: In the 1600s, the common idea was that angels pushed planets as they orbited the Earth. Kepler provided the means for a materialistic description for the motion of the planets. Newton got the math down for it. That said, Kepler was Lutheran. Newton is a bit tougher to classify (he did write "I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.") The point that I am attempting to make is that removing God from natural phenomena does not make one an atheist... unless you still want to believe that the angels push the planets around as they orbit the Earth. --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 17:42, 2 July 2007 (EDT)