Robert Boyle Research Paper

Robert Boyle was a very well known philosopher of the seventeenth century. Coming from a wealthy background, Boyle was able to travel to many countries and gain knowledge about how the world works. He was curious and liked to perform experiments that would lead to discoveries about how God was present in nature. Being a devoted follower of Christ and active in his faith, he was very insistent that God was present in every situation and that the credit should always be given to Him. One of Boyle's most persuasive arguments was related to how he viewed the relationship between God and nature. Boyle believed that the discoveries used to understand nature were useless if the praise was not given to God. This argument can be shown through …show more content…
Anything that we are able to learn or comprehend is based on the knowledge given to us through God. Boyle states, "and as a state of celestial happiness is so great a blessing... so it is hard for any divine to receive so much of this kind of satisfaction as he who, by skillfully looking into the wonders of nature, has his apprehensions of God's power and manifold wisdom elevated and enlarged." He is stating that we are able to see creation as a wonderful work of art but when we see it through God's eyes, it magnifies the wonder. He shows us discoveries that philosophers would not be able to see on their own. Boyle states, "so although bare reason well improved will suffice to make a man behold many glorious attributes in the Deity... when assisted by revelation, may enable a man to discover far more excellencies in God, and perceive them far greater and more distinctly than he contemplated before." I think that Boyle is saying that even though we are able to discover things on our own, we can discover so much more with God guiding us. He will show us an even greater and more in-depth view of the world around us. Throughout Boyle's text, he states numerous times that any knowledge we have comes from God and that we can only rely on what he has chosen to reveal to us on …show more content…
Without God's revelations to scientists, their findings are not based on the real truth. Boyle discusses, "nor are these the only things that the Scripture itself terms mysteries though... since God's wisdom is boundless, it may, sure, have more ways than one to display itself." In this quotation, he is talking about how God expresses himself in so many ways throughout the examination of nature. Philosophers can see how amazing God's presence is and how his wisdom is guiding the discoveries of nature. Without God's hand of guidance, natural philosophers would not experience the knowledge they have now. That is why they must praise God for everything he has shown them, and why their discoveries should be based on God's wisdom and not human