2. 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
3. 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?
4. 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.
5.
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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?
9. 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
10. 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
12. 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
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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.
16. WESLEYAN SCHOOL
BIBLICAL 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)
17. 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,
18. 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)
19. •Mathematics is the pen with
which God has written the
universe.
• Galileo Galiliei
