WHY STUY? EPLORING THE FACE OF GO IN THE ACAEMYHoly Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV® ... Vinoth Ramachandra 1. 12 WHY STUY? EPLORING THE FACE OF GO IN THE ACAEMY employment,

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why study? Exploring thE facE of god in thE acadEmy

Why Study? Exploring the Face of God in the AcademyCopyright © 2017 by Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Singapore

Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES)420 North Bridge Road, #05-05 North Bridge CentreSingapore 188727Email: [email protected] Website: www.fessingapore.org

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the publisher.

Views and opinions expressed by the contributors to this publication may not necessarily represent the official position of FES Singapore.

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN 978-981-11-4065-5

Publication team:Coordinator: Adrian NugrohoAdvisers: Vinoth Ramachandra, Lisman KomaladiCopyediting and proofreading: Yun-Mei Chong, Jian-Wen Lok, Esther Yixuan YapDesign and Layout: Yanti Agustin, Wei Lin

Images: unsplash.com, stocksnap.io, pixabay.com

Printed in Singapore

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Preface................................................................................5

1. IntroductIon...................................................10God’s Call and the University Vinoth Ramachandra

2. BIology................................................................24Exploring God’s Living World: Serving God in Biology Denis R. Alexander

3. BusIness..............................................................36The Christian and Business EducationWee-Liang Tan

4. educatIon..........................................................48Called to Be a Teacher: A Christian and Personal ViewpointRuth Wong

5. engIneerIng.......................................................60Thinking Christianly About Engineering Priyan Dias

contents

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6. HIstory................................................................72The Past and the Christian Faith: Reflections on Writing History Joy L. K. Pachuau

7. law............................................................................86Building on Studies in Law Kiem-Kiok Kwa

8. lIterature .........................................................96Faith and Literature: A Journey Maithrie White

9. MedIcIne............................................................108Medicine and ChristianityLinus Chua

10. PHysIcs..............................................................120Living as a Christian and a PhysicistRoss McKenzie

11. socIal work....................................................136From Classroom to Client: A Journey into Social WorkGrace Koh

Recommended Resources................................................149Acknowledgements.........................................................159

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Preface

The idea of coming up with this book arose during an infor-mal conversation over dinner at the IFES East Asia Graduate Conference in Petchaburi, Thailand last year. More precise-ly, the idea was conceived when some of us from Singapore were having discussions with Vinoth Ramachandra over spearheading an area of ministry that should very much characterise student movements in the university, but one that FES Singapore has not delved much into: academics and faith.

There were several different titles the publication team came up with that depicted the content of this book well. The chosen title, however, was deliberately picked because it conveys some messages and foundational convictions the team aspire to get across.

First, we believe Christian students must take their stud-ies seriously; hence the first part of the title “Why Study?”. Although the chapters in this book have been written for Christian students entering the university, we believe that this book will also be of value to university students who are more senior, as well as Christian academics and practitio-ners in different fields of study and vocations. Secondly, we believe that all truth is God’s truth, no matter where we find them, even within the different academic subjects, and that each truth reveals, to differing degrees, a certain character

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of the Triune God, that is, a certain aspect of the “Face of God”. Last but not least, we are deeply convinced that not only is the academy or university a very suitable place and setting for Christian students to explore the “Face of God” in their studies, this very exploration is also one of the most, if not the most, important aspect of Christian students’ spiri-tual growth as well as of their calling as witnesses of Christ on campus.

In the pages of this book you will find writings and stories of people who are brilliant. Many of them hail from world-renowned universities such as Cambridge, Harvard, Imperial College London, Princeton, and Massachusetts In-stitute of Technology. Their brilliance and academic quali-fications, however, are neither the focus of this book nor as interesting in and of themselves. Instead it is their journey in encountering the different facets of the “Face of God” in their research, studies, and practices from early on in their lives, as well as their conscious and consistent worship of the Triune God through these fields of study and vocation that form the heart of this book.

