Infinity can be “mind-boggling”, it is not a usual number,and it does not obey the arithmetic rules. Infinity is neither even, odd, nor both. The number infinity makes its own rules and does not conform to what simply “makes sense”. When dealing with the number of infinity and it’s abstract concept, the same parallels can be made with God. Not only the concept of an almighty being but developing a relationship.
Infinity is often times though of as another way of saying never-ending. God’s never-ending love was the connection I made with this number. I was unaware the term “infinity” was a number, nor did I know that people spent their entire lives studying it. I accepted the term for what it was, and it stayed in the realm of concepts beyond my understanding, similar to many details about God. I may never fully understand infinity, but that does not make it non-existent.
After reading an article on the wonders of the number infinity, it helped me better understand the numbers complexities: Infinity is a number that does not follow arithmetic rules (this way I can stop comparing it to other numbers like Natural or Real), infinity is neither even nor odd (there is no way for me to define it, or categorize it), and realizing that this number is what drove brilliant mathematicians all over crazy is comforting because it means I am not the only one struggling with this concept.
In relation to the concept of God, God is not a object, concept or idea of this world. God is a higher power that is not in the worldly realm. He is almighty, omniscient, and all powerful. God can not be put in a category, he is the creator of all and there is no way to measure his existence within the confines of science. the number of infinity drove brilliant mathematicians crazy because it did not fit into any form of testing, it did not follow nay of the rules, and it went against much of what they were taught. God is the same, he does not fit into the confines of testing, his wisdom is not of this world, and often times his will is the opposite of what the world teaches. Since God does not fit in the confines of science, it does not make him unreal. Just because he is not measurable does not disprove his existence.
Mathematics is the study of numbers, shapes, and distances. Math is a logical process that almost always consists of an answer. Math is meant to strengthen the mind’s critical thinking skills along with building muscle in the brain. I like to think of math as a workout for your brain. I would not consider math as “brain food” but more of a cardio workout for my mind. The same parallel is drawn for theology. Theology is not something that can be taught, developed and fully understood over night. It is the study of the nature of God and religious believes. Math has consistent answers in the same way theology does, just because they do not always make sense to you, or you do not always agree fully with them, it does not make them wrong.
Math and theology almost always have a correct answer, and I appreciate this. When learning and studying different subjects in school I like to have solid concrete answers and I know that there will be either a right answer or a wrong answer and very few in between. Math is a direct subject. It is more concrete and tangible.
Similar to the operations of math, God gives direct answers that can sometimes be challenging to swallow, however, there is very little in between. Just like the way math works, the more you practice the better you are. The more you dedicate time into your relationship with God, the more clear things become.
I do not enjoy sitting down practicing math problems over and over again. I do not enjoy struggling to solve a math problem, but these are two aspects of math that you must do in order to be successful and learn new material. Building a relationship with God is the same. In order to better understand your faith, and God, he wants us to put in the time and effort, the same as we would put into a friendship. He tries to make it as easy and relatable as possible for us. As much as I do not enjoy sitting down and practicing math problems, one after another, it is a very rewarding feeling to accomplish one and understand the flow of it. Math, like most things in life, to become successful at takes time and practice. Our relationship with God is the same, we must put in the time and dedication.
I feel the “play ground” so to speak, for math and God, is equal. Math is universal. God it universal. It is not like learning a foreign language or writing an essay, they are more direct and tangible! It just requires more tenacity.
Similar to gaining skills at math, developing a relationship with God takes devotion of time and practice, they are the two most important traits for becoming successful.
vendelaaguayo 
My thoughts on God align almost exactly with yours. I grew up in a family where God played a large role in a lot of the events that have gone on in my life. My grandpa recently passed away and so I looked to God to give me guidance and help me get through it. Death has always been something I have feared because it scares me that a life ends, but through my belief in God, I have come to understand that after death He is who we go back to, the one who created us.
Infinity has always been something I have had trouble understanding. The way I saw it was that is in unexplainable and therefore I would relate it to life after that on Earth, life with God. Infinity to me has always been something we don’t see and something we all have our own definition of because there is no concrete information on what it truly is; there are only explanations of what people believe it to be.
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I think this piece is thought provoking, but I object to the notion that math and theology are almost always right. I think you can place your faith in either, but theorems get disproved and biblical entries are not always factual. I think infinity is a really difficult concept to wrap your mind around it. It can’t be compared to natural or real numbers and yet it exists. The universe is expanding at an infinite level as every second passes. I think this piece is very well put, but I do think you can’t consider math and God to be on the same playing field. At some point faith only gets you so far. We may never understand infinity fully, and we need to be ok with that.
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This was a very interesting read and it really made me think! Math has always been among my favorite subjects. I’ve tried to wrap my head around the concept of infinity, but it is literally impossible to even think about something that is infinite. The amazing thing about math is that you can actually work with this idea of infinity and come to logical solutions. That’s why I loved the overall connection you made with math and spiritual ideas. The most interesting philosophical conversations I’ve seen about God have some sort of connection to this mathematical concept of infinity observed in our world, and I enjoyed the way you phrased much of this paper and the comparisons you made.
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I was a religious person myself, I often find it hard to rationalize the immense amount of gods love that exists in this world. However, I really like the way that you set this up. This posters are only informative, and the comforted me and my own insecurity is regarding science, God, love, and the world around me. I don’t necessarily have to understand everything word for word, but it’s a feeling that I have knowing the definition of things that can’t be defined. Thanks for this!
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