04/06/2023 ****************************************************** I read an article a long time ago, that said that Mathematicians were twice as likely to believe in God and have strong religious beliefs as other technical people, like Engineers and Scientists. That makes total sense to me. Scientists spend their lives studying the physical world looking for recurring patterns, so called laws of nature. Engineers apply these laws to create useful processes and machines to make our lives better. They concentrate on the physical world. In the physical world everything essentially has mass and occupies space. Everything is made out of physical stuff. On the contrary, mathematical objects have NO mass and do NOT occupy any space. Mathematicians study numbers, points, planes, circles, squares, rectangles, triangles among many other abstract ideas. None of these exist in the physical world, but would anybody argue that triangles don't exist? Mathematicians have no problem believing in these things. Take the concept of infinity, nothing in the physical world is certain to be infinite. Some believe space is, but we don't really know that for certain - we can only see out a finite, though very large, distance. Yet Mathematicians use infinity all the time. Engineers often apply mathematical ideas to their work, take for example an old fashioned railway trestle (bridge) to see the repeated use of the triangular shape. I am not arguing that any of this proves the existence of God, merely that it makes sense to me that Mathematicians are more likely to believe in it. If you only ever look at the physical world, you will likely only ever see the physical world. *********** The Christian faith is pretty well summed up in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Mathew chapters 5 through 7 (and parallel verses in the Gospel of Luke 6:20–49). From Mathew 5-7 38 'You have heard how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. 39 But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; 43 'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. 44 But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. 1 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged; 2 because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the standard you use will be the standard used for you. 12 'So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the Prophets. From Luke 6:20–49 27 'But I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. 31 Treat others as you would like people to treat you. 35 ... love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.' I John 4:7-8 My dear friends, let us love one another, since love is from God and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love." *********** Much like Engineers applying Mathematical and Scientific ideas to make a better world, Christians should apply our beliefs onto the world around us to make it a better place for all. Just my opinion you don't have to agree :-) Either way, Happy Easter! And Stay Jazzed! --Tom Swezey ...