whatismathreligion

      Mathematics has effected religion throughout the ages. God gave the
Israelites the land of Canaan as an inheritance. He said, “This land should not be
sold forever; for the land is mine, for ye are as strangers and sojourners with me.”
(Ex. 15:17-18). This made them stewards or caretakers of the land. Ever after, the
people of Israel were expected to use their possessions as a sacred trust. This
understanding applied to their property, their money, and everything else that they
treasured. All belonged to God, so math was used to determine their faithfulness.

    Jacob worked 14 years to pay the dowry for his two wives. He acquired a
fortune in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys by further labor (Gen. 29:30).
King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder who paid tribute to Jehoram, the king of
Israel - 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams annually (2Kin. 3:4). Solomontraded 20,000 kors of barley, 20,ppp baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil annuallyfor cedar, cypress, and algun timber from Lebanon (2Chr. 2:10).

      David paid 50 shekels of silver to Araunah the Jebusite for his threshing
floor, his oxen, and the instruments of threshing to make a sacrifice to the Lord.
Likewise, the Queen of Sheba gave Solomon a gift of 120 talents of gold (1Kin:
10:10). If we carefully examine scripture, we can see the transition from barter to
coinage. Joseph was sold for “twenty pieces of silver” to Ishmaelite traders (Gen.
37:28). This meant that the price was 20 shekels of silver by weight. The shekel was
a weight unit in the payment of silver.


       In the area of the Aegean Sea, a unit called a talent had the value of an ox
and became the standard. These ox-talents were pellets or ring of gold weighing 8.5
grams or .29 oz. A copper ingot of the same value weighted 25.5 kg or 60 lbs. God
decreed that “The shekel of the sanctuary” must be 20 gerahs (Num. 3:47). Since
God was the true king, His priest and prophets were guardians of the money
standards. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight or
in measure, ”wrote Moses. Honesty in weight and measures was even a part of
Israel’s law of holiness. The use of different weights was absolutely forbidden in
both the Law and the Prophets. (Deut. 25:13-16).


       Religious fees had to be paid. Math was used for this. The amount was
determined by the ritual service performed. If a man dedicated himself to the Lord
in a vow, the priest charged him according to his age. Males between 20 and 60
were charged 30 shekels.


      In the New Testament, a denaris was a soldier’s wage and worth about 44
cents today. It was the wage mentioned in the parable of the laborers in the
vineyard referred to Matthew 20:9-10. The coin was also used to pay tribute to the
emperor. Jesus recognized it as being Caesar’s due (Matt. 22:19-21). One of the
most famous givers in the New Testament was the poor window. She dropped two
lepta, which equaled one-sixteenth of a soldier’s daily pay. Judas Iscariot betrayed
Christ for 30 pieces of silver. While it is difficult to determine exactly what 30 pieces
of silver was worth. We know it was not a fortune.


      And finally, throughout the Bible until present day, believers have given a
tithe of their increase back to the Lord. The Bible teaches that a tithe is one-tenth.
The giving of a tithe is mans acknowledge that he is a steward of God’s creation. So
math has been used throughout the ages for believers to accomplish this, whether it
was giving a tenth of their crop, herd or money.


      The following is a brief chart of measurements used in Bible times:
Units of Weight
bekah, 1/2 shekel 1.9 gram .067 oz.
Shekel, 20 gerahs 3.8 gram .134 oz.
Talent, 3000 shekels 34.02 kg 75 lbs.

Units of Volume (Liquid)
log    .32 liter .67 pt.
Bath, ephah, 1/10 homer 37 liter 10 gal.
Cor (Kor), homer, 10 baths 370 liter 100 gal.

Units of Volume (Dry)
omer, 1/10 ephah 4 liter   .45 pk
lethech, 1/2 homer 200 liter 5 1/2 bu
cor (kor), homer 400 liter 11 bu
cab (kab)   2.2 liter 2 qt

      Math and religion give us a way to distinguish our lifestyles. Math effects the
decisions we make form time management to the amount of money we spend. It is
the basis of that, which makes up our economy, fields of engineering and science.
Religion effects the decisions we make concerning the path of our life. It’s
the choice to drink or not, or perhaps where to spend our Sunday mornings. It is
the basis of purpose for the people who choose to accept its teachings. There are no
exceptions. In this sense a homeless person could be compared in math to the
atheist in Religion. Both have little need for the subject it’s paired with. The
homeless or impoverished had no need for a watch or the knowledge of balancing
bills. The atheist refuses religious teaching and chooses to go on his own.