Picture of author.
6+ Works 2,840 Members 61 Reviews

About the Author

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is a pioneer gene hunter. He spent fifteen years as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he led the international Human Genome Project to a successful completion. For his revolutionary contributions to genetic research he was awarded the show more Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, and the National Medal of Science in 2009. He is the Director of the National Institutes of Health. show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Do not combine Francis Collins and Francis S. Collins. They are different authors.

Image credit: Maggie Bartlett

Works by Francis S. Collins

Associated Works

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Francis S. Collins’s The Language of God dealt with life’s profound questions. The author who is a Christian scientist endeavored to answer these mysteries people tend to ask. This involved some knowledge in physics, biology, and theology. Since his training was in medical school lots were said about the biological approach. On theology he relied heavily on the writings of English religious scholar C. S. Lewis for answers about the Christian faith.
A theme throughout the book was Collins’s belief in the moral law. An understanding that universally people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or nationality subscribed to the tenets of what was right and wrong. The author used this argument along with other scientific data to support the premise in a God that was in and outside of nature. Nevertheless, he thought that it was up to every individual to figure out their spiritual path.
Collins had no problems with Darwin’s evolution, and said that the genome project provided further proof. He wrote about some genes that were responsible for individuals being susceptible to certain diseases like breast cancer and heart disease - those that so far scientists have decoded. This scientific data was supported by quotations from scripture.
Concerning if religion could be compatible with science, he was positive. Collins stated that there were many scientists who were also religious. The author also did not think much of the arguments of atheists like the British Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. He wrote that their arguments based only on evolution did not solve the mystery concerning if there existed a supreme being. In this book the author presented his evidence by covering the whole sweep of history since the inception of this debate.
… (more)
 
Flagged
erwinkennythomas | 54 other reviews | Aug 12, 2023 |
A good display of personal reasons for belief and theism. Although it is always interesting to hear about a prime scientist, against the status quo that does not allow to speak out loud about the topic (usually), the importance of the topic could have been better treated.
 
Flagged
Mandrilillo99 | 54 other reviews | Jul 24, 2022 |
It is surely a wonderful book to read and to re-read.It has established a new perspective about faith which many like me might find a logical articulation of our own thinkings.In that sense a mind opener.Also is a very informative book about gentics,philosophy etc.
1 vote
Flagged
Linnabraham | 54 other reviews | Jan 6, 2022 |
A fascinating discussion about the ability of a passionate believer and practitioner of science to also be a passionate believer in God and his journey from agnostic to atheist to theist. Dr. Collins addresses the similarities in multiple cultures and religions regarding ethics. Most of the discussion was about the acceptance of evolution, as described by Darwin, as being perfectly consistent with a belief in a God who is present in our lives. This is termed "theistic" evolution. The strongest part of the argument for God's participation in our development is the Moral Law, which appears to be given only to Man, not to other forms of life. Although this God-given attribute is often broken by religious and nonreligious people alike, he states this shows our lack of perfection and knowledge, not the absence of God.

Dr. Collins also discusses various parts of the Bible — some if it being historical and some of it (e.g., Genesis) being allegorical. As a Christian, he is naturally drawn to the New Testament and makes an argument for the resurrection of Jesus. Not being a Christian myself, I did not quite understand that part, but it was still very interesting.

At the end of the book, he has a section on bioethics. While interesting, there are many topics he didn’t discuss. He was careful not to weigh in on the question of whether life begins at conception and the debate about abortion. Because I would like to know the views of one of our top scientists and self-proclaimed theists, I was disappointed but perhaps that is really an entire book in itself. For that the book lost half a star, but it is obviously still a very worthwhile and fascinating read.
… (more)
½
 
Flagged
krazy4katz | 54 other reviews | Nov 14, 2021 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Dorothy L. Sayers Contributor
Thomas Aquinas Contributor
Augustine of Hippo Contributor
Paul Brand Contributor
Dalai Lama Contributor
Anthony Flew Contributor
C. S. Lewis Contributor
Viktor Frankl Contributor
Madeline L'Engle Contributor
Alister McGrath Contributor
John Stott Contributor
Tim Keller Contributor
Hans Küng Contributor
Art Lindsley Contributor
John Locke Contributor
Plato Contributor
G.K. Chesterton Contributor
Elie Wiesel Contributor
Thomas Merton Contributor
Keith Ward Contributor
N. T. Wright Contributor
Blaise Pascal Contributor
Os Guinness Contributor
Mahatma Gandhi Contributor
Alvin Plantinga Contributor
Mother Teresa Contributor
John Polkinghorne Contributor
Desmond Tutu Contributor
Eric Fuentecilla Cover designer
Index Stock Cover artist
Michael Hagelberg Illustrator
Giorgio Cappelli Translator
Arne Feddersen Übersetzer
Davina Mock Designer

Statistics

Works
6
Also by
2
Members
2,840
Popularity
#9,035
Rating
3.8
Reviews
61
ISBNs
45
Languages
12

Charts & Graphs