Math and Ministry?? Is it possible?

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Angela_grace

Senior Member
Jan 3, 2016
196
10
18
#1
Hey, everyone!

So I have not been on here much lately and do not post much at all, but I had a random question I thought that I would ask y'all (Yes, I am a Texan). I am currently a college student at a private university majoring in mathematics. Yes, that dreaded thing most everyone hates. I am about to finish my second year, and thus have two more years left. I grew up in ministry and that is where I feel at home. Yet I do not know how one can use math to serve God and minister directly. Hence, my question: What is a profession/career in which you can both serve God and use math. And when I say math I mean like beyond just numbers. I've racked my brain trying to think of something. Who knows maybe it's not something for me to figure out, but for God to reveal. Feel free to throw out your suggestions and have fun with it. :)
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
41,243
16,252
113
69
Tennessee
#2
You can serve God in any position that He places you after graduation and that might include the use of math.
 

Enoch987

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2017
317
15
18
#3
People on this site are not interested in math and the Bible.
but the bible explains doctrine and prophecy through number recognition and math.
1 Corinthians 10:8 23000 but 24000 in Numbers 25.
The phrase 2 or 3 represents Jesus throughout the bible.
Examples to follow.

The math of Revelation 2:10, endure 10 days in prison, receive the crown of life.
set up a math proportion, 10 days divided by the crown of life (the unknown) equals the length of the great tribulation in days or years or months divided by the length of the millennial reign which is 1000 years.
There will be 3 answers.
The answer for 10000/42 will not allow the units of time to cancel but know that the two and a half tribes (Numbers 34) lead the Israelites across the Jordan River in Joshua 1. Then calculate their percentage of population in the second census (Numbers 26). They are 22.8% which rounds to 23%.
What will become the nine and a half tribes are 79.4% in the first census (Numbers 1), pretty close to 80%.

Then ask God for more understanding and use the 3 pairs of 10000/42 which are 23 and 80 and 95 and divide each into 10000/3.5.
For 23, you will be 66 digits that repeat with 888 (the gematria of Jesus' name in Greek) in the middle.
For 80, you will get the age that Jesus died, there will be 2/7th of a 360 day year until his next birthday, see Joshua 7:3-5 for verification.
For 95, you will get the age Methuselah begat a son and the age he died in the middle of the 19 digits which repeat as 18 digits because the last digit becomes the first.
Now you will either think this is really neat or it's totally off the wall.
The digits of 10000/3.5 divided by 23 read like prophecy especially the string near the beginning of the answer;
223602484472049.
Find the math error of Numbers 3 for the 3 clans of Levites.
If Jesus was in his 36th year of life when he died, he was born in the 447th year of Daniel 9.
The Messiah was cutoff after 173880 days (69 periods of 7 years with 360 days per year) which is 24840 weeks.
After about 2000 years, the 490 years will be complete.
But no one will buy my book.
The NIV deletes the math for number recognition purposes in Amos 4:8 (Jesus is the living water.
2 or 3 eunuchs throw Jezebel from the window in Kings, Hosea 6:2 , Mathew 18 (2 places have the phrase 2 or 3 which represent Jesus to my math mind).

Then have fun calculating the ephahs and hins and animals of each type for the feast of booths/tabernacles.
One book I looked at calculated the volume of Noah's Ark.
Trying to make this interesting or relevant is a challenge.
I didn't answer your question, did I.
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#5
Why does your choice in profession need to have some direct ministry tie in associated with it at all? That's not a biblical stance. God says whatever you do, job included, do to the best of your ability and in doing so you are bringing glory to God. Notice it doesn't say it has to be a certain job.
God will use you where you're at. Maybe aspects of your job will be included. Maybe not. Doesn't matter. Pick your field, work hard and be open to opportunities.
Keep in mind Jesus was a carpenter. Really very few jobs would fall into the realm of what you're saying. Because jobs are to keep us busy and help us to support ourselves. That's the point. It's our Lives, no matter where we're at or what job we have, that is a living ministry.
And no need to force math into the bible to create a psuedo-spiritual sense of ministry.
 

