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The Language of God

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The Language of God
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
AuthorFrancis S. Collins
IllustratorMichael Hagelberg
LanguageEnglish
SubjectTheistic evolution, Apologetics
GenreReligious studies
PublisherFree Press
Publication date
2006
Publication placeUnited States
Pages304
ISBN0743286391
OCLC65978711
215 22
LC ClassBL240.3 .C66 2006

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief is a bestselling book by Francis Collins in which he advocates theistic evolution. Francis Collins is an American physician-geneticist, noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, and his leadership of the Human Genome Project (HGP). He currently serves as the Director of the US National Institutes of Health. In the book, Collins describes briefly the process by which he became a Christian.[1][2]

Collins raises arguments for the idea of God from biology, astrophysics, psychology and other disciplines. He cites many famous thinkers, most prevalently C. S. Lewis, as well as Saint Augustine, Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin, Theodosius Dobzhansky and others. In 2007 Christianity Today judged it one of the best books of the previous year.[3]

BioLogos

The book proposes the name "BioLogos" as a new term for theistic evolution. "BioLogos" is also the name of a science-and-faith organization founded by Francis Collins in November 2007.[4]

Bios is the Greek word for "life". Logos is Greek for "word," with a broader meaning in Heracleitean Philosophy and Stoicism—namely the rational principle ordering the universe. This concept was appropriated by Christian theology. In Christian theology, "Word" is actually a creative agent for all that exists, in addition to being an ordering principle. Furthermore, in some Christian thinking the eternal and divine Logos merged and synthesized with a human nature to become Jesus Christ in the Incarnation. This is laid out in the opening prologue of the Gospel of John, forming part of the textual basis for Christian belief in the Trinity, as the concept of Logos morphed over time into God the Son for the second person of the Trinity.[5]

"BioLogos" expresses the belief that God is the source of all life and that life expresses the will of God. BioLogos represents the view that science and faith co-exist in harmony.[6]

BioLogos rests on the following premises Web site:

  1. The universe was created by God, approximately 14 billion years ago.
  2. 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, it is possible that the development of living organisms was part of God's original creation plan.
  4. Once life began, no special further interventions by God were required.
  5. Humans are part of this process, sharing a common ancestor with the great apes.
  6. Humans are unique in ways that defy evolutionary explanations and point to our spiritual nature. This includes the existence of the knowledge of right and wrong and the search for God.

Description

Collins' experience in coming to faith is interestingly detailed in the beginning and end of "The Language of God." He grew up in an agnostic family, and knew at an early age that he wanted to be a scientist. At first, he was interested in the physical sciences, since "biology was rather like existential philosophy: it just didn't make sense" (page 181). However, nearing the end of a Ph.D. program, Collins took a biochemistry course and was hooked. He applied for and was admitted to medical school, from which he graduated and began genetic research and a clinical practice. During one clinic, Collins was asked by a Christian patient about his spiritual beliefs. He didn't really have an answer, but determined that he should confirm his atheism by studying the best arguments for faith. A pastor directed him to Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. Collins found the arguments compelling, and cites C. S. Lewis as the principle basis for his conversion.

Another section of "The Language of God" focuses on 'The Moral Law Argument.' Moral Law is very important for Collins: "After twenty-eight years as a believer, the Moral Law stands out for me as the strongest signpost of God" (p.218). Moral Law is an argument for the existence of a God. What is the Moral Law? Collins quotes C.S. Lewis, "the denunciation of oppression, murder, treachery, falsehood and the injunction of kindness to the aged, the young, and the weak, almsgiving, impartiality, and honesty." Collins has two main arguments: One is that all cultures and religions of the world endorse a universal, absolute and timeless Moral Law. It is overwhelmingly documented in the "Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics." According to Collins, it is a unique property that separates humans and animals. The Moral Law includes altruism which is more than just reciprocity ("You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours"). His second argument is: "Selfless altruism presents a major challenge for the evolutionist" (p.27).

Reviews

The July 17 Publishers Weekly review reads: “This marvelous book combines a personal account of Collins’s faith and experiences as a genetics researcher with discussions of more general topics of science and spirituality, especially centering around evolution.”

Robert K. Eberle summarizes his opinion of the book: "The Language of God is well written, and in many places quite thoughtful, but unless one is predisposed to the idea of theistic evolution, most will probably find the book unconvincing on this front."[7]

References

  1. ^ Dean, Cornelia (July 25, 2006). "Faith, Reason, God and Other Imponderables". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  2. ^ "Scientists on Religion". Scientific American. October 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  3. ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/june/8.36.html%7Caccessdate=2009-05-08}
  4. ^ {http://www.biologos.org |accessdate=2011-04-20}
  5. ^ See Athanasius treatise The Incarnation of the Word of God
  6. ^ The Language of God: a Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. Francis S. Collins. Simon and Schuster, 2006. ISBN 0743286391. p.203
  7. ^ "The Language of God: If God Could Talk What Would he Say?". eSkeptic. October 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
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