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: Derek Schuurman, Professor of Computer Science, Calvin University.
1. Why did you choose your scientific discipline?
I was an electronics hobbyist and ham radio operator as a teenager and learned to code on some of the early personal computers. My hobby led to my vocation, beginning as an electrical engineer working in industry in Waterloo and eventually discerning a call to teaching. Even as a professor, my hobbyist inclinations remain. I am still an active ham radio operator, and I take delight in tinkering with Raspberry Pi computers.
2. What is one of your favourite Bible verses and why?
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
—Colossians 1:16-20
These verses show the cosmic scope of Christ’s Lordship over all — and this literally includes “all things” — including the worlds of computing, engineering, and technology.
3. Which Canadian city or landscape do you love exploring and why?
I love Hamilton – it’s where we raised our children and where I completed my graduate studies. It is a mix of an urban environment with a green escarpment running throughout. There are still trails and waterfalls we have yet to explore.