Design Argument in Scientific Discourse: Historical-Theological Perspective From the Seventeenth Century, The

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mar 1998 by Hutchison, John C

6. Boyle's view of revelation: nature and Scripture. Following Bacon's lead, Boyle viewed nature and Scripture as complementary forms of God's revelation, claiming God's attributes could be known through "the contemplation of His works, and the study of His word."30 Although he saw nature as a source of empirical knowledge along with the Bible, he did not think that man could attain complete knowledge of God through nature. Westfall explains this subtle but important difference from Bacon's view of the two books:

Contemplation of the Almighty's excellency as displayed in His works was easily the dominant theme of Boyle's voluminous writings, but he made it perfectly clear that he did not consider the demonstrations of natural religion as the summit of religious truth. Natural theology may achieve a considerable knowledge of God, but there are limits which it cannot transcend. Since God knows Himself infinitely better than human beings can, we must go to His word to augment the lessons of natural theology. Boyle likened the Bible's place in religion to the telescope's use in astronomy. Although we can survey the heavens with the naked eye, a telescope makes everything more clear and reveals much that cannot be seen without it. He thought that natural religion, limited though it is, is nevertheless an excellent introduction to Christianity.... Thus natural religion will lead a man to the threshold of Christianity and prepare him to consider the evidence of the Scriptural revelation.31

Boyle therefore took very seriously the study of the Scriptures. He learned the original languages of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic in order to more effectively study them. His greatest struggle as a scientist was the acceptance of Biblical miracles as recorded in the text. Again, his allegiance to the Bible as the ultimate authority is evident. Boyle saw incontrovertible evidence from Scripture that miracles happened. Believing God to be an omnipotent God, he concluded that they are not impossible. He appealed strongly to the wisdom in God's perfect creation, however, to assert that the miraculous violations of a natural order would have to be rare. Boyle concluded that the only occasion that would lead God to a violation of his own laws was the historical establishment and proof of Christianity. He believed that miracles ceased following the Biblical period.

7. Contributions and cautions. One cannot say enough about the humble spirit and important contributions of Boyle's science. He considered Bacon's successful program of rescuing science from medieval theology and natural philosophy a respected field. Boyle was more balanced than his predecessors in the integration of theology and science. More than any other virtuoso he experienced and wrote about the wonder of creation, humbly admitting as a scientist the limitations of human discovery when exploring the depths of an infinite Creator. He continually strove to show how the physical world manifests the glory of God and believed that this was one of its most important purposes.