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Man of Science, Man of God:James Clerk MaxwellC H R I S T I N E D A OFrom an early age, James Clerk Maxwellhad an astonishing memoryand an unquenchable curiosityabout how things worked. Hisfirst teacher, his mother, encouraged himto “look up through Nature to Nature’sGod”:His knowledge of Scripture, fromhis earliest boyhood, was extraordinarilyextensive and minute….These things were not knownmerely by rote. They occupied hisimagination, and sank deeper thananybody knew. 1After growing up mostly on anisolated country estate, young Maxwellentered the Edinburgh Academy in 1841.The other boys made fun of his mannerisms,accent, and wardrobe, but he soon befriendedLewis Campbell (his future biographer) andPeter Guthrie Tait. Both would become notablescholars, and remained his lifelong friends.While at Edinburgh, Maxwell won medals formathematics and Scripture biography.At age 14, he wrote Oval Curves, a paperon the properties of ellipses and curves. It waspresented to the Royal Society of Edinburghby James Forbes, a University of Edinburghprofessor of natural philosophy, since Maxwellwas “too young” to present it himself. Maxwellentered the university at age 16 and producedRolling Curves. Once again he was consideredtoo young to present it to the Society, so thepaper was read by his mathematics professor,Philip Kelland.In October 1850, Maxwell left Scotland forCambridge University, where he accomplisheda significant portion of his translation of electromagnetismequations, the work for which heis best known. He also laid out the principles ofcolor combination in Experiments on Colour—on which occasion he was finally allowed, in8 ACTS&FACTS • SEPTEMBER 2008Who: James Clerk MaxwellWhat: Father of Electromagnetic TheoryWhen: June 13, 1831 – November 5, 1879Where: Edinburgh, ScotlandMarch 1855, to present his own paper to theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. He became a fellowof Trinity College that October, and the followingyear applied for and eventually accepted theChair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal Collegein Aberdeen.When the college merged with the Universityof Aberdeen’s King’s College in 1860,there was no need for two chairs of natural philosophy,so Maxwell was laid off. He lost an Edinburghprofessorship to his childhood friendTait, but was granted the Chair of Natural Philosophyat King’s College in London.His color research garnered Maxwell electioninto the Royal Society of London in 1861.He often lectured at the Royal Institution, wherehe regularly conversed with Michael Faraday. AtKing’s College, he produced his most significantwork in electromagnetism, a multipartpaper called On Physical Lines ofForce. He also published papers on electrostaticsand displacement current, thelatter focusing on the phenomenonknown as the Faraday effect.He resigned from King’s Collegein 1865 and returned to hischildhood home at Glenlair, wherehe wrote the textbook Theory of Heatand an elementary treatise called Matterand Motion. In 1871, he became thefirst Cavendish Professor of Physics atCambridge. He died at 48 in Cambridgeof abdominal cancer on November 5, 1879.Darwin’s Origin of Species was publishedduring Maxwell’s lifetime. Maxwell was notconvinced evolution was a viable theory of origins,nor was he afraid to speak on the matter:No theory of evolution can be formed toaccount for the similarity of molecules, forevolution necessarily implies continuouschange, and the molecule is incapable ofgrowth or decay, or generation or destruction.…Scienceis incompetent to reasonupon the creation of matter itself out ofnothing. 2Maxwell is to this day held in high regardin the scientific community, but few know oracknowledge his strong Christian roots or hisfaith in the authority of God’s Word. Virtuallyevery part of his brief, but remarkable, life wasspent exploring the wonder of God’s creation.References1. Campbell, L. and W. Garnett. 1882. The Life of James ClerkMaxwell: With Selections from His Correspondence and OccasionalWritings. London: Macmillan and Co., 32.2. Ibid, 359.Ms. Dao is Assistant Editor.Maxwell photo: Sheila Terry / Photo Researchers, Inc.
Institute for Creation ResearchThe Institute for Creation Research is pleased to announce the launch of its National Creation Science Foundation(NCSF), a funding activity to advance the study of origins science.For nearly 40 years, ICR has been the leader in scientific research from a biblical perspective,conducting innovative laboratory and field research in the major disciplines ofscience, as well as in ancient biblical studies and graduate science education.Through its full-time research staff and graduate school faculty, as well as in partnershipwith scientists around the world, ICR remains on the cutting edge in origins science.ICR’s National Creation Science Foundation is the next step in the institute’s missionto advance quality research that impacts our understanding of the creation model asdescribed in Genesis. The National Creation Science Foundation’s mission statementreads:To promote the progress of creation science, especially creation scienceinvestigations and analysis in biosciences, astrophysics, geosciences,ecology, and technological sciences, as well as related areas of specializedscholarly research (such as forensic science analysis applied toDNA-aided demographic history, post-Flood biogeography, or Christianapologetics applied to history/archaeology), so that such scholarlyresearch is designed and useful for analyzing the biblical account ofcreation, the Fall in Eden, the worldwide Flood, the division of languages,or other aspects of creation history as it is described withinGenesis chapters 1 through 11.Qualified scientists are encouraged to submit proposals for innovativeresearch projects that fit within the foundation’s mission. Proposed researchmust be conducted from a young-earth, global flood perspective, andinvestigators must abide by the biblical and creation science tenets of the institute. Details regarding submissionguidelines can be found at www.icr.org/ncsf.Since ICR’s founding by Dr. Henry Morris in 1970, ICR scientists have endeavored to utilize their research todemonstrate the evidence for creation as understood in Scripture. Recognizing the growing number of qualifiedscientists around the globe who share this same vision, ICR is confident that the NCSF will encourage researchersto advance the biblical creation model and thus magnify the Creator.“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearlyseen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternalpower and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”Romans 1:20For more information, contact the National Creation Science Foundation at ncsf@icr.orgor write to ICR-NCSF, 1806 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229.SEPTEMBER 2008 • ACTS&FACTS9
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