Teaching Resources

How Math Illumines Our Infinite God

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I was recently directed to a great article by John Van Sloten at thinkChristian on “How math illumines our infinite God.” In the article, Van Sloten addresses how a proper mathematical understanding of infinity informs our perception of our infinite God. The article also comes from a growing concern over the decreasing mathematical ability of the general populace. The closing question is a significant one:

If we don’t possess even basic math skills, how will we ever be able to engage the mathematical – that is, the logical, precise, trustworthy, universal, elegant, infinite and awe-inspiring – mind of God?

In addition to the article, John Van Sloten also gave a sermon at New Hope Church in Calgary entitled “God, Infinity, and Mathematics.” An entire sermon, given in a church, dealing with God and math. Preach on John. Preach on.

Mathematic Beauty

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by Dave Sikkema

“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty — a beauty cold and austere, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music.” —Betrand Russell

As a 4th grade teacher in a Christian and classical school my job is to help students appreciate what is good, true, and beautiful about the world around them.  Naturally, most kids find the good, the true, and the beautiful in more popular subjects such as art and music (and, somehow P.E. and recess..) but they seem to find only the devil in long division and 3-digit multiplication.

Math, in their eyes, is a product of the Fall.  This is evident when they ask, through tears mostly, “Mr. Sikkema, why do I even need to know this!?” It seems to me they are really wondering, “What do all these numbers, and mathematical processes have to do with reality?”

This short video reminded me this morning that numbers have everything to do with reality.  Math is one of the many languages of God, and it offers a structure that is both good and true for the beauty we see around us.

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Dave Sikkema is a 4th grade teacher at Regents School of Austin. This post was originally published on his blog “Backwards with Time” and is shared here with permission.

The Mission of Mathematics

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In August I gave a talk at a professional development training for teachers at Regents School of Austin on integrating a Christian perspective into the teaching of mathematics. The mission statement of our school says (in part) that we are teach children to know, love, and cherish that which is true, good, and beautiful. My goal in my presentation was to tie in what I see as the mission of math education with the mission of our school. I outlined how math was beautiful and how math was true, but my real focus was on discussing how math is good. For a lot of students (many of whom are now teachers) their experience in a math classroom was by no means good. I believe for these people it can be easier to give intellectual assent to the fact that math is beautiful (Fibonacci sequences, golden ratios, etc.) and that math is true (2+2=4, am I right?), but what we need to grasp as distinctly Christian math educators is how deeply good mathematics is – that it is an inherently virtuous activity that can be undertaken by anyone.

Below you will find a video of the presentation as well as the PowerPoint slides. If you are interested in further reading, I shared some similar thoughts when I wrote about God, Math, and Order.

Enjoy.


mission math