What Does Calculus Have to Do With Christianity?

1. What Does Calculus Have to Do With Christianity? Robert J. Marks II, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Baylor University Robert_Marks@Baylor.edu

2. Abstract Isaac Newton - the father of classical physics and co-creator of calculus; Michael Faraday - the founder of electrical engineering; Blaise Pascal - mathematician extraordinaire and inventor of the first computer; George Washington Carver – the “father of the peanut”; Louis Pasteur – the father of microbiology, Thomas Bayes - the founder of statistical inference, James Clerk Maxwell, the formulator of electromagnetics, and on and on.  We know these and other great scientists and mathematicians have made monumental contributions to knowledge.  We know what they did but, typically, not who they were nor what motivated their work. These extraordinary researchers, and others, were heavily motivated by a desire to uncover the beauty and order in a universe they believe was created by God.  Some today suggest that serious research and belief in God mix like the components of an off shore oil spill when, in truth, the two efforts can be wonderfully complementary. Indeed, both today and in history, numerous scientists, mathematicians and engineers are motivated in their work by the uncovering of the precise orderliness, underlying simplicity, and inherent beauty of God's creations.  Many not only study the creation, but have pursued the identity of the Creator and have found Him in the foundational tenets of Christianity.

3. How does God belong in the research and teaching equations? e.g. “What role does Christianity play in teaching calculus?” Dr. Kent Gilbreath, Professor of Economics, Stevens Chairholder of Private Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Baylor University, quoted in “Baylor alumni, faculty resisting new direction: President's Vision 2012 sees restored Christian university” by Mark Lisheron, Austin-American Statesman, August 3, 2003

4. Some Stronger Quotes… “Christian theism must be rejected by any person with even a shred of respect for reason” George H. Smith, Atheist Philosopher “[Bible miracles] are very effective with an audience of unsophisticates and children” Richard Dawkins. “Faith is when you believe something no one in their right mind believes.” Archie Bunker

5. Consider, then: What motivates research at the Academy? • Seeking Truth? • Seeking the definition of Truth?

6. And/Or…Seeking Fame? Seeking Fame? Illustration (a real e-mail)... To: marks@u.washington.edu From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Beller medal Dear Bob: I am attaching a file that gives a short list of my contributions to optical science and education. If you feel that I qualify as a candidate for the Esther Hoffman Beller Medal, I would very much appreciate and be honored by a letter from you on my behalf for this medal. Please note that the letter must be at OSA by Oct. 1. The address is: Optical Society of America Communications Dept. MS 112, 2010 Massachusetts Avenus. [sic], NW Washington, DC 20036-1023 Fax: 202-416-6134 awards@osa.org I thank you in advance. Attachment Converted: ":Proposed Candidate for the Esther Hoffman Beller Medal.doc"

7. e-mail from an IEEE* Professional Society governing board concerning actions of an Awards Committee … “I have never known an awards committee where the members grant each other the awards/medals. I don't contest that the committee members are not deserving of an award, but the mere fact of serving on a selection committee should exclude one from receiving the awards being distributed.” The Awards Committee was giving their members awards! *IEEE = The Institute of Electronic & Electrical Engineers is the world’s largest professional society with membership in excess of 350,000.

8. “Some non–scientist Christians, when they meet a Christian, will call on to debate evolution. That is definitely the wrong thing to do. If you know what problems scientists have in their lives—pride, selfish ambition, jealousy—that's exactly the kind of thing Jesus Christ said that He came to resolve by His death on the cross. Science is full of people with very strong egos who get into conflict with each other. The gospel is the same for scientists as it is for anyone. Evolution is basically a red herring; if scientists are looking for meaning in their lives, it won't be found in evolution. I have never met a non–Christian who brought up evolution with me.” John Suppe, Member of the U.S. Academy of Sciences, Professor of geology at Princeton

9. The Modesty of the Academician U.S. News & World Report reports a poll of university professors found that 94% of the respondents thought they were better at their jobs than their average colleague. U.S. News & World Report 16 Dec 96 p26

10. What motivates research at the Academy for some? Truth, fame, and/or … What motivates research at the Academy? …Seeking God

11. Battle? . U.S. News & World Report 16 Dec 96 p26 Is there not a battle between Science and Religion?

12. The HISTORY OF SCIENCE Says Different Archaeology is “forced to tell us that several great civilizations have arisen and vanished without the benefit of a scientific philosophy” Loren Eiseley, (1907-1977) Essayist, Philosopher, Literary Naturalist.

13. HISTORY OF SCIENCE… “… the Christian world … gave birth in a clear, articulate fashion to the experimental method of science itself.” Loren Eiseley, “Darwin’s Century” (Garden City, NY, Doubleday, 1958, Doubleday Anchor Books, 1961), p.62.

