The dangers of maths, science and philosophy

Reason is one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon humanity. Inductive and abductive reasoning allow us to form hypotheses based on experimental data, while deductive reasoning produces certain conclusions for us, once given specified axioms. This desire to spot patterns, to abstract in pursuit of acquiring knowledge, and to discern the nature of our Universe is arguably what separates us from other animals. Without it humanity would lack maths, philosophy and science.

Given I am a maths undergraduate, I hope you know that I believe in the importance of formal reason.

So why the title? Anyone who has dabbled in maths or philosophy for any serious amount of time has surely asked themselves whether there exists anything beyond formal logic. It is not inconceivable that everything can be explained by acquisition of knowledge and application of reason. Maths and science seem able to explain most strictly physical phenomena, and it is not a huge intellectual leap to presume that properties like morals, beauty and love can be similarly explained by deduction.

I was going to embark on a comprehensive ten-part blog series titled "A case for the existence of God." and had it all planned out. Definitions, epistemology, then evidence split into empirical, deductive, inductive, abductive, historical, testimonial, existential and personal. The idea was to create a solid but accessible whistle-stop tour through all of the evidence I could find to support the Christian world view.

Then I did some reasoning. If I fail then then this would clearly be a waste of time. So suppose I succeed. But the surely all I have achieved is placing a brick onto a metaphorical tower of Babel. Logic has its place, and I certainly find God tangibly present in mathematics (with the exception of suffix notation) but when the purpose of the logic is to define and hunt down God in an attempt to coerce Him into necessary existence we are surely trying to make our own way to Him.

Not that proving the rationality of believing in God would somehow grant us grace, but it certainly would make acceptance of salvation nothing more than a logical decision. We all know that we will never reach heaven by bricks and cement, nor by observation and reason. Further, in the light of this, neither should the pursuit of such a goal be our primary purpose.

The great thing about faith is the sure certainty that what we believe is true. Why would anyone worry about proving the mathematical certainty of a close friends existence? Much less should we feel anxious about the lack of proof that our Father, Lord, and Saviour whom we are in continuous relationship with actually exists.

If we ever dabble in such reasoning, it should be with the aim of discovering what we have been allowed to glimpse of Gods glory and splendour in this life. Much in the same way that one can seek out waterfalls, mountains and rainbows because their inherent beauty affirms ones view that the world was divinely created, rather than because the water, rocks and wave-properties of light themselves prove anything about Gods existence.

The danger is that reason, pursuit of truth, and science can all too easily become idols. We can place them at a higher priority than the one whom we think we are pursuing. The means becomes the end and suddenly the intellectual quest to pin God down overshadows the desire to glorify Him. The Bible warns of this distorting of priorities, with the tower of Babel being the most potent reminder that we are not attempt to reach heaven with our own strength.

What aspect of life should we boast in then, if not our achievements in science and abstract thought?
Paul has this to say in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians:

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise

    and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

So mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists need to think very carefully before they brag about how much humanity knows about the world. The entirety of human knowledge is like a faint scattering of breadcrumbs leading to a banquet, and to be satisfied with half a handful of dirty crumbs is to do yourself an injustice!

Instead we should all rejoice in the amazing things we can discover in this life, but only because they show us just how incomparably beautiful the real thing is going to be. As opposed to pondering how much a particular experience or curiosity actually means as far as reasoning God into existence goes, when we gaze in awe at a sunset or at the intricacies of the Mandelbrot set, the correct response is surely to simply delight in the magnificence of God's creation!

' “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. '    - Isaiah 55:8-9

Quite frankly, God is not biased towards the intellectually minded. We do not need to understand the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning to be saved - thank God. Reason is not what saves us. It is neither necessary, nor often particularly helpful, when coming to believe in God. Before we received any formal education we already had been exposed to enough of Gods creation that we could know in our hearts that He exists;

' 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. '  - Romans 1.

If you want convincing that God exists, why settle for a logical, historical, or scientific argument? Far more inspiring to ask God to reveal Himself to you as you explore some fractal geometry, read the Bible, or take a late night walk in the park. 

Michaelmas Term 2014

I'm back! The nine weeks of clubbing with strangers, vomiting in friends bathrooms, and nervous breakdowns in the Library are finally drawing to a close.

Okay, I'll admit the only times I have ever stepped foot in a nightclub have been when there's been a church service on, but I have spent a lot of time in the Library. And even felt nervous once when someone approached me with social intent. So all in all, a pretty wild term.

Time for a look back. What has happened? Expectations vs Reality. Helpfully I wrote a blog post about my expectations the week prior to leaving to go to University so this exercise is at least partially objective. Though said post is my least viewed blog to date. So if you could check that out. That'd be great.

Freshers week was pretty much as expected. There was less pressure to drink than I imagined, but it was also harder to decline alcohol than I envisioned, which was disconcerting. The workload definitely took a couple of week to get going, contrary to what I feared. But weeks four to six were more intense than I foresaw. Having said that, I love maths enough to find the long hours very enjoyable and it's been great to make friends with those with a similar passion to me.

I had the impression, as surely most prospective undergraduates do, that I would be actively involved in a range of societies, ranging from - in my case - chess and CU, to rowing and running. It didn't happen. Christian activities took up a good 15 hours a week and on top of that I really only had time for casual socialising (lol, jokes) and a bit of running. Oh, and I still played my geetar quite a lot.

Though I love my course, by far the most exciting thing about my "University experience" is what God is doing in Cambridge. It was so clear to everyone in my friendship group on results day that God was sending us to our respective Universities with specific plans for each of us, and that He had us where He wanted us. That has continued to ring true for me ever since then and though that has at times been hard to accept, it has given me confidence and assurance when things have become difficult.

There are so many undergraduates at Jesus college, and indeed it seems at most colleges, that are strongly rooted in Christ which is so inspiring! The talks at the inter-collegiate Christian Union meetings have been exemplary and it's been great to hear about CICCUs heritage. We had a great Jesuan turnout to the (monthly premature) Christmas service which was great to see, especially has the speaker made the point of preaching Christ crucified. Everyone seems very open to discussing "the big questions" and the academic environment appears to stimulate, rather than stifle, this curiosity.

The geographically oscillatory nature of a students life is difficult to get used to, but it is an opportunity to become resilient, adaptable and faith-filled. It also is teaching me to not take anything, or indeed anybody, for granted. Which is probably a good lesson to learn. Students (myself included) can often feel on top of the world when in reality they are simply focused on the fleeting in a destructive way, so I'll end with a brilliantly sobering passage from James 4. 

"13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."