Francis Collins: June 2009 Archives

Source: Library of Congress

Each Monday, "Science and the Sacred" features an essay from one of the BioLogos leaders: Francis Collins, Karl Giberson and Darrel Falk. Today's was written by Dr. Francis Collins.

I recently read some published sermons by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The depth and breadth of his eloquent defense of truth and justice are profoundly inspiring. My favorite of his sermons begins with a verse from Matthew: "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." This exhortation must have seemed paradoxical to Christ's followers -- as it does to us -- but Dr. King explains the real meaning: We are called to have both a tough mind and a tender heart, and we must be careful about when to apply each one.

By its very nature, science must be tough minded. Conclusions about how nature works must be arrived at by rigorous experimentation and development of theories that bring together numerous observations into a coherent structure. Even after a conclusion is reached, there must be intense skepticism about whether the theory is right. Scientists always seek to improve their theories, and, when necessary, overturn them. Whether deducing how the cell copies DNA or determining if a new drug for cancer actually works, there is no place for soft mindedness in science. Scientists are most definitely called to be as wise as serpents.

But what about those aspects of human existence that don't have to do with understanding and controlling the material world? What about the bonds of trust and concern for family and friends, the tenderness of lovers, the calling we all experience to reach out to those less fortunate, and the spiritual impulse to seek something sacred that is greater than ourselves? If tough mindedness is the only attitude we bring to life, then our experiences in these other profoundly important areas will be impoverished.

The need for balance between head and heart is apparent when we look at the tension between the scientific and spiritual worldviews, especially in the United States. New Atheists hold science as a club over the heads of people who believe in God, implying that even considering the possibility of God reveals an inferior intellect. At the other extreme, fundamentalist believers discount scientific findings that violate their particular interpretation of the Bible, even if the meaning of those Scripture verses has been debated among devout Christians for millennia.

Building on Dr. King's message, I encourage scientists -- especially those with a predilection for attacking people of faith -- to continue their tough mindedness in their exploration of nature. But when it comes to matters like the existence of God, the experience of beauty and the meaning of love, they must realize the scientific method has limitations to answer the questions. The heart may be a better guide than the mind in these cases.

Let me also encourage people of faith --especially those who distrust science -- to seek God's truth with all their hearts. But Jesus reminded us to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind." That means taking the time to understand with our minds why scientists are so sure about conclusions like the age of the universe and the relatedness of living things through the process of evolution. We must not worry that this information somehow threatens God.

There is much good news here. Science and faith can indeed exist in harmony if we will just recognize the proper domain of each. Voicing that same theme of harmony between the tough mind and the tender heart, Dr. King quotes the 19th century German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: "Truth is found neither in the thesis nor the antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis that reconciles the two."

Dr. Francis Collins is former director of the Human Genome Project and founder and president of The BioLogos Foundation.

Today would have been my mother's 100th birthday. At her memorial service last year, family and friends sang "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." The verses powerfully captured the loss I felt as a grieving son, but the chorus offered reassurance: "Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by? There's a better home awaiting, in the sky, Lord, in the sky."

My mother had an amazing ability to recruit others to a shared community. Along with my teacher/scholar/director/musician dad, she created an amazing community of theater, music and art in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Being included meant being inspired to do more than you dreamed that you could. It meant being welcomed right away and given an important task. "Where community is real, there is communion," mother wrote in an essay. "Good things can happen. People talk to each other ... There is zest. There is laughter. There is even compassion."

As I reflect on her legacy, I wonder how we could put those same principles to work in encouraging a new and vibrant community dedicated to finding the truth in both science and faith. The shrill voices at the poles of the science and faith discussion that claim the scientific and spiritual worldviews are incompatible have their own organized communities. But what about the vast majority that seeks a third way? What about the people who are convinced that science is a reliable way to understand the natural world, but who also seek answers through faith to more profound questions about the meaning of life and the existence of God?

There are encouraging signs that people who trust both God and science are beginning to create such a community. In the United Kingdom, molecular biologist Denis Alexander, biophysicist Alister McGrath and the Rev. John Polkinghorne, a particle physicist, are turning out marvelously thought provoking reflections on science and faith. In North America, astronomer Owen Gingerich, Denis Lamoureux,professor of science and religion at St. Joseph's College in the University of Alberta, and biologists Kenneth Miller and Jeff Schloss are doing the same. And in November, The BioLogos Foundation will bring together scientists, theologians and pastors to pave the way for a science-informed theology that celebrates God's goodness and creative power and to develop a more cohesive strategy to explore this "third way."

These are just initial efforts to help catalyze a community devoted to seeking harmony in science and faith. We'd love to hear any ideas that could help in building this community and welcome discussion in the comments section below.

My mother detailed her own struggles to merge her love for the artistic world, her dedication to reason and her intimations of the spirit in her journal. "To believe in God", she wrote, "is not to comfort your soul with an easy immortality, nor to put aside the world of the flesh, but to understand that in God's eyes life or death is of little consequence." For a time she was deeply troubled by this realization. "And I closed the door and went away awhile, pretending I hadn't seen. And I went another way, in another direction, running -- but soon running toward not away -- toward other annunciations, other journeys, other adorations. Only a few days ago, I find I have come upon the closed door from another direction, and the door is open, and there is nothing to fear."

Dr. Francis Collins is former director of the Human Genome Project and founder and president of The BioLogos Foundation.