Sir Isaac Newton (vegetarian): The Mind that Changed the World, Part 2 of 2

Most media and the public of his day had no idea that Newton was anything other than a “scientist.” Yet much of Newton’s work was devoted to theology, mysticism, and alchemy. According to Newton, “Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the Earth at the right distance from the Sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.”

Newton’s extensive writings on these subjects reveal his quest to uncover hidden truths and the underlying order of the Universe, blending scientific inquiry with spiritual exploration. As he states: “I believe the more I study science, the more I believe in God.”

There has long been speculation about Sir Isaac Newton’s diet, particularly regarding vegetarianism. Newton’s niece mentioned how he was reluctant to eat animal-people meat in his later years. Newton’s compassion for animal-citizens is well-documented. Voltaire, a contemporary of Newton, wrote about his humane sentiments: “There is in man a disposition to compassion as generally diffused as his other instincts. Newton had cultivated this sentiment of humanity, and he extended it to… animals. With Locke he was strongly convinced that God has given to them a proportion of ideas, and the same feelings which he has to us. He could not believe that God, Who has made nothing in vain, would have given to them organs of feeling in order that they might have no feeling. He thought it a very frightful inconsistency to believe that animals feel and at the same time to cause them to suffer. On this point his morality was in accord with his philosophy.”

In the 1690s, Sir Isaac Newton composed numerous religious writings, delving into interpretations of biblical texts. His extensive manuscripts, including those on theology, alchemy, and chronology, remained largely inaccessible to the public for centuries.

Now based at the University of Oxford, the Newton Project has made substantial progress in transcribing and digitizing Sir Isaac Newton’s works, making them accessible to scholars and the public worldwide.

His writings delve into topics such as the dimensions of Solomon’s Temple, calculations predicting the end of days, and the nature of the Divine.

Sir Isaac Newton’s interpretation reflects his premillennial eschatology, wherein he posited that Christ’s return would precede the millennium, ushering in a Divine kingdom on Earth.