Isny

Senior Member
Jan 15, 2017
2,260
2,382
113
#6
Hello Angela, if you enjoy your math classes, you should continue with your math studies. You may not teach math later in life nor have a job directly related to math, but math does train our minds to process information in order to arrive at a solution. My roommate in college was a math major. Later, he went to divinity school and became a minister. He told me that his math background helped him in grad school to arrive at a solution to a problem. It was the reasoning factor that helped him out.

If you enjoy your math classes, work hard to do well because in later life you will no doubt use your math training. There may be grad school in your future, so a math background will help you. And ask the Lord for guidance for what this math training will lead to. Best Wishes, Angela.
 
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posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,530
13,094
113
#7
Hey, everyone!

So I have not been on here much lately and do not post much at all, but I had a random question I thought that I would ask y'all (Yes, I am a Texan). I am currently a college student at a private university majoring in mathematics. Yes, that dreaded thing most everyone hates. I am about to finish my second year, and thus have two more years left. I grew up in ministry and that is where I feel at home. Yet I do not know how one can use math to serve God and minister directly. Hence, my question: What is a profession/career in which you can both serve God and use math. And when I say math I mean like beyond just numbers. I've racked my brain trying to think of something. Who knows maybe it's not something for me to figure out, but for God to reveal. Feel free to throw out your suggestions and have fun with it. :)


i've got a couple of math degrees :)
((hi, i'm post, ostensibly CC's resident mathematician))

you can serve God in whatever vocation He's given you a will and an ability to do -- 'whatever you work at, work as though for the Lord' et al. you don't have to be a preacher or a choir director or write devotional tracts for a living to serve Him! but whatever you do, do it as though the Lord is your 'boss' -- do it honestly, honorably, and as well as you can, because you are an example of Him living in you.

i studied math in college for over 10 years. i've done a lot of different things for work, and a lot of them not directly math-related. right now i do some consulting and data collection / analysis. most of the other people i work with have engineering degrees in the specific field the company we contract with is involved in.

i had a professor tell me once, when you get a degree in math, you're not just learning mathematics; you're learning how to think: a degree in math is a degree in abstraction of complex systems, in reducing complicated problems to simpler, manageable terms. in finding a rigorous way to approach hard problems & find optimal solutions according to various constraints.

you may find yourself having a hard time after school finding a job because people are looking for engineers and people with certifications in certain things and people with some kind of specific applicational training - but the irony is that as a mathematician you're more than qualified to do all these things. the things you learn to do as a mathematician, to approach problems in generalized ways, make your training applicable to all kinds of things, where a person with a business degree or an engineering specialty has training that doesn't necessarily carry over. they all do a certain set of calculus, or work with a single differential equation - they map a single certain space with data in a regular way; you will know all kinds of calculus beyond the functions they use, and families of DE's, and how to define and work with maps in the most general sense; you'll understand the basis of what they're doing often better than they do, and only need to be trained in the particulars to do their job.
the job i do now, i basically only had to learn the software they use to understand completely what we do. i had to get my foot in the door, first, and get an interview - then convincing the HR people that i was more than capable of doing the job wasn't hard, because i can see their process and needs in abstract terms: the way i was taught to think, learning math. what employers need more than someone who knows which buttons to push is someone who comprehends why they are pushing the buttons and have the larger picture of the overall goal of the work in mind: they can always teach you what buttons to push, and what the buttons do. they need someone with aptitude, to be conscientious of the work as an whole. a degree in math proves you have great aptitude. that you can understand complexity and understand how, and why, to find solutions and optimums in it. that's really valuable to all kinds of jobs!!

my advice as you're going through school is to think about the fields that you're interested in, that you care about, and look for work later that's involved in them. read through descriptions of the duties of open positions, and you may be surprised at how much of it you feel confident you can do, even though you may not have the specific knowledge you need: it's just a matter of learning how a certain business does things, the software they use, the names they give to their methods, etc. there's no reason to limit yourself to jobs that say "mathematician" or "statistician" or "operations researcher" or "data analyst"



