How to Teach Math

My main focus is how to understand and teach modern science from a Biblical perspective. But modern science is closely associated with modern math. You can’t really teach science without also teaching and discussing math.

There are good resources for teaching math from an historical perspective (for instance, see Morris Kline’s works, esp. “Mathematics for the Nonmathematician”), but there are very few resources that teach math from a Biblical and presuppositional perspective.

One resource which does a great job in covering mathematics from such a perspective is James Nickel’s book “Mathematics: Is God Silent?” (Ross House Books, 2001). When I can refer you to existing resources which cover topics from a Biblical perspective, I will do so.

While this book does an excellent job of integrating God, the Bible, history, philosophy, and mathematics, it does not do a good job of covering a few key developments in modern science.

1) Nickel does not spend much time on the topic of creation (in 6 days) vs evolution debate. I will spend a lot of time on that (this falls under subject of Historical Science).

2) Nickel assumes that the heliocentric view of our solar system has been “proven” to be true. This is an area with which I take issue. I will spend a significant amount of time covering early modern science, esp. the change from a geocentric (& Aristotelian) view of our solar system to a heliocentric view as promoted by Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Did they “prove” this view to be true? What does it mean to “prove” something in science? If the heliocentric view of the solar system was not proven to be true (and it was not), what implications might this have for us and how we teach science?

3) Nickel does not cover the Michelson-Morley experiment nor Einstein’s special theory of relativity. I will be spending a lot of time on these topics, including showing why Einstein’s special theory of relativity cannot be true (regardless of how well experimental results may compare with it).

This just goes to show that even if one has God and the Bible as the primary presupposition of their worldview, they may come to different conclusions concerning various theories of science.

Stay tuned.