Robert Boyle | Irish Scientist

Welcome to 365 Christian Men, where every day we aim to inspire and encourage with real-life stories about men. November 30th Robert Boyle Not only was Robert Boyle a pioneer in scientific methods, the characteristics of air, and how gases behave, he was also a clear thinker about the things of God. He once wrote, I am not a Christian because it is the religion of my country and my friends. I admit no man's opinions in the whole lump. He goes on to say that he sometimes has disagreed with scientists and with clergy. For instance, he wrote, And when I choose to travel in the beaten road, tis not because I find tis the road, but because I judge tis the way. On this date, in 1660, Robert Boyle helped start the Royal Society of London, a group set up to promote scientific learning through experimentation, the first organization of its kind in history. Stand in the freedom of faith and think outside of the box. Anyone who has ever been to high school and done a science experiment can thank Robert Boyle. When he was born in 1627, even the idea of conducting an experiment was controversial. At that time, scientists thought that they could discover things by arguing within the confines of the rules of logic. Aristotle and others had established these rules 2,000 years before. But Robert was different. He wanted to make discoveries by observing nature and drawing conclusions from what actually happened, not by dissecting someone else's idea that was centuries old. He believed it was his duty to look for God's purposes in nature. Nature was God's handiwork, so if you studied it, you would also learn more about God and His goodness. In the Bible, in Romans chapter 1, verse 20, it says, For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Robert's inquisitive faith gave him the desire to explore the hidden wonders of science. You probably learned Boyle's law in chemistry class. The pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to the volume it occupies. And it was Robert Boyle who discovered it through this wonderful new idea of experimentation. His early publications detailed how to perform a controlled experiment. Words like procedure, observation, and apparatus began with Robert. He even wrote a long paper on the sole topic of repeating failed experiments to learn from them. Robert lived his life by this belief, that if he thought outside of the box, instead of looking for what he wanted to see, he could discover something new. He said, even when we find not what we seek, we find something as well worth seeking as what we missed. When Robert first published his work based on controlled experiments, people ridiculed him. But he had to challenge the status quo, and he refused to listen to his critics. Instead of giving in to criticism, Robert simply tried harder to document his work and prove his point. Over time, he won the respect of the scientific community. As Robert took copious notes during his controlled experiments and published his results, other great thinkers were drawn to him. A group of them, who eventually became known as the Royal Society, met regularly to discuss their out-of-box thinking and to compare notes about their experiments. Robert continued to experiment and then publish the results of his work, and he continued to question. He named his books things like The Skeptical Chemist and New Experiments and Observations. His work disproved many of Aristotle's theories and opened brand new fields, like chemistry. Robert became so respected that the King of England sometimes dropped by to ask him scientific questions. As Robert Boyle became popular for his scientific breakthroughs, he continued to have to fight the status quo. He was even asked to be the president of the Royal Society, but he declined because he did not want to be bound to the Society's oath. The upper crust of England's social structure wanted to draw him into high society. But being popular took away from the things he really cared about. Robert Boyle was a free thinker, and because of this, he changed the world for the better. How can thinking outside of the box expand your impact on the world? Stand in the freedom of faith and think outside of the box. Thank you for listening to today's story. Every day of the year, our hope is to inspire you with real-life stories of faithful men who have gone before us. We are excited to announce that every 365 story is now available as an e-book and is available for purchase on our website at 365christianmen.com