----

does this carry over to the faith, too? absolutely, IMO. no, you can't get a job as a 'Biblical numerologist' in all likelihood, unless you write a best-selling book about it. but your'e gonna have to do something for a living while you write your book, haha. it carries over to the faith in terms of the way learning number theory, analysis, and modern algebra makes you look at, and think about things in an abstract, but rigorous and systematic way. i used to work as a tutor, and i had to learn to explain the fundamental theorem of calculus, or the basics of probability etc. in like 10 different ways, because there would be 10 different people asking me for help with their HW, and each of them wouldn't get it if i tried to tell them 9 ways, but 1 way, it would click. i was being taught to see these theorems from 10 different angles, all describing the same fundamental truths. the Bible, like math, is describing truth, and describing the same truth in various ways: the scripture is all about Christ, and with calculus, for example, you are taking one theorem: the fundamental one, and applying it to an infinite number of equations. because you understand the fundamental theorem, you can take derivatives and integrals of any smooth, continuous function. in a similar way with scripture, comprehending the Messiah and the message of salvation, you can 'integrate' all kinds of scripture and see Him, the Answer, written in it. you can 'derive' Christ from many different 'expressions' by knowing the basis of God's message to us, just like a single generalized theorem applies to a vast number of specific instances. it's a way of training your mind to search out and reveal truth, and understanding. to see and describe patterns and relationships. we might not know it, but we're doing a kind of spiritual algebra when we understand the gospel in the scriptures :)


and you know, if you haven't heard the joke yet, you can always 'put your math degree to work' in culinary arts ;)
feed the poor !
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,530
13,094
113
#8
Hey, everyone!

So I have not been on here much lately and do not post much at all, but I had a random question I thought that I would ask y'all (Yes, I am a Texan). I am currently a college student at a private university majoring in mathematics. Yes, that dreaded thing most everyone hates. I am about to finish my second year, and thus have two more years left. I grew up in ministry and that is where I feel at home. Yet I do not know how one can use math to serve God and minister directly. Hence, my question: What is a profession/career in which you can both serve God and use math. And when I say math I mean like beyond just numbers. I've racked my brain trying to think of something. Who knows maybe it's not something for me to figure out, but for God to reveal. Feel free to throw out your suggestions and have fun with it. :)

TLDR:


whoohoo!! math!


:D
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,530
13,094
113
#9
Hello Angela, if you enjoy your math classes, you should continue with your math studies. You may not teach math later in life nor have a job directly related to math, but math does train our minds to process information in order to arrive at a solution. My roommate in college was a math major. Later, he went to divinity school and became a minister. He told me that his math background helped him in grad school to arrive at a solution to a problem. It was the reasoning factor that helped him out.

If you enjoy your math classes, work hard to do well because in later life you will no doubt use your math training. There may be grad school in your future, so a math background will help you. And ask the Lord for guidance for what this math training will lead to. Best Wishes, Angela.


you really only get taught "logic" in college if you're in a couple of fields -- philosophy, to a certain degree in computer science ((they're really doing math tho)), and in math. the whole concept of 'proof' in ethics & philosophy & debate et al, which can be a hurdle for a lot of people in those departments, is wrapped up in a class that goes through Euclid's geometry. i can't even begin to list all the seemingly-unrelated arguments i've been able to see clearly through by understanding what it takes to prove existence and uniqueness, which i learned simply in terms of the intersections of a circle and a line.

how useful is logic!?
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,799
8,103
113
#10
I second what Ugly said, only because he said what I was going to say, but he said it first. :cool:

And about math: MATH BEATS ALL!


A squared plus B squared equals C squared. Try to politicize THAT!
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,799
8,103
113
#11
And it is the only field where answers are concrete and certain:


a(b+c)=(ab)+(ac)
Politicize THAT if you can!
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,247
25,715
113
#12
I second what Ugly said, only because he said what I was going to say, but he said it first. :cool:

And about math: MATH BEATS ALL!


