What Sir Isaac Newton says to all of us today

In a message dated 4/15/06 9:46:56 PM, alexanian@uncw.edu writes:

> which I suppose denies the deity of Christ, or more precisely, the Oneness
> of God in the face of the Trinity. Does anyone know?  Did Newton have at hand
> more than the very same Scriptures we have? Or else, was his conclusion
> about the nature of Christ based on his prior assumptions on the nature of God.
>

From reading Newton's MSS, it is my opinion that he did not deny the deity of
Christ. What surprised me the most about Newton was his vast knowledge of
the Word of God and his great respect for the truth of God's Word. He was
able to quote countless passages from the entire Bible and thread them together
constantly in his writings to convey his ideas.
1. He did question the canonicity of 1 John 5:7b -8. He was very clear
about questioning the canonicity of the passage.
2. He did not like the word "trinity" because it was a word which was taken
from pagan theology to describe a Christian truth. He believed strongly
that we should only use words used in the cannon of Scripture to describe God and
His truth.
3. He did have associates who were Arian but he also had associates who
were not. Note, that I said associates and not friends. He was a very
thoughtful and reserved man and kept to himself and his studies.
4. Newton had no problem with the canonicity or truth of the passage in
John where Jesus claims to be deity and for that they stoned him when Christ
said, "I and my Father are one." John 10:30 &31

Sir Isaac Newton speaks to all of us today -

"Let me therefore beg of thee not to trust to the opinion of any man
concerning these things, for so it is great odds but thou shalt be deceived. Much
less oughtest thou to keep to the judgment of the multitude, for so thou shalt
certainly be deceived. But search the scriptures thy self and that by
frequent reading and constant meditation upon what thou readest, and earnest prayer
to God to enlighten thine understanding if thou desirest to find the truth.
Which if thou shalt at length attain thou wilt value above all other treasures
in the world by reason of the assurance and vigor it will add to thy faith,
and steddy satisfaction to thy mind which he onely can know how to estimate who
shall experience it." (I have used Newton's spellings.)

May we all be challenged by Newton's admonition to read and study God's Word.

Helen Martin
Received on Sun, 16 Apr 2006 19:03:59 EDT