Page 132 - The Qur'an Leads the Way to Science

THE QUR'AN LEADS THE W A Y TO SCIENCE

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R Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
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Regarded as the father of modern chemistry, Boyle made a number of
revolutionary scientific discoveries. He established the relationship
between changes in the pressure applied to air and the volume air
occupies, which became known today as "Boyle's law of gasses". His other
inventions included a kind of litmus paper and a primitive refrigerator.
He demonstrated that water expanded when it froze. The modern
definition of "element" was given by him, and he contributed to the
theory of atomism, arguing that if air is compressible there must be void
between its particles.
While responsible for such great scientific discoveries, Boyle was a
devout believer in God. He believed there to be an intelligent design in
nature, which was created by an all-powerful Creator. Boyle taught in his
lectures and writings that science and belief in God should stand side by
side. In a lecture, he was to have said: "Remember to give glory to the one
who authored nature… Use knowledge to bring good to mankind." 94
Elsewhere, he commented that the
perfection in living things explicitly
reveals God's existence:
The excellent contrivance of that
great system of the world, and
especially the curious fabric
of the bodies of animals and
the uses of their sensories
and other parts, have been
made the great motives
that in all ages and
nations induced
philosophers to
acknowledge a Deity
as the author of these
admirable structures. 95

Robert Boyle

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