Precalculus for Christian Schools

Our own cinnamondog pointed me to a post (scroll down to Nov. 16) about yet another Christian math textbook, "Precalculus for Christian Schools" from the Godly folks at Bob Jones University.

If you’re curious what they’re teaching down there in Greenville, S.C., check out the Readings section of the December issue of Harper’s magazine. "Original Sine" is an excerpt from "Precalculus for Christian Schools," a textbook published by Bob Jones University. The book aims to help students “conform their thinking to biblical precepts.” Here are samples:

"Carl Friedrich Gauss first proved the fundamental theorem of algebra. There are many fundamental theorems: of arithmetic, calculus, and so on. These are so ‘fundamental’ that many other theorems are derived from them. In the Bible, there are also fundamentals, without which Christianity would not exist—the deity of Christ, His substitutionary atonement, and the inspiration of the Bible, to name a few."

"A line can be described either by its slope (a ratio) or by its inclination (an angle). These terms describe the deviation from the horizontal, but the word inclination also has a non-mathematical meaning. Without Christ, man is inclined to sin. The Word of God should shape our attitudes (inclinations)."

And finally, my favorite:

"If you are given the length of two sides and the angle measure opposite one of those sides, you can use the law of sines to solve the triangle. However, this does not always determine a unique triangle. As a result, it is called the ambiguous case. Ambiguous means open to multiple interpretations. Some people say that you can interpret the Bible in any way that you want. However, there is no ambiguity in the Bible."