14. HISTORY OF SCIENCE “… Hebrew and Christian belief in a deity who was at once a Creator and Law-giver rendered … [the idea of the ‘laws of nature’] valid.” A.R. Hall, Historian

15. 1. In Science & Math, Researchers see the Beauty of Creation. The Beauty of Creation 2. Some believe in a Creator of this beauty.

16. Motivation? • Premise #1: Some Scientists, Engineers and Mathematicians embrace a belief in God. Motivation for research, in certain cases, stems in part from their curiosity of discovering God’s creation and the awe and remarkable beauty of the relationships they uncover. “Science brings man nearer to God” Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (John Hudsion Tiner, Louis Pasteur - Founder of Modern Medicine, Milford, MI: Mott Media, Inc., 1990, p.75.)

17. “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Into his tiniest creatures, God has placed extraordinary properties ...” Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) John Hudsion Tiner, Louis Pasteur - Founder of Modern Medicine, Milford, MI: Mott Media, Inc., 1990, p.75.) • “God is going to to reveal to us things He never revealed before if we put our hands in His.” George Washington Carver (1865-1943) (who named his laboratory God’s Little Workshop.) Ethel Edwards, Carver of Tuskegee (Cincinnati, Ohio; Ethyl Edwards & James T. Hardwick, 1971) pp.141-42.

18. 2. Isaac Newton The father of classical physics. Co-Discoverer of Calculus 13. Louis Pasteur The father of microbiology 61. Michael Faraday The father of electrical engineering Biography’s Top 100 Persons of the Millennium 1. Gutenberg, Johann 2. Newton, Isaac 3. Luther, Martin 4. Darwin, Charles 5. Shakespeare, William 6. Columbus, Christopher 7. Marx, Karl 8. Einstein, Albert 9. Copernicus, Nicolaus 10. Galileo Galilei 11. Da Vinci, Leonardo 12. Freud, Sigmund 13. Pasteur, Louis 14. Edison, Thomas 15. Jefferson, Thomas 16. Hitler, Adolf 17. Gandhi, Mahatma 18. Locke, John 19. Michelangelo 20. Smith, Adam 21. Washington, George 22. Khan, Genghis 23. Lincoln, Abraham 24. Aquinas, St. Thomas 25. Watt, James 26. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeu 27. Bonaparte, Napolean 28. Bach, Johann Sebastian 29. Ford, Henry 30. Beethoven, Ludwig Von 31. Watson & Crick 32. Descartes, Rene 33. King, Martin Luther Jr. 34. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 35.Lenin, Vladimir 36. Fleming, Alexander 37.Voltaire 38.Bacon, Francis 39.Alighieri, Dante 40.Wright Brothers 41.Gates, Bill 42.Mendel, Gregor 43.Mao, Zedong 44. Bell, Alexander Graham 45. William the Conqueror 46.Machiavelli, Niccolo 47. Babbage, Charles 48. Wollstonecraft, Mary 49. Gorbachev, Mikhail 50.Sanger, Margaret 51. Jenner, Edward 52. Churchill, Winston 53. Curie, Marie 54.Polo, Marco 55. Magellan, Ferdinand 56.Stanton, Elizabeth 57. Presley, Elvis 58.Joan of Arc 59. Kant, Immanuel 60. Roosevelt, Franklin D. 61. Faraday, Michael 62. Disney, Walt 63.Austen, Jane 64.Picasso, Pablo 65. Heisenberg, Werner 66.Griffith, D.W. 67.Zworykin, Vladimir 68. Franklin, Benjamin 69.Harvey, William 70. Pope Gregory Vll 71.Tubman, Harriet 72.Bolivar, Simon 73.Princess Diana 74.Fermi, Enrico 75.Pincus, Gregory 76.The Beatles 77.Hobbes, Thomas 78. Isabella 79. Stalin, Joseph 80. Elizabeth I 81.Mandela, Nelson 82. Bohr, Neils 83. Peter the Great of Russia 84.Marconi, Guglielmo 85. Reagan, Ronald 86. Joyce, James 87. Carson, Rachel 88.Oppenheimer, Robert J. 89.Anthony, Susan B. 90. Daguerre, Louis 91.Spielberg, Steven 92. Nightingale, Florence 93.Roosevelt, Eleanor 94. Patient Zero 95. Chaplin, Charlie 96.Caruso, Enrico 97.Salk, Jonas 98. Armstrong, Louis 99.Da Gama, Vasco 100. Suleiman I Blaise Pascal The father of computer engineering James Clerk Maxwell The founder of electromagnetics Thomas Bayes The founder of statistical inference http://www.biography.com/features/millennium/index.html

19. Newtonian Physics Quantum Theory (very small) Relativity (very big) Sir Isaac Newton(1642-1727) “...one of the greatest names in the history of human thought”

