Genome Project Leader Explains DNA of Belief

Having lived for years in the vicinity of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where DNA was discovered, I paid attention to the writings of one of the Nobel Prize winners for that feat, Francis Crick. I even read his book about searching for God, which concluded that there was no way to prove His existence scientifically.

So when I was introduced to an audio book by another Francis, Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute -- which broke down how DNA works in the human body -- I was thrilled to find that he is a believer. This has led him to pursue analysis of the ideas involving philosophy, science and faith, and their relationship in history and in the present.

The 2006 book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, explores how religion got such a bad name in reaction to oppression by the church and government, and how thought about religion evolved into Agnosticism and Atheism by the new scientists of the 19th century -- who essentially threw the baby out with the bathwater.

From a scientific Christian like Sir Isaac Newton to Richard Dawkins, a rabid anti-God writer, Collins probes the motivations and arguments of scientists on the subject and pokes holes in the concepts held dear by those who reject God without sound reasons as well as New Earth Creationists who reject scientific findings due to narrow-minded interpretations of scripture. It is particularly interesting to hear his explanation of how Dawkins sets up straw men and knocks them down as a way of arguing against God.

Dawkins' last diatribe was a bestseller, which once again shows how easily people can be deceived when presented with arguments by scholars who have a philosophical axe to grind, in spite of the lack of evidence for their case.

Collin's compelling book presents one of the finest explanations for why anyone should keep an open mind about God, especially as science begins to discover the origins of both the universe (and how it appears to have been created) and the origins of our inner universe, which are far more complex than any 19th Century nonbeliever ever could have imagined.