Math Moment: Math and Technology

We live in a society permitted with technology. From the time we wake up in the morning to the time we go to bed, we’re surrounded by technology…we’re using technology…we’re using products that were manufactured using technology…and most of the time we’re using it without even thinking about it. Yet it’s very existence is shouting out at us God’s faithfulness. To see how, let’s think through the process of developing technology.

Obviously, an airplane doesn’t just assemble itself, and this technology didn’t just appear. Men, including Wilbur and Orville Write, experimented over and over again to understand different aspects of God’s creation and figure out how to design a plane that would actually fly. Math is used a lot in airplane design–trying different wing lengths, building models, and so much more.

None of this would be possible, though, if creation weren’t consistent. Lift, gravity, and drag operate the same way day after day, year after year. In fact, we can use math to describe these consistencies of creation and to figure out how to design planes that will actually fly.

But imagine if gravity or lift changed every day. An airplane would fly one day and not the next!

Technology relies on a consistent creation. But why is creation consistent? Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3b). Jesus is the One upholding creation so consistently and so reliably that we can rely on gravity to work consistently and then design airplanes based on that. Technology is truly shouting out at us that God is faithful and we can trust Him.

A consistent creation by itself, though, doesn’t lead to airplanes. After all, airplanes don’t just assemble themselves; man has to have the ability to explore the consistency of creation and design planes. And we do! And the Bible gives us an answer as to why we do. It tells us that we’re made in God’s image. God gave us the ability to explore His handiwork and the task of subduing the earth and exercising dominion (Genesis 1:27-28). We use math in this process! You can’t get a degree in any field of science without a lot of math. Math helps us describe the consistencies of God’s creation.

From exploring the relationship between the power, voltage, and current flowing through an outlet, to the relationship between centripetal acceleration, velocity, and the radius being traveled, to that between the force, mass, and acceleration of a baseball, we use math to describe the consistencies all around us–consistencies that remind us that a faithful, never-changing Creator is upholding all things.

So next time you use technology, remember that God hasn’t changed. He doesn’t have good days and bad days like we do. We can always trust Him and everything He’s said in His Word, the Bible.

Reminder: Check out our math materials for curriculum and resources to help you teach math as a part of God’s creation.