Janie Smith
Belhaven College
To meet the challenging task of overtly strengthening faith
within the context of mathematics, I am gathering ideas for Links for Faith and Learning
in the Mathematics Classroom, a collection of student projects which involve
research, thinking, writing and discussion on topics that interweave
mathematics and faith. I am seeking the
links or ways in which Christian principles, Scriptural ideas, Biblical
history, Christian character, Christian values, etc. overlap or impact
mathematics, and, likewise, how mathematical logic, mathematical history,
mathematical technology, etc. overlap or impact Christianity. And, I am concentrating on those ideas that
are commensurate with student knowledge and abilities at particular levels in
the academic process, from freshman core math courses to senior courses for the
math major. In more succinct terms, my
objective is that STUDENTS know that the Christian faith and mathematics are
not separate and distinct entities but are unified in God’s truth; I am looking for ways to make this happen
through student effort in the classroom.
Some
themes that dominate student projects might include the following:
1) the mathematical facets of a world created by
God, i.e., the order, structure and
pattern, that inevitably reflect the nature of
God, 2) man’s capacity for
comprehending some of these mathematical facets because he is created in God’s
image, i.e., the gift of mathematics to man to be used for God’s purposes, 3) historical evidence that the founders of
Calculus, for example, were just as learned in theology as in mathematics and
the likelihood that a person’s lifetime achievements are not totally separate
from his beliefs, 4)the curious overlapping theme of infinity in both scripture
and mathematics, 5) the
scripture-mandated responsibility of Christ-centered individuals to care for
the earth and its people and to discern truth.
Some
classroom links that I have used in the past are the following: The student in Mathematics Concepts studies
basic probability and the tree diagram.
He is asked to analyze Pascal’s quite impeccable logic and draw a tree
diagram of Pascal’s “Eternal Wager,” which details man’s choices with regard to
belief in God. He is asked to reflect
on answers to questions such as “Would you be able to use this argument
today?” The study of infinite series is
accompanied by a requirement to research mathematical and scriptural concepts
of infinity and respond with an essay.
Students have found it strange that some people can firmly believe that
the trigonometric function f(x) = tan x approaches
infinity as x approaches ½π, yet these same persons
refuse to believe in the concept of eternal life.