How many of you Atheists are good at calculus? How many believers are?

Question

Hmm Have you guys heard of Issac Newton?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton%27s_religious_views

my point is that one of the greastest thinkers who ever lived was a religious person. Leibinz was too--although more of a philosophical thinker, he believed in God.

Answer 1

You are completely correct. Sadly, I stink in math-calculus, but I'm tops in other things. Everybody gets a different gift.

Answer 2

I am an atheist and I am merely adequate at calculus.

I have heard of Mr. Newton, and am impressed by his intellect and influence no end. I am however perplexed by the reasoning shown in your question here.

Firstly, I do not understand the corrolation between mathematical ability and religious belief? I was unaware of any such relationship existing, and am doubtful that it does.

Secondly, there has been a corrolation found between educational level and religious belief, a negative corrolation. That is, in general, the more educated the individual, the less likely they are to be religious.

Thirdly, I find it interesting that you have overlooked the historical context of Newton. He lived in a time when religious belief was higly pervasive such that declairing yourself athiest at that time would likely bring about major negative ramifications: people were not so free then to admit to being other than christian.

Fourthly, atheism is a very popular stance for scientists of note, a trend that has increased along with the rise of religious freedom. More modern scientists (and thus scientists who's religious beliefs are more relevent to the current state of the world) tend to use religious terminology in a more metaphorical sense to describe their awe of the physical, natural, world rather than any supernatural predisposition, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are examples.

Answer 3

I'm good at calculus, but that has nothing to do with believing or not believing in God. Newton was perhaps the greatest physicist and mathematician who ever lived. He believed his greatest work was in his efforts to find secret numeric codes in the Bible, but I don't know of anyone besides Newton himself who would rank Newton a great theologian.
He also believed in alchemy.

Alan Turing "is often considered to be the father of modern computer science." He was gay. Does that mean that only gays should use computers? (In 1952, the English government forced Turing to undergo hormone therapy to "cure" his homosexuality. In 1954, he committed suicide. That kind of thing is why many of us atheists are so hostile to religion. Religion is a serial killer.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

Answer 4

I used to be pretty good. I have not used in much in the last few years.

Newton was wrong. Einstein was better.

Leibniz invented calculus at the same time.


And what does the religious beliefs of any of these great men have to do with anything?

By all accounts Newton did not have a nice personality. Because he was such a genius, should we all be extremely secretive and mean to others?

Answer 5

He may have been a Christian, but he was a very unorthodox, verging on heretical, Christian.

He didn't believe in a God who intervened in the physical world--he appears to be more of a Deist than anything.

He also studied Alchemy and the Occult.

So although he might not have held much truck with atheism, by modern standards he wouldn't think much of Christianity either.

Answer 6

I am currently taking calculus 3 with A's in both calc 1 and 2 and I am Catholic. I hope this is the kind of answer you were looking for.

Answer 7

I've had Differential Calc, Integration Calc, Vector Calc, and Multivariable Calc; Real Analysis I & II, Stochastic Calculus I & II.

I guess I'm decent at it, for a hell-bound atheist.

Answer 8

How about viewing Sir Isaac Newton as a Christian who at least began to see the light?

Some open their eyes soon enough to discard the god delusion, some die in the process, but most are forlorny doomed to live in the dark forever.

Answer 9

Why not take your point one step further - If a great thinker is evidence for god, then if there is a god, we'd expect scientists to be more likely to be believers than non-scientists.

As the opposite is the case, does that mean there are no gods?

Answer 10

If Newton had not been a Christian, he would have been executed. Atheism was a capitol crime in Europe at the time. That's a damned good reason to believe, in my opinion.