Theology and Mathematics—Key Themes and Central Historical Figures

Abstract This article provides a survey of the history of the dialogue between the disciplines of mathematics and theology. It identifies three principal historical periods—the ancient, the scientific revolution, and modern. It identifies five key themes—the ontological status of mathematics; mathematics as a bridge to a noumenal world; God's relationship to the physical universe and how mathematics is part of this; truth—its nature, how we know it, certitude; and the role of mathematics in culture. The author develops these themes by exploring the thinking of several major historical figures.