For the past 50 years, the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation has facilitated discussions about science and Christian faith in Canada. As part of our 50th-anniversary celebrations, we asked 50 CSCA members to comment on their personal connections to science, scripture, and Canadian scenery. We will share these contributions throughout 2023 in the hope that you will find them engaging and encouraging.
CSCA member of the week: Osowoayim Bisong, Associate Scientist at Dalriada Drug Discovery
1. Why did you choose your scientific discipline?
I have been fascinated by science since I was a kid. I remember watching astronauts on television and desiring to become one. In high school, I decided that I would study Physics because of its powerful explanatory scope of the natural world. Unfortunately, my university didn’t have Physics at the time, so I picked Microbiology over Public Health because I felt that a basic science would satisfy my curiosity for understanding the principles by which the natural world operates.
2. What is one of your favourite Bible verses and why?
“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
—Deuteronomy 8:3
Jesus also quoted this verse when he was tempted by the Devil in Matthew 4:4. It is best understood in Israel’s wilderness sojourn, where God miraculously provided for them by giving them water, manna (a previously unknown meal), and quail, as well as miraculously renewing their clothes and shoes! He tried to teach them that their daily sustenance should come from him. Whenever they stored up more manna than they should, it bred worms and stank. This reminded them that they should not trust in God’s gifts alone but in the gift’s giver.
In the same way, we should trust God for our daily supply; we should seek to live a life powered by faith. Also, and most importantly, our concerns should not be only material (I’m using bread as a metaphor for worldly concerns). God has given us other good gifts, such as our intellect, minds, loved ones, etc. And these can and should contribute to a fulfilled life. This verse reminds me that sometimes fulfilment would not come from getting a raise or a better job but by utilizing the talents God has deposited within me to bless the earth and to glorify him.
3. Which Canadian city or landscape do you love exploring and why?
I have not found the time to explore Canada since I got here, as most of it has been spent studying and working. However, I visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta. It is a palaeontology museum and holds the largest collection of fossils in Canada. What is most striking about the museum is that it is built amid fossil-bearing strata, and some of the exhibits were dug up in that location. My visit caused me to wonder what it might be like to live with such strange creatures roaming the earth and even the possibility of a chance encounter in the wild.