A squared plus B squared equals C squared. Try to politicize THAT!
That just sounds so... square. It must be a conservative view :D
 

EarnestQ

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2016
2,588
311
83
#13
A gal supported by my church teaches chemistry in English in China as her ministry. Christians are not allowed to evangelize in China, but she demonstrates God's love for them. I assume there are times when it is appropriate for her to discuss Jesus specifically.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,799
8,103
113
#14
Of course math can be handy for all kinds of things...


The full analysis is of course much more complicated, but I can't stay to discus it because I have a date...
 

Didymous

Senior Member
Feb 22, 2018
5,047
2,099
113
#15
Hey, everyone!

So I have not been on here much lately and do not post much at all, but I had a random question I thought that I would ask y'all (Yes, I am a Texan). I am currently a college student at a private university majoring in mathematics. Yes, that dreaded thing most everyone hates. I am about to finish my second year, and thus have two more years left. I grew up in ministry and that is where I feel at home. Yet I do not know how one can use math to serve God and minister directly. Hence, my question: What is a profession/career in which you can both serve God and use math. And when I say math I mean like beyond just numbers. I've racked my brain trying to think of something. Who knows maybe it's not something for me to figure out, but for God to reveal. Feel free to throw out your suggestions and have fun with it. :)
Because I'm good at math, I'm good at playing pool. Because I'm good at math, I'm good at music. Because I'm good at math, I was good at carpentry. Don't know of that helps but those are things that being good at math make easier.
 

Noose

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2016
5,096
932
113
#16
Serving God is loving your neighbors/being good to others and helping those in need. You can do these while doing Maths, no problem, yet there are some illogical laws in Maths.

-2 x -2 = 4
2 x 2 = 4

There's no way the above is TRUTH because numbers represent values. -2 value is not equal to the value 2, yet -2 multiplied by itself gives a value (4) that is equal to 2 multiplied by itself.

When God says the father of lies rules this world and all it's systems, we should believe it. All the disciplines are affected somehow. I wish Philosophy formed the basis of all disciplines, the end of the age wouldn't be this close.
Several verses in the bible also suggests that there is an Earthly/manly calculations and heavenly/angelic calculations:

Rev 13:18This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[SUP]e[/SUP] That number is 666.

The number of a man in the above verse is commonly misinterpreted, it only means the number is calculable using our normal earthly mathematical laws.

I think Maths and Biology are least affected generally- but these are the systems that the world has given us. We are not of this world yet we MUST pursue them because of our careers. So go ahead, serve God and do Maths.
 

EarnestQ

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2016
2,588
311
83
#17
-2 x -2 = 4
2 x 2 = 4

There's no way the above is TRUTH because numbers represent values. -2 value is not equal to the value 2, yet -2 multiplied by itself gives a value (4) that is equal to 2 multiplied by itself.
That is an interesting question, and it puzzled me for a moment. I think the solution to understanding it is that there are many ways to get the answer four. One can divide eight by two or divide twelve by three, for instance.

The focus of the equation is not how similar 2 and -2 are, but what are different ways to get 4. At least, that's the way I see it. :D
 

Noose

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2016
5,096
932
113
#18
That is an interesting question, and it puzzled me for a moment. I think the solution to understanding it is that there are many ways to get the answer four. One can divide eight by two or divide twelve by three, for instance.

The focus of the equation is not how similar 2 and -2 are, but what are different ways to get 4. At least, that's the way I see it. :D
There are so many ways to get the value 4, but focusing on the value -2 and +2 and the expression/path multiplication- if the expression (multiplication) is constant and the values which are being multiplied by themselves are different, we can not have a result value that is similar in both equations.

Try a number line, it still doesn't work.
 

EarnestQ

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2016
2,588
311
83
#19
.5 * 8 = 4

and

-.5 * -8 =4


I still think the focus is on what you can multiply to get 4, not the curiosity that sometimes the factors look similar.

But this is just my opinion, and I really don't know what I am talking about. :eek:
 

EarnestQ

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2016
2,588
311
83
#20
... the values which are being multiplied by themselves are different, we can not have a result value that is similar in both equations.
Yes we can. That is my point. -2 and +2 are different values even though they look similar. We can multiply different values and still get 4.