The passing of a global scholar – Dr. Jean Bieri
It is with great sadness that we announce that Dr Jean Bieri (1955 – 2021) passed away in September at his home in Montreal, Canada. Originally from Congo, Jean was an internationally educated scholar with a passion for both physics and theology. He developed a foundational e-course for the Logos and Cosmos Initiative: An Introduction to Science and Theology.
Here, Dr Stephen Ney, Curriculum Manager for IFES’ Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI), reflects on Dr Bieri’s legacy.
We mourn the loss of Dr Jean Bieri, not just to us and the LCI, but to his family, friends, colleagues, IFES, and to the global church. In many ways Jean embodied the characteristics that we hope our catalysts will develop: focused on Jesus, deep in God’s Word, generous in offering his considerable intellectual gifts and accolades fully in service to God and God’s people, multi-cultural, committed to our institutions of higher learning, and adept at working cross-culturally.
Over the past year, Jean played a vital role in the LCI, both by mentoring one of our catalysts, a young Congolese scholar, and by designing a 5-week e-course on how the sciences and Christian theology intersect and can interact. In this course, which we plan to keep using for years to come, the clarity of Dr Bieri’s thinking, and the patience of his teaching are evident. His students express gratitude for the careful input he has given them. In the LCI we will miss him greatly, and have trouble imagining how we’ll find anyone like him!
Although Jean had a very impressive CV, he was humble, gentle, and unassuming. He had no interest in being in the spotlight, but in spotlighting what is true. At LCI we are very thankful for the significant contributions he made in such a short time. But we lament our loss.
To learn more about Dr Bieri’s scholarship and ministry, read his obituary on the Global Scholars Canada website.