James Clerk Maxwell

1 Corinthians 2:5
“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Albert Einstein said that James Clerk Maxwell made greater contributions to physics than anyone except Isaac Newton.

Maxwell developed complex theoretical and mathematical explanations for all the forces in the universe except gravity and nuclear forces. He also made scientific contributions in the fields of thermodynamics and mathematics. In other words, Maxwell was a scientist of gigantic proportions who remains greatly respected today.

By today’s standards, Maxwell would be called a “fundamentalist.” Maxwell lived at the same time as Charles Darwin and was very aware of evolutionary theory. He felt strongly that evolution was anti scientific and wrote a powerful and important refutation of evolutionary writings. He also offered a very careful mathematical refutation of the theory that the solar system had evolved from a cloud of dust and gas.

The great scientist Maxwell believed that Jesus Christ is the Savior that God has provided to deliver humanity from the results of sin – including eternal death. A writing of his, found after his death, states that the motivation for his work was that God had created all things just as Genesis says. And since God has created humans in His image, scientific study is a fit activity for one’s lifework.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray today for the work of those in science who are convinced that You are indeed the Creator as described in Genesis. Though they are opposed by men, bless their work and move more of our Christian young people to follow in their footsteps. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Photo: A young James Clerk Maxwell at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is holding one of his color wheels.