Original Research

God becomes beautiful … in mathematics

Volker Kessler
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 74, No 1 | a4886 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4886 | © 2018 Volker Kessler | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 29 November 2017 | Published: 07 June 2018

About the author(s)

Volker Kessler, Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, University of South Africa, South Africa and Akademie für christliche Führungskräfte, Germany

Abstract

This article is transdisciplinary in that it touches on the disciplines of both mathematics and theology. It is about the mysterious link between truth and beauty in mathematics. It uses the theological pattern laid by the practical theologian Bohren in his book, God’s Becoming Beautiful. Mathematics can be seen as science or art. I argue that in both cases, we could conclude that God becomes beautiful in mathematics. This leads to the observation that there is some spirituality in mathematics. This insight might also have practical implications for mathematics education in schools.

Keywords

Truth; beauty; mathematics; spirituality; aesthetics; practical theology

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Crossref Citations

1. God, the beautiful and mathematics: A response
Peter-Ben Smit, Rianne de Heide
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 77  issue: 4  year: 2021  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v77i4.6208