Math and God

Investigate biblical Christianity through the eyes of a brilliant college math professor.

God and Math: Embracing Mystery

Posted: April 19, 2023
Talking Points:
  • Math (as with faith) is like a language you learn, building on itself year after year. For some, that’s what makes math (and God) intimidating. 
  • When it comes to math (and God), there will always be mystery. The more you study something, the more you realize how much more there is to study. Every question you answer opens up ten more questions to explore. (See Mage Merlin’s Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries.) Ecclesiastes 2:12-17
  • Math is the cleanest of the disciplines, and even then there are so many mysteries! How much more complex are emotions, relationships, and God himself? The existence of unsolved problems doesn’t mean we can’t have faith and push ahead.
  • There’s something in us that hates the tension of unsolved mysteries. Read Proverbs to learn life’s principles… and then read Job to see the exceptions! To explore meaning, goodness, and truth is more about the journey than the destination.
Discussion:
  1. How good were you at math when you were growing up?
  2. What are some of the basics of the Christian faith? Make a list.
  3. “Every question you answer opens up ten more questions to explore.” Give an example of this principle. 
  4. Try to articulate one of the unsolved math problems identified in this episode. Is it surprising to you that no one has ever solved the problem? Explain.
  5. Identify something in the Christian faith (or in life) that has created tension for you. How have you dealt with the tension?

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God and Math: Exploring Beauty

Posted: April 25, 2023
Talking Points:
  • For many people, math is only valuable to the extent that it’s useful. That makes math a negative thing to put up with, rather than a thing of beauty to explore for its own sake. 
  • Many Christians do the same thing with God: they make him a means to an end (health, wealth, etc.) rather than the end itself. This utilitarian view of God misses out on who God is and why he’s worthy of worship.
  • Starting off in any discipline requires rules and boundaries as you begin to acquire the building blocks for that area of study. But the more you explore the beauty of math (or God), the more you experience the unbounded wonder of the thing. 1 Corinthians 2:13-16
  • Both scripture and Christianity are useful and life-changing in a practical way. But more than that, God is beautiful–worth worshiping in “the beauty of his holiness”. 2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 29:2
Discussion:
  1. Why do some people only view math or God as useful, and what are the potential downsides of this utilitarian approach?
  2. How can we encourage people to see the beauty in math or God, and what are the benefits of doing so?
  3. What are some examples of how the exploration of math or God can lead to a greater appreciation for their complexity and wonder?
  4. How can a focus on the practical applications of math or faith be balanced with a focus on their inherent beauty and worth?
  5. How can we avoid reducing God to a means to an end and instead cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation for who God is and why he is worthy of worship?

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God and Math: Experiencing Faith

Posted: May 2, 2023
Talking Points:
  • You can’t use math alone to arrive at faith. Compared to other disciplines, math is the simplest. By their very nature, questions in science and math are less messy, yielding more accurate solutions, whereas ideas in the humanities are more complicated, resulting in less precision. (See this OpEd)
  • The “cowboy atheist” looks at the cold, dark universe and tries to make sense of it without God. By contrast, the biblical Christian humbly gives honor to the complexity of the cosmos – and the God behind it all.
  • Far better than any other religion, the Christian faith can be defended through the lens of complex disciplines such as literature, history, and philosophy. For example, historically the Jews were looking for a Messiah who would restore the temple, establish shalom, and defeat his enemies. Jesus did none of these in the near term, and yet was considered to be the Messiah after his death. The only possible solution is that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
  • At the end of the day, we’ve all tried to fly our lives on a worldview “airplane” – whether that’s Christianity, Buddhism, secular humanism, or something else. We all have a scaffolding for faith, and Christianity makes the most sense. It is worthy of our time and energy to pursue the God of the Bible.
Discussion:
  1. In what ways do the fields of science and math differ from the humanities in their approach to finding answers?
  2. Explain what it means to be a “cowboy atheist” in the western world. Can someone truly make sense of the universe without acknowledging the existence of a higher power?
  3. How can literature, history, and philosophy be used to defend the Christian faith? 
  4. What role does faith play in our individual experiences and understanding of the world around us? How does an atheist rely on a scaffolding of faith?
  5. How do we determine which religion or worldview is “worth” pursuing? Where does biblical Christianity rank for you?

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