Francis S. Collins

[Morco]

Anyone heard about this guy? He's the current leader of the prestigous Human Genome Project, and he's a Christian(a TE). Here's an article(an edited transcript of Dr. Collins' keynote address given at the 57th Annual Meeting of the the American Scientific Affiliation) called "Faith and the Human Genome":

http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2003/PSCF9-03Collins.pdf

What are your opinions on him?

[Jack777]

Thanks for the post!! I dunno about him. What do you think?

[Morco]

Well, I don't know so very much about him yet, but I think it's cool that one of the leading scientists in the world is a Christian! :teeth: It shows that Christians are not ignorant fools who only do as their parents tell them to do(of course not everyone believes this, yet I've heard it quite often by people who, ironically, themselves are rather ignorant. :wink: )

But I guess his opinions will not please many Christians who hold to YEC/OEC-theory and are hostile to evolution.

[shunyadragon]

Well, I don't know so very much about him yet, but I think it's cool that one of the leading scientists in the world is a Christian! :teeth: It shows that Christians are not ignorant fools who only do as their parents tell them to do(of course not everyone believes this, yet I've heard it quite often by people who, ironically, themselves are rather ignorant. :wink: )

But I guess his opinions will not please many Christians who hold to YEC/OEC-theory and are hostile to evolution.

I am aware of him, but I did not know the details until you posted the file. Thanks!

I am a TE, but not a Christian, and we would get along well. It would be difficult for him to disagree with evolution, and be as involved in this work as he is.

[NeilUnreal]

Good info. One of the reasons I as a Christian have no problem accepting the theory of evolution is the Christian professors I knew in college who subscribed to mainstream science, yet were people of faith. Far from being "Churchian compromisers," their commitment to Christianity made them want to be better scientists -- meticulous in error checking, honest about results, and (most importantly :lol: ) fair to grad students. This is how to be a witness in science: by being a better scientist, not by outre theories, "wedges," and dogmatism.

-Neil

[Eleutherius]

Good info. One of the reasons I as a Christian have no problem accepting the theory of evolution is the Christian professors I knew in college who subscribed to mainstream science, yet were people of faith. Far from being "Churchian compromisers," their commitment to Christianity made them want to be better scientists -- meticulous in error checking, honest about results, and (most importantly :lol: ) fair to grad students. This is how to be a witness in science: by being a better scientist, not by outre theories, "wedges," and dogmatism.

-Neil

This is dead on target, Neil, I appreciate you saying this. The "compromiser" stuff that one hears coming from answersingenesis (including the late but unlamented poster Socrates/Socratism and his various publications) is obviously not meant to be helpful, and it ignores the many ways in which serious Christians have borne serious witness for the faith in serious academic places. I've met several of those people myself, including Francis Collins--I had lunch with him once in a beautiful place overlooking the Pacific Ocean--and I am impressed with the sincerity of their walk and talk. Let me suggest some further names in this category, of which fortunately there are many others beyond the ones I'll name here.

How about Ian Hutchinson, a nuclear engineer at MIT? Or Bill Phillips, the Nobel physicist? Or cosmologists/astronomers George Ellis, Alan Sandage, Joan Centrella, and Jennifer Wiseman? Or the man who is the finest science/religion writer in the world--John Polkinghorne? Such folks are not popular with the AIG types, but they are world class scientists who are also wonderful Christians who believe in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and sin/redemption. If you want to learn more about some of the people who fit this description, go to asa3.org and start browsing. Better yet, join the organization and actually get a chance to meet some more of them.
:smile: