Isaac Newton in his time -- and ours

AS WITH Jeff Jacoby in his July 22 column "A teacher with faith and reason" (Op-ed), I've been struck by some of Isaac Newton's writings, a number of which indeed read as if written by a modern advocate of intelligent design. Jacoby argues that one of the greatest physicists of all time, Newton, by holding such views, couldn't get a job in a major university today.

But what Jacoby doesn't say is how much has changed between 1668 and 2007: Darwin's theory of evolution, DNA, Einstein's theory of relativity, the indeterminacy of quantum mechanics, the closed universe and the big bang. One would hardly expect a present-day Newton to ignore or throw aside the scientific advances of more than 300 years, as so many advocates of creationism and intelligent design have done. As Newton was a model for his time, maybe Einstein is a better one for ours.

PETER E. SCHMIDT
Newton

ISAAC NEWTON was no Christian in any orthodox sense, and his heretical views could have cost him dearly. During his Cambridge University years, Newton denied the divinity of the Trinity and the co-equal status of Jesus with God the Father. Newton kept quiet about his growing commitment to this Arian heresy, but even so it nearly lost him his job. In 1675, to stay at Cambridge, he had to accept ordination in the Church of England. But Newton could not bring himself to make the necessary declaration that he accepted its doctrines -- including that of the Trinity.

He started to make plans for life outside the university, but he was reprieved: An unknown friend with connections at court managed to get the requirement lifted, and Newton was able to remain at Cambridge long enough to complete his most significant scientific work.

Newton's religious and scientific views were both deeply embedded in the great issues of his time, now three centuries gone. Jeff Jacoby's attempt to give cover to his own views on science and religion today by invoking Newton as a kind of patron saint fails on many counts, including the fact that while Newton's specific religious beliefs are under challenge now, they were then, too.

THOMAS LEVENSON
Cambridge
The writer is a professor of science writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of a forthcoming book on Newton.