Integration of Faith and Mathematics

Peter Y. Woo, Assoc. Professor, Biola Univ, 1/28/92

1. INTRODUCTION

  This is a half-serious paper, exploring the vast opportunities for Christian teachers to discover illustrations of biblical truths with mathematical and scientific truths. Even when such illustrations are never perfect, they are useful in crystalizing some aspect of our faith, sometimes in a very beautiful manner.

  I have been lecturing Calculus III for 10 semesters in USC as a graduate student from 1963-68, and again at Biola during 1980, and from 1987 till now. Experiences at Calculus II, linear algebra, differential equations, modern algebra, fundamentals of math, set theory, all offered opportunities to discover ways of relating mathematical insights to Christian beliefs. Usually they are discovered at the spur of the moment. They serve several purposes:
(a) They wake up all those students falling asleep.
(b) They make students feel awed at how truths in various academic disciplines are related, as well as appreciate the exquisite beauty in, of all things, mathematics, just like art or music.
(c) They may lead some listener to think more deeply concerning divine truths as taught in the Bible, which will inevitably affect his life.
(d) They make me feel that perhaps I am playing some useful role in God's plan in the area of Christian education, and such a feeling of being in the right direction under His personal guidance is most gratifying.

2. WHAT IS TRUTH?

  I am not a philosopher, but I see plenty of opportunities to spur the listeners to start some philosophical thinking, which has great implications for our Christian faith. Here is an example:

  I was teaching foundations of mathematics. "Truth is objective rather than subjective" came to my mind when I thought about the concept of the cardinal number of a set. In Sesame Street, once Ernie and Bert were quarrelling over how many oranges there were in the basket. Bert counted 8, but Ernie counted 10. Ernie played the Devil's advocate by counting some oranges twice. Said Bert: "Hey, you counted that orange already." Said Ernie, "Why am I not supposed to count any orange twice?" Bert: "Because it is not counting unless each orange is counted once and once only." Ernie: " Even if I do so, how can you guarantee my count and yours ought to be the same?" Bert: "Each basket of oranges have a definite count, regardless of who counts it". Ernie: "Why has it to be so exact?" Bert: "Because it is the objective truth." Ernie: "Come to think of it, you said I counted this orange twice, that is only because your memory remembered I counted it already. But what if my memory told me I did not? How do you know your memory is not fooling you?"

  The above story opened a can of worms. It almost makes plausible the Eastern philosophy that "something is real only because you believe it is so". Such beliefs will cast doubt on the truthfulness of mathematics, and perhaps on Christian doctrines as well. My solution for such doubting Thomases is to tell them that mathematics is a logically consistent model and tool that has 'concurred with personal experiences of many individuals. If only Ernie had marked each orange that he counted with a marker pen, he would have arrived at the same count as Bert or any one else, which gives credence to the belief that each basket of oranges does have a unique number as its "count"'. It is still only a belief, yet a belief that is never refuted by personal experiences for centuries. Such beliefs are called 'objective truths'. So objective truths are beliefs that can stand the test of individual experiences. This definition of objective truths can apply to Christian beliefs.