Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian beliefs on the subject.
In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic". Despite this religious purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers had not disappeared; several numbers, such as the "Jesus number" have been commented and analyzed by Dorotheus of Gaza and numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek Orthodox circles. However, despite the church's resistance to numerology, there have been arguments made for the presence of numerology in the bible and religious architecture. For example, the numbers 3 and 7 hold strong spiritual meaning in the bible. Jesus asked God 3 times if he could avoid crucifixion and was crucified at 3 in the afternoon. 7 is the length of famine and other God-imposed events and is sometimes followed by the number 8 as a symbol of change. One example of this would be when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, Miriam was required to go in the wilderness alone for 7 days and on the 8th day to rejoin Exodus. Another example would be when Elijah commanded his servant Ahab to return to Mt. Camel 7 in times to search for a certain cloud and on the 8th time he found it. The Chartres Cathedral was built with numerological influences as well. The adopted motto, "assumptio virginis beats mariae" holds the gematriac number 306. 306 was the number of a leading dimension of its design in Roman feet. 306 divided by 2 is 153 which is the number of the fish making an allusion to the fish caught by Simon Peter. The freemasonry movement developed from elite groups of contracted builders who wished to keep the technological methods and sacred significance of cathedral building a secret.
Some alchemical theories were closely related to numerology. For example, Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan framed his experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the names of substances in the Arabic language.
Numerology is prominent in Sir Thomas Browne's 1658 literary Discourse The Garden of Cyrus. Throughout its pages the author attempts to demonstrate that the number five and the related Quincunx pattern can be found throughout the arts, in design, and in nature – particularly botany.
Modern numerology has various antecedents. Ruth A. Drayer's book, Numerology, The Power in Numbers (Square One Publishers) says that around the turn of the century (from 1800 to 1900 A.D.) Mrs. L. Dow Balliett combined Pythagoras' work with Biblical reference. Then on Oct 23, 1972, Balliett's student, Dr. Juno Jordan, changed Numerology further and helped it to become the system known today under the title "Pythagorean", although Pythagoras himself had nothing to do with the system. Dr. Jordan's work "The Romance in Your Name" provided a system for identifying what he called key numerological influences in one's name and birth date and remains used today. Subsequent 'numerologists' including Florence Campbell (1931), Lynn Buess (1978), Mark Gruner (1979), Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker (1979) Numerology and the Divine Triangle, Kathleen Roquemore (1985) expanded on the use of numerology for assessing personality or events. These different schools of numerology give various methods for using numerology, however the meaning of the 9 digits remains the same.
Australian philosopher David Stove pointed out different pseudoscientific beliefs, for example numerology and astrology, may be pathological in different ways. When critiquing such pseudoscientific beliefs, philosophers and scientists should take into account that the fallacies that give rise to the "particular awfulness" of one pseudoscientific belief may not be applicable to another.
In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic". Despite this religious purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers had not disappeared; several numbers, such as the "Jesus number" have been commented and analyzed by Dorotheus of Gaza and numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek Orthodox circles. However, despite the church's resistance to numerology, there have been arguments made for the presence of numerology in the bible and religious architecture. For example, the numbers 3 and 7 hold strong spiritual meaning in the bible. Jesus asked God 3 times if he could avoid crucifixion and was crucified at 3 in the afternoon. 7 is the length of famine and other God-imposed events and is sometimes followed by the number 8 as a symbol of change. One example of this would be when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, Miriam was required to go in the wilderness alone for 7 days and on the 8th day to rejoin Exodus. Another example would be when Elijah commanded his servant Ahab to return to Mt. Camel 7 in times to search for a certain cloud and on the 8th time he found it. The Chartres Cathedral was built with numerological influences as well. The adopted motto, "assumptio virginis beats mariae" holds the gematriac number 306. 306 was the number of a leading dimension of its design in Roman feet. 306 divided by 2 is 153 which is the number of the fish making an allusion to the fish caught by Simon Peter. The freemasonry movement developed from elite groups of contracted builders who wished to keep the technological methods and sacred significance of cathedral building a secret.
Some alchemical theories were closely related to numerology. For example, Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan framed his experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the names of substances in the Arabic language.
Numerology is prominent in Sir Thomas Browne's 1658 literary Discourse The Garden of Cyrus. Throughout its pages the author attempts to demonstrate that the number five and the related Quincunx pattern can be found throughout the arts, in design, and in nature – particularly botany.
Modern numerology has various antecedents. Ruth A. Drayer's book, Numerology, The Power in Numbers (Square One Publishers) says that around the turn of the century (from 1800 to 1900 A.D.) Mrs. L. Dow Balliett combined Pythagoras' work with Biblical reference. Then on Oct 23, 1972, Balliett's student, Dr. Juno Jordan, changed Numerology further and helped it to become the system known today under the title "Pythagorean", although Pythagoras himself had nothing to do with the system. Dr. Jordan's work "The Romance in Your Name" provided a system for identifying what he called key numerological influences in one's name and birth date and remains used today. Subsequent 'numerologists' including Florence Campbell (1931), Lynn Buess (1978), Mark Gruner (1979), Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker (1979) Numerology and the Divine Triangle, Kathleen Roquemore (1985) expanded on the use of numerology for assessing personality or events. These different schools of numerology give various methods for using numerology, however the meaning of the 9 digits remains the same.
Australian philosopher David Stove pointed out different pseudoscientific beliefs, for example numerology and astrology, may be pathological in different ways. When critiquing such pseudoscientific beliefs, philosophers and scientists should take into account that the fallacies that give rise to the "particular awfulness" of one pseudoscientific belief may not be applicable to another.