Why Math Matters for Thinking Christians: 2021 Convocation Address

Posted on: September 8, 2021
By Web Master, umacs@ngu.edu

Many universities, including North Greenville $Dr. Fant giving a lecture$ , open the year with a convocation assembly. At most institutions, this means faculty members don their academic regalia and students gather alongside of them to hear a challenge from the university president. NGU holds chapel twice a week, with convocation serving as the first chapel of the academic year, marking the transition from orientations, meetings, and social connectedness to the serious work of academia. Normally NGU chapels are expositions of Scripture, often using what’s called the expository approach to a passage, but at convocation, I employ what’s sometimes called an academic sermon format, using Scripture as a framework to understand a concept that is rooted in a theological and philosophical grounding.

This year my address was on math—yes, a chapel message on math—and why it is important. At the root of the message is this question: “Why does 2+2=4 and why does that matter?” You can watch it or read a PDF of the manuscript to see why this is important for thinking Christians and why it’s important for students. You will hear a bit about my experience as a student in math classes and about the epiphanies I had about the importance of math and science along my own academic journey.

Fall 2020 – On the humanities and why the resurrection of Christ matters

I might also add that two previous convocation addresses are available:

These are loosely based on sections of my book The Liberal Arts: A Student’s Guide (Crossway 2012), available almost anywhere books are sold, including Lifeway and Amazon.