We are so pleased to announce that Francis has been selected as the recipient of this year’s Templeton Prize for his contributions in science and faith.
Read more: Celebrating Francis Collins - BioLogos
We would love to hear about how Francis and The Language of God have impacted your life. Please feel free to leave those stories in this thread!
Congratulations, Francis Collins! Thank you for your hard work in the medical sciences, and for your faithfulness to Christ.
I first heard Francis Collins speak about his faith, as it related to science, in a keynote address he gave at the 2002 American Scientific Affiliation Conference at Pepperdine University in California. At the time, I was a new believer in my second year of my graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University and Jennifer Wiseman, who was completing her postdoctoral studies at Johns Hopkins invited me to the conference. As new Christian, I was struggling with the disconnect between my scientific, academic work and my newfound faith. Because I was open about my faith, my classmates and labmates would criticize Christian beliefs, as if they were trying to convert me to their atheism. One labmate said he was surprised that and intelligent person could be a Christian. That conference, and Francis Collins’ speech was impactful to me, helping assure me that my faith is rational and reasonable. His testimony was beautiful, showing how God worked in Dr. Collin’s life to draw Dr. Collins into a personal relationship with Christ. It was inspiring to see how a scientist could have a successful career and also make an impact for Christ, speaking boldly about his faith.
The Language of God was a book that I read during the most intense crisis of faith that I’ve ever had. Faced with the possibility that the apparent reality of evolution might invalidate the existence of God, I spent hours reading, praying, discussing, etc. to find out the truth. The Language of God was a critical part of that journey.
Knowing that Dr. Collins was an incredibly reputable researcher and yet somehow found a way to reconcile evolution and faith helped provide the impetus to search for my own intellectual and spiritual reconciliation. Some of the insights and arguments he made clarified some misconceptions I had and made me feel like there was hope to find the common ground between science and faith.
Ultimately, I found that place, and eventually became an evolutionary biologist in the process, publishing research that I would have once found terrifying to read in my anti-evolution period. Now I operate in a place where I can help fellow Christians engage with science, and evolution specifically, in a meaningful way. Furthermore, I’ve been able to help those skeptical of the existence of God understand that people can be scientists and follow Jesus Christ, and not somehow have their heads explode!
Dr. Collins’ courage and compassion in publishing that book changed my life forever and for the better, so I’ll forever be grateful to him. Congratulations!!!
Lovely story, thank you so much for sharing!
This topic was automatically closed 6 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
This is a place for gracious dialogue about science and faith. Please read our FAQ/Guidelines before posting.