He was in the news a lot in 2020, as he is the director of the NIH (National Institute of Health). Prior to that, he led the Human Genome Project which “was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying and mapping all of the genes of the human genome from both a physical and a functional standpoint,” and is currently still “the world's largest collaborative biological project” (Wikipedia). It was both a massive undertaking and a revelation. And there has been some talk that he might be slated to head up the mapping of the human brain.
But Francis Collins is not merely a scientist, he is also a devout Christian, and in a world where it sometimes seems like science and Christianity are at odds, Collins (in his book The Language of God) argues they should not be.
For Collins, his study of science is what led him to become a Christian. Raised in an atheistic family, he eventually took (as he called it) the “comfortable position” (16) of agnosticism which allowed him to “avoid considering arguments . . . discomforting on either side" (16). However, his scientific endeavors finally provided nowhere to hide, and convinced him that there is indeed a god. But not just any god, but the personal, interactive Christian God––for him, the only logical choice.
The Language of God is a synthesis of Collins’s testimony, a discussion about the various at-odds world views in light of mapping the human genome, and a look at future uses and concerns of this new genetic knowledge.
At my mother’s request, our family book club read this book (in fact, today is discussion day). Parts of it aren’t the easiest read as it is scientific, even though Collins tries his best to put it in layman’s terms. But I feel it is an honest and fair discussion, and I would encourage everyone––Christian and non-Christian alike––to take the time to read it and reflect on it.
But Francis Collins is not merely a scientist, he is also a devout Christian, and in a world where it sometimes seems like science and Christianity are at odds, Collins (in his book The Language of God) argues they should not be.
For Collins, his study of science is what led him to become a Christian. Raised in an atheistic family, he eventually took (as he called it) the “comfortable position” (16) of agnosticism which allowed him to “avoid considering arguments . . . discomforting on either side" (16). However, his scientific endeavors finally provided nowhere to hide, and convinced him that there is indeed a god. But not just any god, but the personal, interactive Christian God––for him, the only logical choice.
The Language of God is a synthesis of Collins’s testimony, a discussion about the various at-odds world views in light of mapping the human genome, and a look at future uses and concerns of this new genetic knowledge.
At my mother’s request, our family book club read this book (in fact, today is discussion day). Parts of it aren’t the easiest read as it is scientific, even though Collins tries his best to put it in layman’s terms. But I feel it is an honest and fair discussion, and I would encourage everyone––Christian and non-Christian alike––to take the time to read it and reflect on it.
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