Art is I, Science is We

School Truth & Transformation / Speaker: Derek Chignell / Science & Technology in Mission Context

Blessing arrives in unimaginable ways. Most of the times we truly don't even know what we long for until it arrives. 

Derek Chignell, a biochemist with research interests in proteins and nucleic acids. He has worked in the UofN’s Faculty of Science and Technology since 2004 and in recent years has been directing the Water for Life Institute, which assists communities around the world in finding answers to their water needs. He is an activator, a challenger of the times, a lover of Jesus and a true believer we human beings are made in Gods image in creativity to develop solutions for the present problems for all spheres. 

He spoke to us about Scientism v/s Biblicism. This wrong idea that they have answers for everything when they actually don't. Theology motivates and gives meaning to science. Science clarifies and sharpens theology. Science theories are living things that stand or falls with their evidence but gives us a reference point to advance.

He made us travel through technology to the inner and farthest point of human beings. Contemplate the beauty and mysteries of creation left us amazed in wonder. Think in a creator behind the scene that is continuously giving us purpose and meaning to all existence. We are not meant to see and understand it all, but we can pursue searching truth and answers to make a better living for all beings. Derek challenged us to think outside the box and not inside religion. There is territory to conquer for Gods glory, and this won´t happen if we don´t step out our comfort thinking zone. He pushed us to recognize what is behind our beliefs, and why we believe in what we believe. Gain knowledge, eliminate confusion, gain empathy through better understanding another’s view, to influence/alter someone else’s opinion/view, to strengthen relationships, to stimulate creativity and idea generation, to stimulate creativity and idea generation, to gain a person’s attention, to solve a problem, to reach agreement or to “agree to disagree” with clarity.

"Information can tell us everything. It has all the answers. But they are answers to questions we have not asked, and which doubtless don't even arise."

Derek made us dive into the worldwide gamma of drugs that humans consume all around the world. He showed us how they actually work for beneficial purposes or destroy human systems, in the case of abuse. He demonstrated through explanations and drawings how our body responds and works everytime we consume a drug to make normalize ourselves or the opposite, showing the behavior of our nervous system when it is affected in an improper way. The messages we transmit from our brain to the rest of our body and vice versa with healthy v/s abusive patterns in our body system.

He made it clear that there is a great need in the pharmaceutical industry because they are making medicines for the developing world and not for the needs of the world. Also, he made us think about the possibility of legalizing all drugs establishing rules and programmes that we would have to develop if so. It was a great exercise to think outside the box with a matter that seemed impossible to look at differently. For my surprise, I found so many good arguments to make me want to legalize it with just one hour of diving in the problem, studying Portugal and some other facts. I don´t want to say now I want to legalize drugs, but I think that as followers of Christ, we have to learn to not be afraid to think deeper and wider to apply wisdom and knowledge in a fallen world that cries for help.

What caught my attention is the freedom and creativity that I breathed this week, due to a deep and serious thought, without judgments, but with responsibility without fear of making a mistake to find the best solutions to the way we face the needs of the world.

"Science is a way to know about our universe. God spoke into the creation and now he is speaking through creation to the Nations. Creation is not perfect because of sin. God speaks to us in many different ways. Through human history, through culture, reason, our experience, our inner voice, nature through the word he reached us. Science shows up though revelation (being discovered), the incarnation (made by people) and by an application (helping people)." paraphrasing Derek Chignell

"One man, eager to praise his Creator by uncovering new knowledge about created things, brought about a permanent revolution in agriculture and medicine, as well as in pure science." Gregor Mendel, a pioneer in genetics.