History of science



The history of science prior to the 1800s, most practicing scientists were theists, today they are mostly are atheists. In fact, the majority of the founding fathers of the various science disciplines believed in God, and felt as though their investigations were aimed at understanding His handiwork. Among these historical creation scientists are Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei.

In the past two centuries, attacks against the Christian faith have grown at an alarming rate. Critics have tried to use all possible fields of study and investigation to assault the Bible. In the minds of some, "science" has turned out to be their best weapon. This is all the more surprising when we consider this aforementioned history of science.

In this context, naturalism as the philosophy should also be taken into consideration as what underpins modern science through the theory of evolution. It is important to note that the supernaturalistic cause and importance for the origin and existence of the universe and life still pre-dates the naturalistic philosophy.

The Ionian School of Philosophy
It can be seen within this school of philosophy that Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes actually began the history of philosophy in Greece. Aristotle takes notice and dubs them "physiologists," that is "students of nature." Their ultimate conclusion or philosophy was that life originated from a primitive substance and that all matter formed came from it. 

Later Ionians
This group of philosophers came later in the fifth century B.C. It includes Heraclitus Empedocles, and Anaxagoras who just like the earlier Ionians were deeply moved by questions of the existence and origin of nature and the universe. They essentially saw a difference between the primitive substance and the matter that was formed from it.

Overall they tend to think and seek explanations of phenomena in terms of matter and physical forces rather than just results from actions of gods. 

Atheism

 * Main Article: Atheism

The scientific community, above any other subgroup of the population, has become overwhelmingly atheistic. According to a 1998 report in Nature, a recent survey finds that, "among the top natural scientists, disbelief is greater than ever; almost total". Interestingly, the biologists in the National Academy of Sciences were found to possess the lowest rate of belief of all the science disciplines, with only 5.5% believing in God. This decline in belief in biologists strongly indicates the nature of the cause, and the ability of the teaching of evolutionary biology to turn people away from a belief in God.

Historical Scientists
The majority of the founding fathers of the various scientific disciplines believed in God and felt as though their investigations were aimed at understanding His handiwork. The following is a biographical list of these historical scientists.