Kate [Loop] Hannon
In my last post, I mentioned that math is the tool we use to explore God’s creation—that its very existence points us to the Creator, and that as we use it, we get to uncover pieces of God’s handiwork. Let’s take a quick look at a specific example: sunflowers.
Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers. They’re my favorite, not because of their colors or initial beauty, but because of the incredible testimony to God’s wisdom and care hidden inside—a testimony math helps us discover.
Take a close look at the seeds in the sunflower picture above. Notice that the seeds are arranged in spirals. Starting at the center, you can trace spirals to the right and to the left. If we were to count the number of spirals each direction and use math to look at the ratio between the number of spirals each direction, we’d find that, no matter the size of the sunflower, the ratio is always approximately the same: a number (known as the Golden Ratio) that rounds to 1.6.
Ready for the really amazing part? That ratio between the spirals enables the most number of seeds to fit in any given sunflower. In other words, God created sunflowers to reproduce in the most efficient way possible…and it’s math that helps us see that. God sure watches over the details, doesn’t He? And if He takes such care with the arrangement of seeds in a flower, just think of the care He takes over us.
“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30 (ESV)
Check back next month for another glimpse of math in creation…and please leave a comment below with your thoughts.
Learn more about the wonders of God’s design in Math with Katherine’s Materials below:
Get your copy of Revealing Arithmetic in the Creation Superstore!
For years, Christian math books have looked basically like secular textbooks, with the addition of a Bible verse here or there. Here, at last, is a book to help you transform your math class and show your child God’s handiwork in math!
Learn math that makes sense with the Principles of Mathematics Year 1 Set!
Math is a real-life tool that points us to God and helps us explore His creation, yet it often comes across as dry facts and meaningless rules. Here at last is a curriculum that has a biblical worldview integrated throughout the text and problems, not just added as an afterthought!
See more of her books and curriculum in the Creation Superstore HERE!
