Hughes and Newtonian Theological Debate
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William Whiston's New Theory of the Earth
In this popular and influential publication Whiston sought to revise Burnet’s Sacred theory of the earth. Whiston’s aim was to explain the Flood and the final conflagration of the Earth through recourse to reason and natural philosophy. Drawing from Newton’s Principia’s Whiston explored the behaviour of comets as a means to make intelligible the history of the Earth. Thus, he proposed the idea that the solar system had been created as a result of solidified comets attracted by the sun’s gravitation. In his view, the flood resulted from a divinely guided comet that collided with primeval Earth.
Whiston’s first edition, published in 1696, was a huge success, leading to five further editions, alongside translations in German and French. As the first full-length popularisation of Newtonianism it contributed to the eclipse of the Cartesian system in England. It also helped to advanced Whiston’s rise in Cambridge until his career was cut short owing his espousal of heretical theology.
Author: William Whiston
Title: A new theory of the Earth, from its original, to the consummation of all things (London, 1737)
Shelfmark: R.12.22
