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Biblical Worldview in Mathematics

Debbie Schindler, Head of School, Pacific Christian Academy | ACSI Global 

The goal of a Christian school Maths teacher is to help students understand and articulate the biblical philosophy of mathematics, which includes core content, dispositions (attitudes, actions, and values), key biblical truths addressed, the core worldview questions and answers, conflicting worldviews, and the core skills students should develop by the end of the course. Throughout the course, students should actively work to deepen their understanding in all these areas. 

To assist you in integrating a biblical worldview into mathematics, the following excerpt is from the Mathematics, Grade K textbook, by ACSI’s publishing division, Purposeful Design Publications (PDP).  

Biblical Worldview 

The system of numbers that we are familiar with has not always existed. Prior to our current “Arabic” system, the Romans used combinations of letters to represent numbers, and other cultures had their own symbols too. The Arabic system, though, became recognized as the most useful. 

Many people think that the development of numbers and the ability to use them show how intelligent humans are, but they disagree about where this intelligence comes from. Some people do not believe in God, and they claim that the human ability to develop and use numbers shows that humans are the most wonderful of all known living things. These people praise themselves and others for being so wonderful. 

Other people do believe in God and the Bible. They agree with the Bible that God created people (Isaiah 44:24), which means that people received their abilities from God. While believers in God agree that humans are the most wonderful of all living things, they praise God rather than themselves for making them so wonderful (Psalm 95:6).  

 Questions 

  1. What do many people agree that the human ability to create and use numbers shows about people in general? (that they are more wonderful than any other living thing) 
  2. Where do people who do not believe in God claim that people obtained the ability to create and use systems of numbers? (from themselves) 
  3. Where do people who believe in God and the Bible say that people received the ability to create and use systems of numbers? (from God) 
  4. What symbols do you think would make interesting numbers? (Answers will vary.)  How did you get to be so smart as to be able to think of these interesting numbers? (God made me this smart.) What would happen if everyone used different symbols? (Answers will vary.) Why is having a common use of symbols a good thing? (because people can then understand what one another means by how many)