What do Christian fundamentalists have against set theory? | Hacker News Reader

What do Christian fundamentalists have against set theory?

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14 pointsichaib7 comments

Perhaps because I skim-read it, but I couldn't seem to find the part where he (i) actually found that Christian fundamentalists in general have something against set theory, and (ii) determined that it was their Christian fundamentalism and not some other factor that made them opposed to it. Instead, there was just a vague ramble about a particular publisher that doesn't like modernism. Reading this post felt a little reminiscent of the famous newspaper story: "SIXTY HORSES WEDGED IN CHIMNEY. The story to fit this sensational headline has not turned up yet."

He talked about how set theory can apply to sets of different infinities (e.g. sets of infinite whole numbers, sets of infinite rational numbers). This bumps into "There is only one infinity, and that is God".

There are multiple sets of infinite size. Lets take two: the set of all whole numbers (1,2,3,4...) and the set of even numbers (2,4,6,8...).

Now since the set of whole numbers contains the set of even numbers AND the set of odd numbers the set of whole numbers MUST be bigger than the set of even numbers. So now we know that there are different 'sizes' of infinite (when comparing sets of infinite things).

This leads to the dangerous thought that there might be something MORE infinite than God which is an abomination. Since only god is infinite.

This kind of logic makes me cry.

Actually, the set of all whole numbers and the set of even numbers are the same size, since you can construct a one-to-one mapping between them: n -> 2n.

Cantor famously showed that the set of rational numbers is the same size as the set of whole numbers. However, the set of real numbers can be proven to be larger than the set of integers.

Perhaps fundamentalists are proving the validity of evolutionary theory. Maybe they are a side branch of homo sapiens in which intelligence is curiously underdeveloped, that brain capacity being occupied by blind dogma and superstition. Due to interbreeding perhaps?

Positing that your ideological opponents are a subspecies of humanity. Classy.

One element in a large set, evaluated out of context, is not necessarily representative of all elements in the set.

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