Redeeming and Sanctifying Engineering Imperfections

Comparing God’s designs with engineering designs can help Christian engineers understand both better. Most of the analogies of God as a creative designer focus on extolling the beauty and wonder of the created universe, but this paper aims to take a deeper look at how good design handles imperfection in this world. Although imperfections are ubiquitous, the imperfect can be used. Even the imperfections themselves can be utilized to accomplish the goals of a good designer. This is evident from three different perspectives: a macroscopic view of engineered products, a microscopic view of materials processing, and a “missioscopic” view of God’s purpose for us and what we are sent to do in this world. As we appreciate how engineering design deals with imperfection, we can better appreciate God’s design and purposes in the world in which we live. Trusting that God has a design amidst the imperfection we see all around us has profound implications for how we live as imperfect engineering professionals and as imperfect people in general. Our perspective of failings or difficult life circumstances is often a reflection of our view of the Designer. Are these things the result of a flawed design, or are they part of a divinely good design in which our human imperfections can and should be redeemed and sanctified for good? Faith in a good design by a good Designer should lead us to humility, worship, and a desire to bear witness to God’s work in our lives.