A Chemist and God

Science: Henry Schaefer sees a natural nexus between faith and science
S. Joshua Swamidass and Shoba Spencer

Blogger's Note: I knew Dr. Schaefer while I attended UGA. He and his family attended the same church I did. I sat in on his Sunday school class occasionally. I admired him greatly. He and his wife had a personal ministry to expectant women who had nowhere else to turn. He is as genuine as he is brilliant. I hope you enjoy this article.



Which sounds more interesting: a technical talk on "Lesions in DNA Subunits" or one on "The Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God"?

Henry Schaefer, 64, a long-time University of Georgia professor and a pioneer in theoretical chemistry—he's in the top 10 of all researchers cited in recent years in chemistry publications—gives both. But when organizers of Techfest 2008 asked him to speak at their major technology conference in Mumbai, India, they wanted the Big Bang speech, which Schaefer was happy to give.

People in every land want to hear about God, and Schaefer is willing to speak: He mentions that he has presented over 500 nontechnical talks on the compatibility of Christianity and science at over 300 universities around the world, in the process communicating with "perhaps 100,000 students who would not have been interested in a conventional presentation of the gospel." He's made 20 trips to India and China, "where the harvest is very rich." Typically, he presents a straight chemistry lecture at the same university where he gives these general interest lectures.
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From teaching Molecular Quantum Mechanics at the University of Georgia to studying the Bible during mid-week church fellowships, Schaefer sees cohesion between "secular" science and his Christian faith. He became a Christian as a young professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 1973: He concluded that the historical evidence for belief in Jesus was too compelling to ignore, and that the physical resurrection of Jesus was the most rational way to understand the stories recorded in the Gospels and by ancient historians.

Schaefer never felt that Christianity and science were in opposition to one another, but after becoming a Christian he was surprised to find that many others found science and faith in conflict: "It was a problem for so many people that finally I decided to do a little research on whether it was true that scientists were not Christians. I discovered pretty quickly that essentially all the pioneers of the modern physical sciences were Christians. It was encouraging to me, and I think even more encouraging to others."

On a typical non-travel day earlier this year Schaefer was sitting at his computer at 6 a.m., scrolling through his packed inbox and emailing his students advice and support in their research. "Part of the success in science is to inspire the people around you," he says. "Almost everybody I work with is less than 25 years of age. They're the ones that are really doing the heavy lifting." He enjoys encouraging others: "The greatest professional satisfaction one gets in my business is to see former students doing outstanding science."

In Schaefer's view, a natural nexus exists between Christianity and science: "In many respects [Christians] are not different than anybody else in science, but we do have a deep-seated trust that God is a God of order and that by following rational methods we will find truth in the scientific sense." Those scientists who speak definitively about how the universe began, though, are going beyond science: "When you read or hear anything about the birth of the universe, someone is making it up—we are in the realm of philosophy. Only God knows what happened at the very beginning."

Schaefer has authored over 1,000 peer-reviewed journal articles, but his ultimate pursuit in life has more to do with his faith than it does with solving problems in the world of science: "My passion is to share Jesus with university students and professors. The main issue is Jesus, and what He accomplished."

—S. Joshua Swamidass is a scientist in bioinformatics; Shoba Spencer recently graduated from law school

Copyright © 2008 WORLD Magazine
October 18, 2008, Vol. 23, No. 21

Kristin Pass is Crowned Homecoming Queen. Why is there Controversy?

Mindy Belz at World Magazine highlighted a great story from the Dallas metro area. 18-year-old Kristin Pass was crowned homecoming queen to the shouts and joys of a surprised crowd. Kristin has Down syndrome. Many in the stadium, at the school, and in the blogosphere are questioning her win. Is it prank, political correctness, or a young woman overcoming obstacles?

When I first read the summary on the blog, I flashed back to my high school experience when a mentally-challenged student was promoted through the football support ranks to "senior manager" or some title of that ilk. All of the whispers and snickers in the lunch room and locker room told me that the promotion wasn't genuine, but more akin to "vote for the worst" on American Idol or the mean trick played in the movie "Never Been Kissed."

Reading the article and the array of quotes gives me hope that Kristin Pass is more like my friend with cerebral palsy or Chris Burke from the TV show "Life Goes On." Both my friend and Burke have that amazing quality of helping everyone around them feel like the sun shines brighter and that there is more hope in the world. Their physical and other challenges pale in the light of their overwhelming personality and zest for life.

As the parent of a special needs child, I sometimes wonder how my little one will be treated someday. Will people see her firecracker spirit and sense of humor? Or will they hear slight imperfections in her spoken words or concentrate on her fading surgical scars?

Tommy Bowden out at Clemson. Can Christian Coaches Win?

Sports news outlets are reporting that Tommy Bowden, head coach of Clemson, has stepped down.



A blogger I read asked, "Can Christian Coaches Cut It?"

I immediately thought of my dad. A coach who followed Christ and definitely cut it.

I wrote these thoughts on the blog:

My father finished his junior college basketball coaching career with a .750+ winning average. He was a generous man to his players in a world where scholarship dollars aren’t available. As I watched him, I observed something very powerful. Players perform out of fear or out of vision. The players under my dad knew what was at stake and worked hard. He had an uncanny way of motivating them to see the big picture and perform.

Other coaches seem to motivate out of fear. They get players to perform because something bad will happen if they don’t. They may work hard on the field or court, but there won’t be much of a team.

I believe a coach who follows Christ and chooses to cast a compelling vision for his/her team can be a champion.

There is so much more to coaching and winning NCAA football games than this simple equation. Recruiting. Good assistant coaches. Injuries. Scouting reports (or lack thereof). Sports medicine. The list goes on and on. Mark Richt said that being a coach of an NCAA team may be more like being a CEO than a coach.

I bet Bowden gets a job as a coordinator somewhere and another team grows off the charts. Perhaps he’s a better coach than he is CEO.

Dad died in 2003. I've been missing him a lot. The Dodgers, his favorite baseball team, are struggling. The Red Sox, by whom he was drafted in 1948, are facing elimination, too. One of the great things about my dad that I miss is that he "coached" me, too. He applied a lot of the lessons he learned over 40 years on the field/court to how he motivated me. And how he kicked my butt.

I hope I can pull on some of those lessons in the coming days.