The Language of God

A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

The Language of God

Author: Francis S. Collins
Review By: G. Stephen Goode

I heard Dr. Collins speak at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. and I was fascinated by his humility, his distinguished scientific and medical background as well as his spiritual journey from being an atheist to an agnostic to a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. He heads up the Human Genome Project in Washington D.C.

I did not know that he had written this book but when I was in Pakistan, I browse through bookstores and there was one copy left which I grabbed. I am so glad that I did. Dr. Collins does not disappoint. He is such an intelligent man with such depth and yet a scientist of such humility. He shares his journey of faith as well as the discovery of the human genome or the hereditary code of life that "consists of text that is 3 billion letters long and a reading of that code at a rate of one letter per second would take 31 years, reading day and night."

He writes quite powerfully and on laymen’s terms that I could understand about the chasm between science and faith, the origins of the universe, the world of the scientific community and their belief in God as well as the challenges of the moral practice of science and medicine: Bioethics. His spiritual journey was affected by C.S. Lewis and he refers quite a bit to his writings, which I have thoroughly been challenged by over the years.

He writes about some strongly debatable issues such as evolution, creationism and intelligent design and Dr. Collins rigorous mind will make you think from page one. I have to agree with William D. Phillips, 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics and his comments on this book. "Everyone who questions how faith could be reconciled with scientific knowledge, everyone who fears that modern science attacks the heart of religious faith, everyone interested in an enlightened discussion of a crucial issue of our time should read this book."

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