The scientist who recognizes God knows only the God of Newton. To him the God imagined by Laplace and Comte is wholly inadequate. He feels that God is in nature, that the orderly ways in which nature works are themselves the manifestations of God's will and purpose. Its laws are his orderly way of working.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the belief that the natural laws of the universe are a reflection of God's will, contrasting differing views of God held by scientists.
Arthur Compton's quote highlights the relationship between science and religion, suggesting that true understanding of God can only be realized through the laws of nature. Compton argues that the orderly mechanisms of the natural world reveal God's intentions and that simplistic or purely philosophical interpretations of God, like those offered by Laplace and Comte, do not suffice in capturing the divine essence embedded in the cosmos.
In practice
This quote can be used in a scientific discussion about the intersection of faith and the natural laws.
Those whose thinking is disciplined by science, like all others, need a basis for the good life, for aspiration, for courage to do great deeds. They need a faith to live by. The hope of the world lies in those who have such faith and who use the methods of science to make their visions become real. Such visions and hope and faith are not a part of science.
Yet is it possible in terms of the motion of atoms to explain how men can invent an electric motor, or design and build a great cathedral? If such achievements represent anything more than the requirements of physical law, it means that science must investigate the additional controlling factors, whatever they may be, in order that the world of nature may be adequately understood.
Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world.
Nuclear energy, in terms of an overall safety record, is better than other energy.
I do not want to drive across a bridge designed by an engineer who believed the numbers in structural stress models are relative truths.
If we had the fundamental laws of nature tomorrow, we still wouldn't understand consciousness. We wouldn't even understand turbulence.
Most scientists know what needs to be done to save our Earth. But the politicians don't listen to them. They will listen to popular pressure; the people got to supply that.
Unfortunately what is little recognized is that the most worthwhile scientific books are those in which the author clearly indicates what he does not know; for an author most hurts his readers by concealing difficulties.
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