Christian Union: The Magazine Summer 2017 | Page 24

christian union universities
Science, Mathematics, and Christianity
Christian Union Ministry at Princeton Hosts Seminars, Lectures
by catherine elvy , staff writer
Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer
and physicist, once opined that mathe-
matics is the “language in which God has
written the universe.”
With that quotation as a launching point, a
Princeton University senior recently led a seminar
on behalf of Christian Union for students to probe
the idea that the field of mathematics reflects a divine
blueprint of the universe.
“Math seems to be incredibly powerful for de-
22
Also during April, students involved in Christian
Union’s Princeton ministry heard Hans Halvorson,
a noted Princeton philosophy professor, discuss the
topic of science and miracles.
On April 3, Halvorson, who serves in both Princ-
eton’s philosophy and mathematics departments,
delivered a lecture entitled: Is the Belief in Miracles
Ever Rational? Halvorson also participated in a robust
question-and-answer session.
On April 28, Christian Union Ministry Fellow
Matt O’Rourke ’17 led a seminar that explored how mathematics reflects divine patterns.
scribing God’s creation,” said Matt O’Rourke ’17.
“Physicists have thought this for a while. Nobody
really quite understands why.”
The physics major led the discussion on April
22 in East Pyne Hall as part of a series from Chris-
tian Union’s ministry at Princeton exploring the
relationship between Christianity and the sciences
and mathematics. The META initiative, which be-
gan in October, aimed to foster conversations on
Christianity and culture.
Kevin Antlitz gave a talk on Genesis during Chris-
tian Union’s leadership lecture series. Antlitz said he
launched the META initiative to provide student
believers with a forum to engage critical issues with-
in their cultural context. “I am passionate about
studying and exegeting culture in order to contex-
tualize the Gospel message so that it speaks to our
world today,” Antlitz said.
The students meet several times per semester to
discuss a wide range of topics relevant to culture,