Mathematical Explorations for the Christian Thinker


Book Description

What does it mean to learn math from a Christian perspective? This book is ideally suited for a Christian audience who wishes to significantly extend his or her knowledge of mathematics while developing biblical perspectives on the mathematical-philosophical questions posed in each section. Among other compelling issues, readers will wrestle with questions as to the relationships between God, nature, mathematics, and humans. The integration of Christian thought is weaved throughout the text.[**Note: there are two versions of this book. Read below for more details.]Through the mathematics content presented in this book, you will broaden your understanding of geometry by investigating dimensions, fractals, topological equivalence, and other geometries. You will develop your reasoning skills through identifying deception in statistics, discriminating between cause and correlation, evaluating various voting methods, and exploring chaos theory. Finally, you will refine your understanding of numbers and systems through studying prime, figurate, vampire, narcissistic, powerful, abundant, and transcendental numbers.After studying each mathematical topic, you will consider how the topic informs your answers to questions like: Who are we? What is the nature of reality? How do we know if something is true? What is good? What is beautiful? These questions and their related sub-questions have been part of the human experience from the dawn of human history. Considering how mathematics helps to inform these questions provides for a deeper, more meaningful understanding of mathematics and our world.This book is ideal for:- An undergraduate “Mathematics for Liberal Arts” course at a Christian college- A half-year senior mathematics elective as part of a focus on worldview at a Christian high school - A Christian homeschool family that wishes to extend their children's learning beyond the standard curriculum in a Christian centered context- Anyone interested in extending his or her own understanding of the scope and depth of mathematicsEach section features:- Introductory exercises that prompt the reader to recall relevant information or skills- Concept development sections that explain the mathematics for even the math-phobic student- Content sections that connect the mathematics to literature, art, music, science, and other subjects- A “Something to Consider” section that asks the reader to think about related enduring questions from a Christian perspective- “Covering the Reading” questions that help to process the text- “Problems” that require the reader to research and consider the topic more thoroughly[** There is another version of this book titled "The Mathematical Expanse: Excursions into the Enduring Questions." That version asks many similar questions but is appropriate for a public school setting.]




The Thinking Christian


Book Description

The practice of Christianity is going through a transition that is deeper than the Reformation. The Thinking Christian explores two main questions: (1) What is "religion" as a general social process that can link humans to Profound Reality, and (2) what is a meaningful and appropriate mode of Christian theologizing, communal life, and mission to this planet for a viable and vital next Christian practice? These are profound probes, and they are communal and activist guidelines for general readers. Such union of the profound and the practical pertains to the needs of scholars as well.




Explorations in the Second Christian Century


Book Description

As allegiance to Jesus Christ spread across the Roman Empire in the second century, writings, practices, and ideas erupted in a creative maelstrom. Many of the patterns of practice and belief that later become normative emerged, in the midst of debate and argument with neighbours who shared or who rejected that allegiance. Authoritative texts, principles of argument, attitudes to received authority, the demands of allegiance in the face of opposition, identifying who belonged and who did not, all demanded attention. These essays explore those divergent voices, and the no-less diverse and lively debates they have inspired in recent scholarship.




Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences


Book Description

This 5,800-page encyclopedia surveys 100 generations of great thinkers, offering more than 2,000 detailed biographies of scientists, engineers, explorers and inventors who left their mark on the history of science and technology. This six-volume masterwork also includes 380 articles summarizing the time-line of ideas in the leading fields of science, technology, mathematics and philosophy.




Loving God with All Your Mind


Book Description

Our world is alive with fascinating new ideas, discoveries, and technologies. But for Christians this can also present problems-especially when the values of postmodernism and secular university life conflict with basic Christian principles. What should Christians do when their beliefs come under attack in the classroom or the public square? Loving God with All Your Mind shows us that the answer is neither wholesale rejection of intellectual life and culture, nor blind acceptance of it. The answer lies in understanding that Jesus is Lord of all of life and that everything in life must be carefully viewed in the light of what Christ's lordship means. Gene Edward Veith unfolds a dazzling critique of the postmodern intellectual world and culture. He affirms the part that is good and true, but he also shows crucial weaknesses that have such a hold over contemporary thought. This book shows Christians how to survive and flourish in a postmodern world while affirming the truth of the Christian faith.




The Bible in a Disenchanted Age (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic)


Book Description

In our increasingly disenchanted age, can we still regard the Bible as God's Word? Why should we consider it trustworthy and dare to believe what it says? Top Old Testament theologian R. W. L. Moberly sets forth his case for regarding the Bible as unlike any other book by exploring the differences between it and other ancient writings. He explains why it makes sense to turn to the Bible with the expectation of finding ultimate truth in it, offering a robust apology for faith in the God of the Bible that's fully engaged with critical scholarship and compatible with modern knowledge.




Explorations in Ancient and Modern Philosophy


Book Description

Collects important studies on Plato and his subsequent reception and presents hitherto unpublished lectures, 'The Archaeology of Feeling'.




An Introduction to Modern Mathematical Computing


Book Description

Thirty years ago mathematical, as opposed to applied numerical, computation was difficult to perform and so relatively little used. Three threads changed that: the emergence of the personal computer; the discovery of fiber-optics and the consequent development of the modern internet; and the building of the Three “M’s” Maple, Mathematica and Matlab. We intend to persuade that Mathematica and other similar tools are worth knowing, assuming only that one wishes to be a mathematician, a mathematics educator, a computer scientist, an engineer or scientist, or anyone else who wishes/needs to use mathematics better. We also hope to explain how to become an "experimental mathematician" while learning to be better at proving things. To accomplish this our material is divided into three main chapters followed by a postscript. These cover elementary number theory, calculus of one and several variables, introductory linear algebra, and visualization and interactive geometric computation.




Christian Higher Education


Book Description

Our world is growing increasingly complex and confused—a unique and urgent context that calls for a grounded and fresh approach to Christian higher education. Christian higher education involves a distinctive way of thinking about teaching, learning, scholarship, curriculum, student life, administration, and governance that is rooted in the historic Christian faith. In this volume, twenty-nine experts from a variety of fields, including theology, the humanities, science, mathematics, social science, philosophy, the arts, and professional programs, explore how the foundational beliefs of Christianity influence higher education and its disciplines. Aimed at equipping the next generation to better engage the shifting cultural context, this book calls students, professors, trustees, administrators, and church leaders to a renewed commitment to the distinctive work of Christian higher education—for the good of the society, the good of the church, and the glory of God.




Dataclysm


Book Description

A New York Times Bestseller An audacious, irreverent investigation of human behavior—and a first look at a revolution in the making Our personal data has been used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don’t need. In Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses it to show us who we truly are. For centuries, we’ve relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today, a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers, and without filters. Data scientists have become the new demographers. In this daring and original book, Rudder explains how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person’s sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more interview requests; and why you must have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America’s most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter. He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publicly. What is the least Asian thing you can say? Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey? What do black women think about Simon & Garfunkel? (Hint: they don’t think about Simon & Garfunkel.) Rudder also traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible. Visually arresting and full of wit and insight, Dataclysm is a new way of seeing ourselves—a brilliant alchemy, in which math is made human and numbers become the narrative of our time.