Introduction to Science & Technology: Week in Review
This past week we had the pleasure of having Dr. Derek Kirbow teaching an introduction to Science and Technology. He started out with sharing a bit of his own story, and how he has come to where he is now, and then he shared about different worldviews and some history of science stating that we have to get the ‘big picture’ (worldview) behind things before we can understand the ‘small picture’ - views and contributions to science and the study creation. He shared the 4 basic components of worldview as seen in Naturalism, pantheism, postmodernism, polytheism, and theism - briefly touching on the three theistic views of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
He also gave an introduction to FEWS, which ties into Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, and he and his colleagues came up with this strategy and value of importance for community development and ending the cycle of poverty. And talked about food security, which is what he majored in and is his specialty. Talking about short term, mid-term, and long-term goals for food security. And he ended on sharing about appropriate technology and some examples of what works where and why, why not.
Some Key points were;
F.E.W.S. and why it is ranked in the order that it is ranked in.
Food - Food security - access to enough nutritious food for all people at all times.
Energy - (not talking about electricity but engines of growth, whatever you have that helps progress grow).
Water/Sanitation - there are lots of avenues, find what is appropriate for each situation
Shelter/Security - not just homes, but also barns and storage facilities for food, and pens/coralles for the animals etc.
And he talked about how to develop a nation you need to develop the middle class, and how the middle class is the key to raising the standard for a nation.
He talked about food security
Food security means access to enough nutritious food for all people at all times. This of course leads to other salient questions such as:
“What does nutritious mean?” “What constitutes access?” What is enough food look like?”
Food security is a key component of community development and mercy ministries. A lack of food security goes beyond starvation. It includes, but is not limited to:
- Stunted growth
- Infant mortality
- birth defects
- Civil unrest
- learning disabilities
- Loss of income and low standards of living
Serious long term heath issues
And another important point he talked about was appropriate technology and what makes technology appropriate. In general: Stuff that anybody can do for cheap or free.
Appropriate Technology has certain characteristics, such as;
• It is easy to understand
• It can be sold, owned and maintained
• It reduces electric use, labor, fuel use and other energy use
• It uses natural, environmentally friendly materials and reusable energy
And he shared many stories of failed ‘appropriate tech’ examples where people ‘messed up’ and shared stories of when it worked and was done well and the technology was key for that time and community to bring real transformation and aid in ending the cycle of poverty or to enhance the community for the better.
There was so much that impacted me.
One thing he said is this;
To combine science and Tech with a Biblical Christian worldview means that we learn and study and experiment and implement what we have learned first and foremost as worship to God.
He made science approachable, even for someone who only took biology and skipped physics and chemistry in high school. And shared useful technology with us that can do so much good in the developing world. Things like make-shift rocket stoves built out of things around the yard, or how to create and utilize BioChar.
In conclusion, science is apart of everything we do, there is no escaping it, and why should we want to? It doesn’t have to be this big scary complex thing. There are areas of science and technology that we all can understand and engage with, no matter our background or education level. And we are called to deliver the ‘two handed gospel’. With one hand I share the good news of Jesus Christ, while meeting the physical needs of the people. We are called to be stewards of this earth that God charged us with the keeping of.
