Faith, Health, and How God Works Through Science

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

On Monday 28 September, ECLAS co-hosted a webinar with Keep the Faith magazine, Britain’s leading publication for Black and multi-ethnic Christians.

The event was the culmination of our year-long partnership with Keep the Faith to support science-faith engagement among Black Christians, who aren’t always served by the conversations had in majority-white church institutions.

Titled ‘Faith, Health, and How God is Working Through Science’, the event aimed to shine a light on health, explore promising new treatments, and celebrate the vocations of Christians who are working as scientists.

Our speakers, Dr Grace Adeola Atabotele and Dr Idowu Fadayomi, both specialise in cancer treatment, but their expertise spans many other areas as well. The event was brilliantly chaired by Dr Shola Oladipo, herself a registered dietitian and community health expert.

Prostate cancer

Grace is a lecturer in biosciences at the University of Staffordshire. She shared compelling data about the prevalence of prostate cancer in the UK, which disproportionately affects men from Black backgrounds. One in four Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, compared to one in eight white men and one in 13 Asian men.

Grace guided us through how cancer cells grow and proliferate, and how CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is a promising new treatment for the disease, acting as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ which can remove and replace faulty DNA. Grace shared her journey to becoming a scientist, from a childhood spent with a passion for God and a desire to solve big problems, to a wonderful testimony of how God’s care for the tiny details of Creation inspires her to study life at a molecular level.

Sickle cell

Idowu’s area of expertise is ovarian cancer, but he spoke from a personal standpoint about his family’s experience with a different health issue – sickle cell anaemia. Idowu’s child was recently treated for sickle cell anaemia with a stem cell transplant, after years of regular blood transfusions to maintain their health. Sickle cell disorders affect the shape of the body’s red blood cells, making them ‘sticky’ and more likely to cause blockages in capillaries. Once a fatal childhood condition, sickle cell is now a largely manageable chronic illness.

Image from Together by St Jude

Like prostate cancer, sickle cell anaemia is more prevalent in people from Black backgrounds. The Sickle Cell Society estimates that one in four West Africans and one in 10 Afro-Caribbeans carry sickle cell trait. Idowu shared helpful explanations of how sickle cell can be inherited; the pathway from symptoms, to diagnosis, to treatment; and his experience of being a caregiver for his child during the treatment process. What came through strongly was Idowu’s gratitude for God’s healing presence, through both divine and medical means.

What churches can do

Our audience was hugely appreciative of Dr Grace and Dr Idowu for their testimony and their scientific work. It was a wonderful demonstration of how faith in God can drive an interest in science and healthcare.

We also discussed the role that church communities can play in raising awareness of these and other conditions. There are many things that Christians can do, even if they don’t work in the sciences:

• Hosting community screening programs for cancer
• Encouraging people to register as blood, stem cell, and organ donors
• Supporting people affected by health conditions, practically and in prayer
• Reducing the stigma attached to health conditions, neurodiversity, and seeking medical help
• Listen to the lived experiences of people who have, or have had, different health conditions and experiences of medical treatment.

To this list I would add: giving thanks to God for scientists, and all that they do to advance understanding and treatment of diseases. This was a wonderful event, and I am filled with gratitude for our speakers, all those who attended, and to Keep the Faith for making it possible.

Coming up

Our next event will be on 17 October at the Church of God of Prophecy, in Croydon, from 10am to 1pm. Christians from Black and multi-ethnic backgrounds who are working in or studying STEM topics are welcome to join us for worship, fellowship, food, and conversation about how the church can support science as a vocation. The event is free, but please register so we know how many to cater for: https://luma.com/o09pq9zp