the Rice Thresher

Issue date: 1/23/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Joel Khan Both a scientist and devout Christian, Dr. Francis Collins lectured Wednesday on the possibilities of reconciling the two disparate viewpoints and finding a harmonious balance between faith and science.

To many, science and religion are polar opposites. Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project and a devout Christian, hoped to dispel this notion of absolute separation by speaking to the Rice and Houston community at the Veritas Forum Wednesday evening in the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management's Shell Auditorium.

Over 1,300 people attended the forum, more than half of whom were Rice students and faculty. Five overflow sites were made available for those who were not able to view the event in person.

Collins, who previously served as co-director of the Human Genome Project , related his work in science to the development of his faith. His book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which tells the story of his path from atheism to Christianity, was published in 2007.

"Do you have to choose [between the worldviews of science or religion]?" Collins asked. "Is it possible to find harmony between the two? I argue that it is. To pick one over the other is limiting when trying to answer questions."

Collins detailed his extensive educational and professional history while explaining his personal religious background: a lack of concrete faith until his late 20's. After gentle prodding from a patient about his religious beliefs, Collins sought out a Methodist minister neighbor who provided him with the book that solidified, for Collins, the undeniable existence of God - C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. After Wednesday's talk, a free copy of the book was made available to each attendee bearing a Rice ID.

Collins synthesized his views on evolution and creation in a light-hearted manner.

"Evolution is God's plan for giving upgrades," he said.

Collins argued that the traditional term for this science-faith synthesis - theistic evolution - left a lot to be desired. He suggested the term BioLogos to describe his ideals, pointing to the Greek etymological roots of bios, life and logos, the Word. Collins plans in the upcoming months to unveil an informational Web site to share his ideas about the coexistence of faith and science in the universe that will reflect his created term.

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