20. Sir Isaac Newton(1642-1727) • Newton’s Contributions • Newtonian Physics • The Calculus • Law of Universal Gravitation • Optics • ReflectingTelescope • White light components “In late editions of his scientific works he [Newton] expressed a strong senseof God's providential role in nature.” Microsoft Encarta. http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/newtlife.html

21. Namesakes • Newtonian Physics • Apple’s Newton • Newtonian constant of gravitation = 6.672 59 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 • Newton (mks unit of force) • Newton’s rings • Newton Optimization

22. God observed in nature... “[The] beautiful system of the the sun, planets and comets could only proceed from the councel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” Isaac Newton Newton’s Philosophy of Nature: Selections From His Writings (Hafner Publishing, 1953)

23. From Opticks by Isaac Newton(still in print!) “God in the beginning formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, moveable particles, of such sizes and figures, and with other such properties, and in such proportion to space, as most conduced to the end for which He formed them.” • “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

24. Newton on Atheism Newton on Atheism “Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors.” Isaac Newton quoted from Newton’s Philosophy of Nature: Selections From His Writings (Hafner Publishing, 1953)

25. Michael Faraday(1791-1867) “Michael Faraday's scientific work laid the foundations of all subsequent electro-technology.” Lenore Symons, IEE Senior Archivist http://www.iee.org.uk/publish/faraday/faraday1.html • The Father of ElectricityFaraday’s Contributions • Faraday’s Law • Discovered electromagnetic induction: generators, motors & transformers. • The Faraday Effect A magneto-optic effect in which the polarization plane of an electromagnetic wave is rotated under the influence of a magnetic field parallel to the direction of propagation. • Discovered Benzene

26. Michael Faraday... • Build first practical electric motor. • Coined the terms • electrode, • anode, • cathode • electronic Namesakes • Farad = unit of capacitance • Faraday’s constant = F=96 485.309 C mol-1

27. “Later, having escaped the Nazis, Einstein again displayed a large portrait of Faraday - this time in his Princeton study.” Michael Faraday: Father of Electronics, Ludwig Charles, 1978, Herald Press, Scottsdale, PA. Albert Einstein “Albert Einstein... was a devoted admirer of Faraday. While still in Berlin, … [he] kept a large portrait of Faraday in his study.

28. “[Faraday’s] standard of duty was supernatural. It was formed entirely on what he held to be the revelation of the will of God in the written word, and throughout all his life his faith led him to act ... to the the very letter of it.” Dr Bence Jones "The Life and Letters of Faraday”. See also http://www.iee.org.uk/publish/faraday/faraday2.html

29. Faraday & AWARDS • Did Faraday seek fame? • Faraday was offered and refused the Presidency of the Royal Society. He responded no… "I must remain plain Michael Faraday to the very last."

30. Thomas Bayes (1702 – 1761) Bayes Theorem • Baysian Inference: Making classifications using an historical data base. • Foundation of most modern e-mail spam filters. Thomas Bayes, Divine Benevolence,1731, and D.R. Bellhouse, “The Reverend Thomas Bayes FRS: a Biography to Celebrate the Tercentenary of his Birth” <http://www.stats.uwo.ca/faculty/bellhouse/bayesbiog.pdf>

31. Thomas Bayes (1702 – 1761) • Reverend Bayes was a pastor of the Presbyterian Chapel in Tunbridge Wells, 35 miles southeast of London. • Bayes didn’t bother to publish his mathematical work. It was all published posthumously. Bayes was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1742 having no published works on mathematics. Bayes did publish about his faith. “God always does that which is right and fit, and that all his moral attributes, [namely] justice, truth, faithfulness, mercy, patience, [etc.] are but so many different modifications of rectitude.” Thomas Bayes, “Divine Benevolence”, 1731. D.R. Bellhouse, “The Reverend Thomas Bayes FRS: a Biography to Celebrate the Tercentenary of his Birth” <http://www.stats.uwo.ca/faculty/bellhouse/bayesbiog.pdf>

32. James Clerk Maxwell Maxwell’s Equations On an Electrical Engineering Student’s T-Shirt... And God said... and there was light.

33. “The formulation of these [Maxwell’s] equations is the most important event since Newton’s time” Albert Einstein • “Was it a god who wrote these lines…” Ludwig Boltzmann – Nobel prize winner in Physics - on Maxwell’s equations (quoting a line from Goethe). Quotes… • “To anyone who is motivated by anything beyond the most narrowly practical, it is worth while to understand Maxwell’s equations simply for the good of his soul” J.R. Pierce, Electrons, Waves and Messages, Hanover House, 1956. • “[Maxwell’s equations] can be appreciated, by those who understand them, on an aesthetic level.” Halliday & Resnick, Physics II, Wiley (1962) – a widely used undergraduate Physics text.

