Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution emerged through new developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry, transforming our understanding of nature. It began in Europe towards the end of the Renaissance period (14th-16th centuries), marking the end of the Middle Ages.

The revolution emerged following the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, followed by the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (illustrated left) by Galileo Galilei.

Scientific Method

The first known use of the scientific method’s falsification testing is documented in I Kings in chapter eighteen. After flooding water on a wood sacrifice, Elijah called out –

“The Lord sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth, and dried up the water in the trench.”

Using scientific methods, Copernicus and Galileo demonstrated that the Sun is at the center of our solar system (heliocentrism), not the Earth, as ancient Greek philosophy reasoned (geocentricism). The findings revolutionized our understanding of the universe, contradicting the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, including Aristotle and Ptolemy, taught that reason and logic could unlock all of nature’s mysteries.

However, Copernicus and Galileo upended centuries of logical but erroneous teachings using the scientific method. The emergence of the Scientific Revolution coincided with the Protestant Reformation, launched by Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses in 1517.

The Scientific Renaissance ended in 1687 with Isaac Newton‘s publication of the laws of motion and universal gravitation in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Latin for Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, best known as Principia. Newton’s principles synthesized a scientific understanding of our universe. The Scientific Revolution sought to understand nature’s mysteries. As noted by King Solomon,

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Scientific Revolutionaries

The founder of nearly every scientific disciple today ascribed to Judeo-Christian principles. Listed below, in the order of their date of birth, are their names and years. To view, click on the names below –

Nicholaus Copernicus, 1473

John Napier, 1550

Francis Bacon, 1561

Galilei Galileo, 1564

Johannes Kepler, 1571

Blaise Pascal, 1623

Robert Boyle, 1627

John Ray, 1627

Nicholas Stenonius, 1631

Isaac Newton, 1642

John Woodward, 1665

Benjamin Franklin. 1706