hebrew and Greek texts, the early church father's words and writings, Jewish sources such as the Talmud and the Temple itself. He treated theology not as a hobby but as the highest and most serious inquiry a human being could undertake.
What emerges from those private manuscripts is a man who refused to let any human tradition - whether Catholic, Protestant, or philosophical - stand between him and the plain words of Scripture. He read every voice he could find: rabbinic literature, Josephus, the earliest Christian writers, even Jewish mystical texts available in his day; in as close to the original as possible. He went out of his way to learn Hebrew and even transcribed multiple sections of the Talmud in his own papers. He never silenced a source simply because it disagreed with the prevailing orthodoxy. Instead he weighed everything against the text and Christ, asking one question over and over: “What did the apostles actually teach?”
His framework is built on two clear, repeated convictions that appear on page after page of his own handwriting:
- There is one supreme God - the Father, invisible and unbegotten, the source of all.
- The Son is the pre-existent divine Word/Logos, the perfect image and agent of the Father, the one through whom the Father created all things, who was sent into the world, who died, rose, and was exalted by the Father to rule at His right hand.
He never published any of this in his lifetime. He knew what it would cost him. He knew that people of the world would not only be ignorant to what he was trying to say but would also refuse to hear it. Yet he kept writing, measuring the Temple, tracing prophecies, and comparing manuscripts because he was convinced that recovering the original apostolic faith mattered more than his reputation; at least to the point where he wrote it down.
In short, Newton was not trying to invent a new doctrine. He was trying to strip away centuries of later additions and hear the Bible on its own terms. His private papers show a mind of extraordinary logical rigor and an unwavering commitment to Christ and the one God the Father - a commitment so deep that he was willing to risk everything to follow the evidence wherever it led.
If you’ve only ever heard a casual label thrown at him, such as those calling him definitively a follower/supporter of Arianism, I heavily and deeply encourage you to read the actual manuscripts, many of which are digitized and freely available.
The real Newton is far more interesting - and far more devout - than the caricature we're shown.