34. James Clerk Maxwell “As with Faraday, his profound investigations into nature were concomitant with deep religious reverence for nature’s cause.” Sir Joseph Larmor in the Biographical Notes to: James Clerk Maxwell, Matter and Motion, (Dover, 1991).

35. “The only desire which I can ...have is, like David, to serve my own generation by the will of God, and then fall asleep.” Maxwell (near death). Lewis Campbell & William Garnet, The Life of James Clerk Maxwell, London 1882, p.309 “I believe ... that ‘Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever’.” James Clerk Maxwell Ian HutchinsonMIT IAP Seminar: The Faith of Great Scientists, Jan 98

36. Dimitri Egorov • Egorov worked on triply orthogonal systems and potential surfaces and made major contribution to differential geometry. • Egorov also worked on integral equations and a theorem in the theory of functions of a real variable is named after him Born: 22 Dec 1869 in Moscow, RussiaDied: 10 Sept 1931 in Kazan, USSR • In 1923 Egorov was elected president of the Moscow Mathematical Society • In 1923 Egorov became director of the Institute for Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Egorov.html

37. Dimitri Egorov • The Church was repressed after the revolution. Egorov defended them. In 1922-23 and again in 1928, clergy were executed in mass. • Egorov tried to prevent the attempt to impose Marxist ideology on scientists. • In 1929 Egorov was dismissed as director of the Institute for Mechanics and Mathematics and given a public rebuke. • Egorov was arrested as a "religious sectarian" and put in prison. An "Initiative group" took over the Society in November 1930. They expelled Egorov denouncing him as “a reactionary and a churchman.” • Egorov went on a hunger strike in prison and eventually died. http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Egorov.html

38. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) • Kepler’s Laws 1. The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse. http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/docs/scientists.html http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/kepler.html

39. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) • Kepler’s Laws http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/docs/scientists.html http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/kepler.html

40. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) • Kepler’s Laws III. The ratio of the squares of the revolutionary periods for two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their semimajor axes. http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/docs/scientists.html http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/kepler.html

41. Johannes Kepler • “Throughout his life, Kepler was a profoundly religious man. All his writings contain numerous references to God, and he saw his work as a fulfilment of his Christian duty to understand the works of God. Man being, as Kepler believed, made in the image of God, was clearly capable of understanding the Universe that He had created. Moreover, Kepler was convinced that God had made the Universe according to a mathematical plan.” • “When asked: Why do you do science?", Kepler answered that he desired in his scientific research to obtain a sample test of the delight of the Divine Creator in his work and to partake of his joy.” http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/docs/scientists.html http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Kepler.html

42. PASCAL: a high level programming language designed by Niklaus Wirth in 1974 as a teaching language for computer scientists. • Pascal’s Law: the pressure in a fluid is transmitted equally to all distances and in all directions. (hydraulics!) • PASCAL: A unit of pressure. 1 bar equals 100,000 Pascal • Pascal’s triangle. Blaise Pascal(1623-62) Blaise Pascal (1623-62) Blaise Pascal(1623-62)

43. Pascal: Computer Engineer • In 1642, Pascal began to create a machine that would be similar to an everyday calculator to help his father with his accounting job. • He finished the final model in 1645. • He presented one to Queen Christina of Sweden and he was allowed a monopoly over it by royal decree. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/index.html

44. Pascal: the Mathematician http://www.norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us/project/pascal/blaise3.htm

45. Pascal’s Triangle Pascal's Triangle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 1 4 6 4 1 1 5 10 10 5 1 1 6 15 20 15 6 1 1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1 ...

46. Pascal & AWARDS “Fame is so sweet that we love anything we connect with it, even death.” Blaise Pascal (Pensees)

47. Why do we watch a lot of TV, Monday night football & play computer games?Pascal’s thoughts... “Man finds nothing so intolerable as to be in a state of complete rest, without passions, without occupation, without diversion, without effort. Then he faces his nullity, loneliness, inadequacy, dependence, helplessness, emptiness. And at once there wells up from the depths of his soul boredom, gloom, depression, chagrin, resentment, despair.”

48. Pascal’s Thoughts ...there are two ways people avoid thinking about such matters: diversion and indifference. Regarding diversion, Pascal says we fill up our time with activities to avoid facing the truth of our state. “The natural misfortune of our mortality and weakness is so miserable, that nothing can console us when we really think about it.... The only good thing for man, therefore, is to be diverted so that he will stop thinking about his circumstances.” http://www.probe.org/docs/pascal.html

49. Nirvana’s Curt Cobain offers a Translation of Pascal: “With the lights out it's less dangerous “Here we are now. Entertain us.” … “The denial, the denial, the denial, the denial, …” Smells like Teen Spirit Nirvana

50. Were all motivated by belief in God? Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827). Laplace transform Laplace Noise Laplace helped to establish the metric system.