As A Bible-believing Christian Who Affirms Evolution From Both Science & The Bible, Has Dr. Francis Collins’..?
…..books and videos had any impact on anti-evolution American Evangelicals?Obviously, he is sufficiently knowledgeable of both evolutionary biology and Bible to be aware of any genuine conflicts, if they existed. So what do you think of his expositions on the subject, especially after his directing the Human Genome Project?
Prior to answering this question, I never heard of the man. His Wikipedia page refers to him as “Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950), is an American physician-geneticist,” and he is currently serving as Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland; a position he was appointed to by President Barack Obama. He is hardly british, so we can see the level of research (NOT) done by some of your other answerers.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_CollinsIt is easy to see why this man is sought by the media. He obviously has educational credentials which cannot be denied, and he rejects “Creationism” as “being ridiculous, yet he has debated Richard Dawkins regarding the existence of God.I admit to accepting the Genesis account as written literally, so, YES, I believe that the earth is rather young in comparison to some “scientists” claims. That much being said so that one can tell I obviously disagree with Dr. Collins regarding Genesis, The New Testament also states to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phillipians 2:12) Keep in mind that the word “fear” used here in KJV could be better translated “respect,” this is NOT meant that we should live in “terror” of God.I know of no Bible believing church that actually makes belief in a literal Genesis mandatory for salvation. If anyone can point out any such scripture (even my educated opponents), my email is open and so is my mind regarding scripture.I will wrap up my answer by stating that I could probably throughly enjoy sharing a cup of coffee and my faith with Dr. Collins, and listening to him, although I realize the chances of this actually happening are practically nil.The Voice
No, the creationists just seem to dismiss people like him as having read the Bible “incorrectly”, and ignore him. Go figure.
Whether one believes that ancient mythology is factual or not does nothing to change the facts discovered by science. His views on the Bible are meaningless.
I just can’t figure out why and when apes stopped having humans.. We adapt.. Not evolve..
The earth can not be 4.5 billion years old and created by the big bang as most scientists feel and only 6,000 years old and created in 6 days by a deity as most bible scholars believe One has to be incorrect.The idea that limestone is at the top of mount evereest due to a great flood and uplifting due to plate techtonics are also contradictory ideas. One can believe some elements of the bible and some elements of science, but you can’t completely believe both. If looked at in their entirety they are incompatible.~
Genesis is literal. To read it any other way negates the meaning of sin, death and salvation through Jesus Christ.
There is nowhere near enough evidence for me to doubt Genesis. The burden of proof form molecules-to-man evolution rests solely on the shoulders of those claiming it as fact. I have yet to see natural selection and adaptation lead to greater complexity and until it is observed, evolution (as defined above) remains a modern day creation myth (it was quite popular in pagan cultures long ago, too).
God bless
I haven’t a clue what anti-evolution American Evangelicals think about Dr Francis Collins because I’m British and live in Britain. But I have read a chapter written by Dr Collins (in the book below) and this geneticist and physician is a well respected Christian who is also a scientist. Unfortunately, most Americans have no interest in interesting people unless they happen to be American, or so it would seem. I recommend they get the book below because there are 14 other British scientists, who are also Christians, writing reasons for going along with scientific discoveries that don’t actually clash with the Genesis account of God creating the heavens and the earth. Of course, none of them take the ‘days’ of Genesis to be literally 24 hours, and that is always the sticking point with some Evangelicals.
Dr Collins used the phrase “The human genome is humankind’s instruction book – the hereditary code of life. For a believer like me, it is the language of God.” (p. 58)
He also said, “The fact that God sent his only Son to suffer for humankind means that Christians are perhaps in a special circumstance of knowing they have a God who appreciates what suffering is.” (p 61)
“Some people see science and spirituality as opposing forces – somehow mutually inconsistent. They’re not. I find them entirely complementary. I don’t think science will ever be in a position to prove the existence of God. But I do think there are evidences that come out of science that point more towards than away from the existence of a Creator God who cares about human beings.” (p 63)
“The fact… that nature has not been observed to create itself immediately draws the question of how that beginning came to be.. When you look at the finetuning of the universe… you can’t help but marvel and conclude that there was something more than happenstance behind the process to set those constants in just that precise way… The moral law cannot be readily explained in terms of evolution because it sometimes calls us to do things that are really quite the opposite of what evolution would ask…” (p 64)
I hope those snippets will commend Dr Collins to suspicious Evangelicals from any continent who have been wrongly guided into the notion that science and the Genesis account of creation are incompatible. They are not!
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