“Wait, how does that work?” “Why is it called that?” 

These are some of the best words that I hear as a professor. A student has asked a probing question about the details of a cell’s behavior or how a particular part of the body got such a complicated (or seemingly unimportant) name. From the student’s perspective, it may be a simple curiosity, but as a professor, I see it as an invitation into a discussion that is far greater than the minutiae of biology, opening the door to a conversation that provides deeper meaning, broader context, and personal connection.  

Biology and the sciences at large often feel like a bubble, operating within their own isolated paradigms, separated from other subjects and cut off from the greater academic discussion. I used to feel this way about my own research. It wasn’t until I entered the world of the liberal arts — ultimately due to the enlivening effect of the Lord’s converting and calling me — that I found a place for all of my non-science-centered interests and ponderings. In seeing Christ, I saw His creation for what it truly is; in seeing Christ, I saw afresh all things and began to newly appreciate their value in the greater story of redemption. 

We should not ignore or ward off the opportunity for conversations in the broader context of God’s work. Since He created all things, upholds all things, and governs all things for His glory, then surely all disciplines of life are wrapped up in His greater redemptive narrative. The sciences, therefore, are not a cold, mechanistic means to an end for a select group of students. My faith in Christ then establishes a foundation for inviting broader conversations involving other disciplines into my biology classroom.  

For instance, in addition to noting the beautiful artwork exhibited in biology and brief lessons on etymology (the study of words, not bugs), history lessons remain a staple in each of my classes. History, we confess, is not a random collection of time points chaotically driven by impersonal nothingness. Likewise, the history of Creation — including natural history (Latin for “story of nature”) and medical advancements for treating disease — is not a meaningless paradigm in which we just so happen to see goodness, beauty, and truth. Our collective lives do not merely fall victim to an endless accrual of purposeless knowledge over time. On the contrary, history is a straight line — from Alpha to Omega.  

All of Creation, wrapped up in the supreme will of Almighty God, is united in that Word who was made flesh. We see variability and diversity of thought, discipline, and gifts, but it is all guided in exquisite harmony — like the cells of the body, or the pistons of an engine, or the bristles of an artist’s paintbrush — by the Almighty God who created all things for His Son Jesus Christ, who is all in all. This is the truth and beauty of a vibrantly hospitable education — indeed, of a vibrant and hospitable life, and that everlasting. 

By Donald W. Little III, PhD 
Assistant Professor of Biology

This article was originally published in the Winter 2025 issue of the Geneva Magazine.