CHRISTIAN/BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?

• A worldview is an overall perspective on how one sees and interprets the world.

• A person’s worldview is influenced by cultural background, religious background, socioeconomic status, life experiences, ability level, parenting styles, etc…

• James Nickels Mathematics : Is God Silent

POTENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ASK STUDENTS

• There are two/three main worldviews.• Theism, Atheism and Pantheism

• These influence how we see our world…• Creationists/evolutionists• Secularism and Humanism• Christianity/Islamic/other religions• Environmentalism• Heterosexual/Homosexual• Conservatism/Liberalism• Democracy/Dictatorship• Capitalism/Communism

• Is there a possibility of one worldview?• Can only one worldview be correct?

EVERY WORLDVIEW MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• What is the nature of reality? (Metaphysics)• How do we know what we know?(Epistemology)• Who defines right and wrong? (Ethics)

How a person answers these questions will determine their worldview.

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?

• Barna Research Group – only 4% of Americans had a “biblical” worldview• Of those who claim to be “born again” only 9%

had a “biblical” worldview• Barna says, “Although most people own a Bible

and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life.”

• Del Tackett- Focus on the Family

WHAT IS A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

• Based on the infallible word of God…

• Do you have a biblical worldview?• Answer these questions………• 1) Do absolute moral truths exist?• 2) Is absolute truth defined in the Bible?• 3) Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?• 4) Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and

does He still rule it today?• 5) Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?• 6) Is Satan real?• 7) Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in

Christ with other people?• 8) Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?• Del Tackett – Focus on the Family

THREE QUESTIONS TO ASK

• 1. Creation – What was God’s original intention about_________?

• 2. Fall – How does the entrance of sin mar God’s original intention?

• 3. Redemption – What must I do to restore _______ back to God’s intention?

1+1=2

• Is math neutral?

• “For by him all things were created” Colossians 1:16 NIV

• “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again: there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV

1+1=2

• “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom; and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” Jeremiah 10:12 NIV

• “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” • Psalm 24:1 NIV

DO I WANT TO PUT THE

1+1=2

• Why does it always work?

• “In Him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17 NIV

• Math is consistent because God consistently holds every part of the universe in its place. God’s faithfulness in holding this universe ensures us that objects will add in a predictable manner and that the equations 1+1=2 will consistently work.”

• Israel Wayne Christanworldview.net

1+1=2

• “If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant.” Jeremiah 33:25-26

1+1=2

• “For mathematics education to be biblically Christian, the bull’s-eye on the target must be the Living God of Scripture, His attributes, His word, and His acts. Although God’s enscriptured word is His primary means of self-disclosure, what He has made also reveals the essence of His being…Mathematics, as a description of God’s creation, plays a unique role in showing forth the significance of the Creator.”

• James Nickel Mathematics: Is God Silent p. 234-235

WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MATH?

As Christians we study math because

Math helps describe the wonders of God’s creation.

Math reveals the invisible attributes of God.

Math helps us to carry out God’s mandate to hold dominion over the earth.

Math helps us to carry out God’s mandate to Christians to evangelize the world.

WESLEYAN SCHOOLBIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

FOR THE MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

•  • God’s Perfect Order

• Creation: Mathematics describes both the numerical and spatial aspects of the structure of God’s creation. (Mathematics – Is God Silent?-P237)

• For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)

• Revelation: God’s perfect plan is revealed in harmonious order, patterns and beauty. (Mathematics – Is God Silent?-P237)

• For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

• Application: In God’s universe, we apply the order, patterns, and beauty of mathematics.

• Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9) 

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN THE MATH CLASSROOM?

• Number System Trinity

• Infinitude --> God is beyond time and dimensions and is all-knowing

• Optimization (differential calculus) minimal surface area of a honeycomb (wonder of God’s creation)

• Sinusoidal functions order and harmony in God’s creation

• Precision of mathematics a problem is right/wrong assurance of truth (there is a right and a wrong) God is just, pure,

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN THE MATH CLASSROOM?

• Fibonacci sequence pine cones, pineapples, petals of flowers, rabbit populations, genealogy of male bees, etc…

• Golden ratio Kepler called it the “Divine Proportion” found in the pentagram which is found in five-petaled flowers, starfish, sand dollar, the cross section of an apple core

• Logarithmic spirals-constructed using the golden ratio spiral galaxies, chambered nautilus, cochlea of the human ear

• Structure of number systems reveals unchangeable laws and a fixed order of operations (attributes of God- unchanging and unchangeable)

•Mathematics is the pen with which God has written the universe.

• Galileo Galiliei