Cosmology and Creation at the Early Phase of the Scientific Revolution

Today scientists, in their research, are not or less concerned with religious belief. But today\u27s common senseis not simply true for those who were engaged in scientific research at the early phase of the Scientific Revolution. Especially as for the motives of their study of the universe, we can detect religious motives and their reflections in their theoretical contents. In this essay the author takes up representative cases -- Copernicus, Bruno, Kepler and Galileo -- and tries to investigate relationships between their theoretical setups and the creation doctrine of the Bible. For all of them it was, so to speak, the major premise that the universe was a work of God the creator. Consequently the scientific personality of each scientist may be clarified by looking at where to find God\u27s hands of creation in this universe, or in other wordsm, at what aspect of God\u27s attributions was to be emphasized: for instance, His beauty, infinity, trinity, or His mathematical intellect