Do you remember your last biology class? Maybe it’s been decades since your junior year of high school. Or maybe you just went to lab last Thursday. But no matter what you do or don’t remember from biology, this episode is for you. Today, our speaker invites you to consider your biology — what you’re made of and why it matters.
In this Forum excerpt from March 2023, you’ll hear from Dr. Praveen Sethupathy, a genomics researcher at Cornell University and director of Cornell’s Center for Vertebrate Genomics. Dr. Sethupathy’s opening remarks in this episode showcase both his commitment to genomic research and his formation in the Christian faith. Over the next 35 minutes, you’ll find out that we humans aren’t that unique — and why that leads us towards greater understanding of our purpose, meaning, and beauty.
Praveen Sethupathy
The significance of humanity does not arise primarily from our material bodies nor our physical place in the universe, but rather in the value that God himself chooses to place upon us. Why does he choose to do this? It turns out that it has very little to do with who we are or the material stuff we're made of and everything to do with who he is.
Human distinctiveness is less about the material stuff that we're made of and more about the unique experience of drawing nearer to God in the study of all that he has made. This is what the scientific enterprise is actually about properly viewed in the light of our calling as images of God — the exploration of the natural world or science. It doesn't detract from my humanity. It actually encourages it.
One of the unique callings of humanity is to stop and wonder. We're meant to explore, to be in awe in a way that no other animal is. As creatures made in the image of God, God extends to us an invitation to consciously enjoy creation.
