DNA: Born Again

Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Dr. Francis Collins has an interesting editorial concerning science and religion at CNN. After explaining a bit about his path from atheism, he shares with us some of his struggles:

...After resisting for nearly two years, I found it impossible to go on living in such a state of uncertainty, and I became a follower of Jesus. So, some have asked, doesn't your brain explode?

Heh! According to some--such as demonstrated by PZ Myers knee-jerk reaction to the article--it should indeed explode. For many of us, it's perplexing to observe how confounded some strident atheists become at the sight of a scientist who is comfortable with spiritual beliefs. I agree with one brave commenter at Scienceblogs, who pointed out such posts are taking on a frightening resemblance to the anti-homosexual screeds of Dominionist web sites. Collins then asks:

...Can you both pursue an understanding of how life works using the tools of genetics and molecular biology, and worship a creator God? Aren't evolution and faith in God incompatible? Can a scientist believe in miracles like the resurrection...?

OK, that resurrection thingie is a bit of a reach for me, however:

...Actually, I find no conflict here, and neither apparently do the 40 percent of working scientists who claim to be believers. Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things...

Phew! It's really great to have a respected scientist speak-up like this. So much MSM dialog has been monopolized by Dominionists, it's any wonder some brains are upset. Now for the clincher:

...But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation...?

Bravo. I really like the way some of the scientific and environmental Christians are integrating the observable universe into their spirituality. Welcome to our Circle, folks, we Wiccans and Pagans have been at this for a bit. Lets welcome all the help we can get, as together we just might save the planet. He concludes with an attack on literal interpretations of scripture:

...attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer. I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.

What Pagan or Wiccan could disagree with that? It's great to have people like Dr. Collins speaking up.

(Thanx to green_ghost for pointing me to this article)