This month we recognize the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. He ushered in a new era of evolutionary thought that to many serves as a rational basis for the dismissal of the role of God in the development of life and existence. Last week Jason Steiner attended the Trinity Forum Academy winter conference where he sat down with Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute that sequenced the human genome in 2003. They discussed Dr. Collins' new project BioLogos, a fresh approach to the reconciliation of science and faith.

At nearly six and a half feet tall, Dr. Francis Collins stands literally and figuratively head and shoulders above the ongoing conflict between science and religion. 

Embracing the rigorous skepticism of the scientific method, Dr. Collins remains fiercely steadfast in his evangelical Christian faith.  To many people today who have suffered the onslaught of atheist propaganda proposing that any rationally minded person should have long ago disposed of religion and that the advancement of science is eroding humanity’s need for a God, the appearance of Dr. Collins seems a bit of an anomaly.  But for him, straddling both camps is not only the only place he can be intellectually, it is also the most glorifying to God. 

As the head of the National Human Genome Research Institute that sequenced the human genome, and one of the foremost geneticists in the world, Dr. Collins embraces evolution, not as the godless random procession of mutations that brought us out of the primordial sludge, but rather the elegant means God used to bring about a creature able to bear His image. 

To many Christians, support of evolution is a rejection of all they hold to be true.  Dr. Collins contends that a rejection of the intellectual capacities of our minds is even worse.  Dr. Collins sees the rigorous employment of our most rational faculties as “the chance to uncover the incredible intricacies of God's creation [in] an occasion of worship”.  With this approach, Dr. Collins has come to an “intellectually and spiritually satisfying” conclusion about our origins.

tothesource: What do you, as a scientist, see as your most important steps in coming to a reconciliation between science and faith?

Dr. Francis Collins:  “I think that an important first step is to recognize that there does exist a framework with which to fit together the scientific and spiritual worldviews. I’m convinced that there are no fundamental discordances between those perspectives.”

When pressed a little more as to what specifically he sees in nature that convinces him of the existence of God, Collins began to launch into a plethora of what he calls “pointers to God”.  He cites things that many would take for granted such as the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics,” stating that there is really no reason that the universe should be so ordered.  He expounded on man’s deep resonance with this order, citing science’s emphasis on elegance and simplicity and noting that the same fundamental equations continue to appear in nearly every branch of science from the conduction of heat to biological population dynamics and even quantum mechanical fluctuations.  Collins' other physical pointers include the incredible fine-tuning of a handful of physical parameters that define our universe, such as the gravitational constant or the value of the strong force that holds protons together.  If any of these differed by even the slightest amount (for the gravitational constant even 1 part in one hundred million million) the universe would not have formed in a way sufficient to support life.

On a more metaphysical level, Collins appeals to the Moral Law, described by C.S. Lewis as our innate recognition of good and evil, as an attribute that cannot be explained by natural evolutionary causes alone.  While Collins admits that all of these arguments have opposing naturalistic viewpoints such as the argument for the existence of an infinite number of universes to explain the fact that we just happened to fall in the one with the right parameters for life, he is clear to point out that each of these positions takes as much or more faith to believe in than the existence of a designer God.  He appeals to Occam’s Razor, arguing that if one observes order and design then the simplest and most plausible conclusion is that there is a designer.  In this way Collins finds it logical to believe both in science and God.

tts: In contrast to all other models of fitting science with faith that have crumbled in the wake of future scientific advancement, such as the geocentric theory or the age of the Earth, what is it that makes BioLogos unique?

Collins:  “The main difference between BioLogos and other current perspectives on science and religion is that neither of its components is susceptible to conflict with the advancement of science. With regard to its theistic component, science will never be in a position to prove or disprove the existence of God. As for its scientific component, BioLogos doesn’t stray from the general consensus of the scientific community. Even if the “pointers to God” – such as the elegant fine-tuning of the universe – were to fall away with future discoveries, the central message of BioLogos will not be shaken. For example, if the multiverse theory turns out to be true, many of the “pointers to God” from fine-tuning will be lost. But that doesn’t solve the question of beginnings, and it wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a loving Creator who created all of those universes in such a way that one would surely develop intelligent life forms. In fact, I suspect that we would just run up against new examples of a finely-tuned multiverse.”

It was refreshing to see first hand such an accomplished scientist so readily admitting the limits of his profession with a sense of peace about it.  I suspect even for honest atheists, the question of “something instead of nothing” is too big for science alone to answer.

Dr. Francis Collins matches wits with Stephen Colbert and cleverly makes his case that evolution is God's plan for giving upgrades.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/79238/december-07-2006/francis-collins

Dr. Collins’ approach is known as theistic evolution, though for the psychological baggage that accompanies both of these terms, Dr. Collins has adopted the term BioLogos, or “Life from the Word,” and has laid out a full description in his book The Language of God.

The basic tenets of this approach rest on two principle foundations: science is the best tool that we have to understand the natural world and we should rejoice in our abilities to learn about it, and humanity stands apart from creation in ways that science cannot explain.

The BioLogos tenets include:

1. The universe came into being out of nothingness, by the hand of God, approximately 14 billion years ago.

2. Despite massive improbabilities, the properties of the universe appear to have been precisely tuned for life.

3. While the precise mechanism of the origin of life on earth remains unknown, once life arose, the process of evolution and natural selection permitted the development of biological diversity and complexity over very long periods of time.

4. Once evolution got under way no special supernatural intervention was required.

5. Humans are part of this process, sharing a common ancestor with the great apes.

6. But humans are also unique in ways that defy evolutionary explanation and point to our spiritual nature. This includes the existence of the Moral Law (the knowledge of right and wrong) and the search for God that characterizes all human cultures throughout history.

Jason Steiner

http://www.amazon.com/Language-God-Scientist-Presents-Evidence/dp/0743286391

Christian Party offices vandalised after launch of bus adverts

The offices of the Christian Party were vandalised following the launch of a new bus advertising campaign proclaiming that there is a God.

The adverts were launched by the party last Thursday in response to the British Humanist Association’s bus adverts, which state, “There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The Christian Party’s adverts are displayed on 50 London buses and carry the slogan: “There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.”

Police have launched an investigation after the front windows of the party’s London headquarters were found smashed in on Saturday morning. The police suspect the incident to be a religious hate crime.

Leader of the Christian Party, the Rev George Hargreaves, said the incident was a “sign of the times” but vowed to continue on with the campaign.

“I’m disappointed more than shocked,” he said, describing how in Scotland the Christian Party had experienced similar acts of violence when protesters tore down their campaign posters.

“It’s just a shame that people who are intolerant of Christianity feel that they need to destroy property and to be violent,” he continued.

“We are not phased by it. What was intended for evil will be used for good. If they break our windows, we will just put in new windows.
“We don’t have to get violent or angry about it. We just have to love the Lord, keep a good witness and the Lord will do the rest.”

The party is due to launch the same advert in a six-week campaign in Scotland, beginning February 24.

Christian Today

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