Christian Engineering
previously published in October 2004
In the city of Mountain View, California, where I work, live and worship my God, I’m constantly bombarded with the latest gadgets that Silicon Valley spits out in nanosecond intervals. Whether it’s Google’s beta release of Gmail or Samsung’s smallest pda phones, the world from my vantage point is intimately tied to science and technology. As an engineer working in the Valley, my life is even more inescapably linked to science in that I depend on science to pay my bills and maintain my livelihood. But before I am an engineer, I am a follower of Christ. And being a Christian in this town affords me many opportunities to try and make sense of how Jesus and this technology crazed world of mine all fit in.
Before I share my thoughts, I’d like to clarify that I am an engineer by training and not a scientist. For most people, including many scientists and engineers, there are no differences between the two disciplines. I would, however, like to categorize science as the pursuit of understanding our natural world and engineering as the application of that understanding. As I am an engineer, I don’t feel I’m qualified to make statements about how our understanding of the natural world can affect our understanding of our creator or how my faith in Christ can affect our understanding of the natural world. Instead, I would like to comment briefly on how my engineering background can affect the community of believers and how my faith in Jesus affects my life as an engineer.
How can my engineering background affect my community of believers?
It has been my observation that there’s no love lost between today’s Christians and scientists. With renowned scientists like Charles Darwin and Carl Sagan second-guessing the Bible publicly, it’s not so hard to understand why the Christian community today may be apprehensive about science or scientists. Some of the apprehension may be reinforced by writings of Biblical and Christian authors. Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy:
"Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith." 1 Timothy 6:20-21, KJV
Even Ellen G. White wrote:
“Human knowledge of both material and spiritual things is partial and imperfect; therefore many are unable to harmonize their views of science with Scripture statements. Many accept mere theories and speculations as scientific facts, and they think that God's Word is to be tested by the teachings of ‘science falsely so called.’”The Faith I Live By, Ellen G. White, page 321
Even though the above writers may not have meant to create apprehension, the above quotes appropriately reflect how the Christian community today can be at times threatened by scientific claims we may not understand very well.
Upon a more careful observation of the two excerpts, I would like to think that the above writers are not speaking against science or scientists. Rather, I propose that the writers are speaking against bogus applications of science that result in incorrect statements being made about God. As a Christian engineer, I feel one of the ways in which I can affect my community of believers is to use my training to delineate such bogus applications of science by scientists and Christians alike. Bogus applications of science are often made when competent scientists with a solid scientific body of work make conclusions outside the scope of the scientific findings. Similarly, I can see well-intentioned preachers making powerful statements about God with bogus scientific supports from the pulpit. As individuals who evaluate applications of science day in and day out, engineers can fill an important role in ensuring that applications of science in the community of believers happen correctly.
How can my faith affect the community of engineering to which I also belong?
As much as there are apprehensions about scientist in the Christian community, I feel there is a quiet condescension by the engineering communitytowards people who make important life decisions based on faith. Though I hate to admit it, many engineers including myself are extremely proud of our abilities as engineers. At times, that pride gets in the way of acknowledging the Gospel that a nonscientific believer may testify as anything credible. Simply put, some of us engineers will not lend our ears to anyone who does not have a science background. In such instances, a person who is just as proud and technical may be the only agent who can deliver the good news to an engineer.
I found that one of the most effective ways of getting through to my apprehensive peers is to practice good engineering. When I do my best and do my job well, I allow my engineering community to entertain the possibility that a person who follows Christ can be just as rational and trusted as anyone. Second and perhaps a more important way in getting through is to display the image of Christ in the form of humility. Being a pretty arrogant guy by nature and training, I find it extremely difficult to be humble. But it’s even more difficult for me to display humility. If there is one thing that has consistently helped in curving some of my pride, it has to be the reminder that God has given me a gift that I do not deserve. Not only have I been given the gift of life, but also I have come to learn that even my ability as an engineer was a gift God has granted. When I’m reminded that my abilities are gifts rather than results of my own work, I lose some of my urge to prove my abilities in front of my peers. I find that when I’m less focused on trying to prove my skills, I’m a little more tolerable to be around. In those rare moments, I would hope that I am helping Jesus get a fair shot at getting through to some of my engineering friends and co-workers.
Concluding Remarks
In the final analysis, I conclude that being a Christian engineer means that I have the wonderful opportunity to become a bridge between the communities of science and faith. However, in order for me to be helpful to the community of believers, I must know my engineering well enough to recognize bogus engineering. Similarly, in order for me to be a good ambassador of Christ to the engineering community, I must be a true follower of Christ who exhibits the kind of humility Jesus taught with his life. I am far from being the kind of Christian engineer I claim I should be in this article. Until then, I continue to pray for God’s help in my pursuit of Christian engineering. And I thank God for the clarity of mind to understand His nature and the continued curiosity about His creation.
Charles Park works as an engineer for Caliper Life Sciences in Mountain View, California.