Integrating my academic discipline with my walk with Christ often proves more difficult than the task of identifying myself as a Christ-follower to colleagues and students.
At first, I just hadn’t thought about connecting my faith in Jesus to my work in human physiology.
The Wonder of Complexity
As I thought deeply about this and prayed for insight, I saw the complexity of the human body—and such high complexity pointed to a very intelligent designer. God’s design of the human body is far superior to anything humans could have designed themselves. We’ve tried, but our smartest folks have not developed a heart anywhere near as perfect as the one God designed. And when I think about hips, knees, ankles, kidneys, and even teeth, I stand amazed at the superiority of design that exceeds human wisdom or science. I was also humbled that we know very little about the human body.
Science, I found, did not make us smarter; it simply illustrated how much more we did not know. I love that scientists are in no danger of working ourselves out of business. We know more today than ever before, but we also now have more research questions than ever before in the history of the world.
As I study more and more, I see God’s work more clearly. I see his wisdom and cleverness in human physiology. Integrating my academic discipline with my walk with Christ became increasingly revealing.
A friend of mine once said that perhaps God gave me a love for my particular academic discipline because he wants to use me and it to bring change to the world.
I’m finding that true.
Developing a Talk Based on My Discipline
At my mentor’s suggestion, I developed a presentation on God’s design in human physiology. I entitled it, “Evidence of God in Human Physiology.” This talk was the first of several that I’ve given over the years. I’ve also found it an inviting challenge to integrate science and faith without inviting hostility from secular audiences.
Now, as I help other faculty and my students integrate their Christian faith with their disciplines, I encourage them to ask God to open their eyes to God’s revelation within that field. Matthew 7 talks about knocking, seeking, and finding. So now I approach God in prayer to help me seek and find the truth of Romans 1:20 where it says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”
I also encourage younger professors and graduate students to seek out other Christians in their research area who have grappled with the same questions. Seeking out their wisdom and insight could offer fruitful discussion on how to uncover God’s “invisible qualities” within their fields.
Back when my mentor Rae and others asked me to think about these things, I had no idea how God would use the presentations arising from integration of my discipline and my faith to encourage so many people all over the world.
I truly never saw that coming.
Phil Bishop
University of Alabama