The language of God (personal entry)
(Note: This is a blog entry from me as a person and doesn't have much to do with Plum Canary, or cooperative work.)
I was raised in Denver, in a pentecostal christian home. Christianity has been my root faith for my entire life.
As a person who loves science (I like the popular everyman's books on physics, etc.), and a technology-type guy, I must admit I had times when I wanted to reconcile in my mind what I know and believe about science and my faith. Far, far, far too many Christians accept of their faith without question, and turn a blind eye to the findings of scientists.
I question everything I do in my work life - to challenge existing thinking to make it better. Why, then, should I not challenge my faith to see what holds up, and what doesn't? Doesn't this lack of willingness of Christians to examine ourselves reduce our credibility? Hasn't this reluctance by american Christians come to be viewed by the intellectual elite as non-thinking masses blindly taking their opiate?
I decided that intellectual honesty compels me to do a deep examination of my long-held beliefs to see what stands up under the scrutiny of the modern era of cosmology, evolutionary bilogy, etc., and be ready to accept where this led. A bold thing in my world.
If you're either a Christian who has deeply-repressed worries about the same thing, or are an agnostic who endures (but looks slightly down on) Christians, or a full-out atheist wondering how a rational thinker could believe in God, give me the next 2 minutes of your time. I request no change in your belief; just willingness to listen, as I've chosen to do.
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I began my inquiry by looking to see if there were people who had already rigorously looked at this (with more training / background than I have). My first a-ha with newfound rational thinking came in the book Finding God in the Questions, by Dr. Tim Johnson - the medical correspondent for ABC news. He provided some glimpses, but it was too watered down for my taste. I wanted a full-on theological juxtaposition of God and Science (with capital S) - particularly as it relates to highly-controversial topics like biology (specifically evolution), and physics.
My appetite was quenched by the book The Language of God, by Francis S. Collins, the head of the Human Genome Project. Clearly he's a credible scientist with a strong belief in scientific theory. A guy worth hearing out, IMHO.
I devoured the book voraciously. He writes articulately, with the intellectual rigor and honesty I sought about how to examine faith in God without checking my brain at the door. He has heard every argument against faith from scientists, and rationally breaks them down into component points, and addresses the arguments for/against each. He uses current science, his own journey from atheism to faith, provides quotes from (relatively) recent contemporaries like C.S. Lewis, and shows how these deep questions about creation & faith have been examined with rigor as far back as a thousand years ago by St. Augustine - well before the current Christian animosity towards evolutionary biology. He also provides quality scientific descriptions of modern science to show how physics, chemistry, and bilogy can fit together with a belief in God.
He not only does his own investigation into the big questions of life -- Why are we here, how did we get here, and what does life mean -- he encourages people (like me) to put their faith to a disciplined examination, and find their own path. He doesn't preach, he doesn't claim to be the final answer, but does provide both scientific, theological, and process resources to allow thinking people to find their own path.
I'm not going to actually present a case here for/against faith. He does it so much better. So I highly recommend this book for everybody - Christian, agnostic, and atheist. (Oh, and by the way, he fully characterizes and examines each position in the book. Interesting reading even if you disagree.
Thank you, Dr. Collins, for both helping me now see the beauty of God in science, how I can rejoice in the new discoveries of science and how they help me see the words God is using to commune with us, and for giving me a path to continue my journey.