Last but not least, I wish to thank the different people involved in the publication of this book. Vinoth, as men-tioned earlier, has been instrumental in this project from the very beginning, including connecting us worldwide to some of the contributors of this book. Furthermore, he has graciously dispensed himself as an adviser to us throughout the writing of this book until its publication. Therefore spe-cial thanks and appreciation are due to him, without whom this project could hardly have been accomplished within

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preface

a year. Much thanks and appreciation are also due to each and every professor, lecturer, teacher, and practitioner who has contributed to this book, as they have sacrificially given their precious time and labour to share their life stories, of-ten with heartfelt sincerity, blunt honesty, and unquench-able passion for the lordship of Christ over their academic and vocational fields, as well as over their lives. The FES Sin-gapore General Secretary, Lisman Komaladi, my colleagues who are in the editorial/design team (especially Yun Mei) as well as our volunteer copyeditors, deserve a special mention too for their tireless efforts, especially in covering the loose ends when the going got tough. Without them, I cannot imagine how the work could have been completed. Above all, we thank God for who he is, from whom and through whom and to whom are all things, as will be evident in the pages of this book. Indeed, “To him be glory forever!” (Rom. 11:36).

It is hoped that the true life stories in this book will in-spire us to begin our own journey, a journey that commences and is sustained by the conviction that:

We’re pilgrims on the journeyOf the narrow roadAnd those who’ve gone before us line the wayCheering on the faithful, encouraging the wearyTheir lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnessesLet us run the race not only for the prize

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But as those who’ve gone before usLet us leave to those behind usThe heritage of faithfulnessPassed on through godly lives

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithfulMay the fire of our devotion light their wayMay the footprints that we leaveLead them to believeAnd the lives we live inspire them to obeyOh may all who come behind us find us faithful1

On behalf of the publication team,

Adrian NugrohoAcademics and Faith Ministry Coordinator, FES SingaporeJune 2017

1 The lyrics of the song “Find Us Faithful” by Jon Mohr, popularised by Steve Green. http://stevegreenministries.org/product/find-us-faithful-5/, accessed 19 June 2017.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

– C. S. Lewis

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity.

There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity.

There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.

– Bernard of Clairvaux

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IntroductIon

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Do not be shaped by the pressures of the present age; but be transformed by the renewing

of your minds, so that you can work out God’s good, acceptable and complete will.

– Romans 12:2, my translation

What would I say to Christian students beginning their university studies?

The question is a daunting one, not least because so much depends on social and cultural context. In a country such as South Korea, almost every high school graduate ends up in university; and so there is little reflection on what distinctive role, if any, universities may play vis-à-vis the nation, church, or the individual’s own flourishing. In most parts of Asia, however, a tertiary education is still a privilege enjoyed by few, and a degree is seen as a passport to secure

god’s call and the university

Vinoth Ramachandra

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employment, upward social mobility, and financial provision for parents and less fortunate siblings. Such expectations are met less frequently compared to the past. Given the rising costs of education, even in state-funded institutions, more and more students support themselves through part-time employment and spend little time in the university outside of compulsory lectures or lab work.

So, while appreciating the different academic contexts, even within a single country, and the financial pressures that students face today in comparison with their parents’ generation, I would want to encourage Christian students to

reflect on the following:

1. remember you are, First and Foremost, a christian This implies, negatively, being alert to the way the univer-sity as an institution shapes us – inducting us (usually un-consciously) into beliefs, values and practices that may be profoundly unchristian. For instance, in divorcing knowl-edge from personal responsibility; promoting intellectual snobbery and one-upmanship; exalting utility and prag-matism over truth, justice and beauty; being blind to the non-academic staff (often from poor economic backgrounds) without whom the university would cease to function; being indifferent to the needs and concerns of the vast majority of humanity, and so on.

We need to remember that developing a “Christian mind” is not primarily an intellectual exercise but, rather, the cultivation of a Christlike disposition or character. In

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WHY STUY? EPLORING THE FACE OF GO IN THE ACAEMYHoly Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV® ... Vinoth Ramachandra 1. 12 WHY STUY? EPLORING THE FACE OF GO IN THE ACAEMY employment,