Collins for NIH head

This morning President Obama announced Francis Collins, M.D., as his choice to head the NIH, or National Institutes of Health, which represents the Federal Government's major research funding arm, with an annual budget of $27 billion.

About a year ago, I sat down with Francis Collin's book The Language of God inside which he loosely and nebulously explains that DNA, his specialty, is the "language of God," i.e. the method by which God works actively every day in science. I believe the technical term for Collins' philosophy is "theistic evolution" or in layman's terms "evolution actively guided by a higher power."

Collins journey to Christianity has been very similar to mine. As a young man, he considered science far above and beyond the mythologies of religion, and like me, had an epiphatic moment where he realized the harmony that actually exists between Nature and God. Like me, he has studied science most of his adult life, and like me, he finds the acquisition of knowledge to further proof of God's wondrous power, rather than diminish it.

All in all the book was a snorefest. To me it basically read like this:
"All you non-sciencey people, I know waaaaaaay more than you do about science, and I'm one of the foremost experts on genetics in the world. Despite that, I find God deeply plausible, but not in conflict with science. Therefore, you all should too."
Now, there may have been a large body of people who, not knowing much about science but having a deep faith in God read the book and said to themselves: "If this scientists can believe that religion and science can coexist in harmony, then maybe I shouldn't be so anti-science" and (though I find it highly doubtful) perhaps a couple of Dawkins' cohorts read the book and it dawned on them that God and Science aren't enemies...they're the same thing.

But I doubt it.

The lines in the sand seem pretty well drawn to me, and I just don't see a lot of my peers dropping what they're believing and following Collins' BioLogos theories.

Now, disappointment with texts aside, the body of Collins' scientific research is astounding and humbling to a young scientist like myself, and I have no doubt that he will fulfill every expectation as the head of the NIH.

But if anyone (including Mr. Obama) is hoping that Collins' taking over the NIH will somehow spark a hugfest between Richard Dawkins and Ken Ham...think again.


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