Difference between revisions of "Math and the Bible"
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Revision as of 15:48, July 13, 2016
The Bible was the inspiration for set theory and other accomplishments in math. Many of the great mathematicians, such as Bernard Riemann and Kurt Gödel, were avid readers of the Bible.
Potential remains for additional mathematical discoveries based on insights gleaned from the Bible.
Infinity
The concept of infinity was hotly disputed, and often rejected, by Greek mathematicians and philosophers.[1] Aristotle and Pythagoras, for example, both rejected the existence of actual infinity.[2]
Infinite Time, or Eternity
The full concept of infinite time, or eternity, is unique to the New Testament, which references it often:
- Matthew 25:46 (eternal punishment in addition to eternal life)
- Titus 1:2
- 1 Peter 5:10
- 2 Corinthians 5:1
- Hebrews 5:9 (eternal salvation)
- 1 John 1:2 (eternal life)
- 1 John 5:11
- 1 John 3:15 (eternal life)
- Jude 1:21 (eternal life)
- Hebrews 9:14 (eternal Spirit)
- Hebrews 6:2 (eternal judgment)
- 1 John 2:25 (eternal life)
- 1 Timothy 6:12 (eternal life)
- John 17:2 (eternal life)
- John 6:68 (eternal life)
To a much lesser extent, and with a narrower meaning, there are a few references to eternity in the Old Testament.
Ancient Greek philosophers did not accept, and indeed often rejected, the notion of a full eternity. Plato was one of the first even to consider the possibility of eternity, but he thought that time was limited to the existence of the material universe (the heavens).[3]
Infinite Nature of God
The word "infinite" is mentioned three times in the text of the King James Version (Job 22:5; Ps 147:5; Nah 3:9), and once in an explanatory footnote (Nah 2:9), all in the Old Testament.[4]
Modern understanding of the full nature of infinity is based on the work of devout Christian Georg Cantor, who studied infinity as a way to understand God better. Several teachings of Jesus explain that infinity is the real nature of God:
- Matthew 20:1-16 (Parable of the Vineyard Workers)
- Luke 15:11-32 (Parable of the Prodigal Son)
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Infinite Nature of Jesus
In addition, the concept of infinity is set forth in Hebrews in explaining that Jesus is infinitely superior to angels:[5]
- Hebrews 1:4 ("having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs")
Coherence of Math
Several references exist in the Bible for the concept that mathematics is coherent, inerrant, and unchanging logic, as made possible by God:[6]
- Hebrews 13:8 ("Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.")
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References
- ↑ http://descmath.com/diag/ancients.html
- ↑ [1] In modern times, such ideas are formalized by the mathematical school of Intuitionism, founded by Luitzen Brouwer.
- ↑ Revisionism tries to credit ancient Greek philosophers for eternity, even though in though in fact they rejected the full concept:
“ Concepts of eternity have developed in a way that is, as a matter of fact, closely connected to the development of the concept of God in Western thought, beginning with ancient Greek philosophers; ” Aristotle believed <need more here, with citations>, and influenced Christian thinkers like Boethius.
- ↑ http://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Infinite
- ↑ Biblical quotations are from ESV.
- ↑ Quotations are from ESV.