16 Examples of the Madness of Sir Isaac Newton

16 Examples of the Madness of Sir Isaac Newton

Larry Holzwarth - September 21, 2018

16 Examples of the Madness of Sir Isaac Newton
Newton closely studied the Bible, believing the secrets of the universe were encoded within its texts. Wikimedia

4. Newton suffered from delusions of grandeur

During his extensive studies of the bible and concurrent with his work in alchemy, which he believed required secrets extracted from the bible in order to succeed, Newton kept notes in which he designated himself to have been selected by God to reveal the secrets of His mysteries to the world. Newton came to believe that the worship of Jesus as divine was heretical, though he did not publish his beliefs during his lifetime. To do so would have placed him a heretic at a time when heretics could be executed under certain circumstances. He considered Jesus to have been a man who, like himself, had been chosen to reveal certain truths, but was subservient to God. Thus Newton rejected the idea of the Trinity.

Newton’s self-appointed status as a messenger chosen to reveal God’s secrets was what drove him to examine the bible, including the geometric dimensions of the Temple, which he found to have been a code for the dimensions of the earth and the heavens. Newton’s personality was such that he avoided even casual conversation with most people other than those who demonstrated marked respect for him, to whom he was often condescending. While a fellow at Trinity College, a position which required ordination as a priest of the Anglican Church, Newton avoided the requirement by arguing that the Mathematics chair should be free from the distractions of church duties in order to concentrate on science, and was granted a dispensation by the King.

Advertisement