An Evolution for Evangelicals

[David Blacklock]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02383.html

Francis Collins (genome project) has started a website - BioLogos.org -- to advance an alternative to the extreme views that tend to dominate the debate.

An Evolution for Evangelicals

KEY WEST, Fla. -- If only William Jennings Bryan had known Francis Collins.

Maybe Bryan, who died just five days after leading the prosecution in the Scopes monkey trial, might have lived longer if he had. Although he won the case, his sudden death suggests the proceedings, during which he was savaged by the press, may have taken a toll.

And, who knows? We might never have argued at all about whether evolution should be taught in public schools had Collins been around. Timing.

If Collins is not familiar, he should be. He is the physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project for the National Institutes of Health and is noted for his discoveries of disease genes. Alas, he came along about eight decades too late for Bryan. But he may have entered the zeitgeist just in time for thousands (millions?) of others who have trouble embracing both Darwin and God without, as Collins puts it, their brains exploding.

Collins, an evangelical Christian who was home-schooled until sixth grade, wants to raise the level of discourse about science and faith, and to help fundamentalists -- both in science and religion -- see that the two can coexist. To that end, he created the BioLogos Foundation and last month launched a Web site -- BioLogos.org -- to advance an alternative to the extreme views that tend to dominate the debate.

Yes, he asserted to a room full of journalists gathered here, one can believe in both God and science. In fact, says Collins, the latter does more to prove the existence of a creator than not.

This doesn't mean that Collins falls in line with those promoting creation science or, more recently, intelligent design. He merely insists that belief in God doesn't preclude acceptance of evolution.

Though his own beliefs are firm, Collins understands doubt, skepticism and even atheism. He was once an atheist himself, believing only in what science could prove. As a medical student, however, he stumbled on questions for which science had no answers. In treating dying patients, he also began to wonder how he would approach his own death. Not with as much peace as his patients of faith did, he supposed.

Having earned a PhD and a medical degree, Collins is nonetheless a scientist with little patience for those who insist that evolution is just a theory that one may take or leave. Most human genes, he points out, are similar to genes in other mammals, "which indicates a common ancestry."

Even so, a Gallup Poll found last year that 44 percent of Americans believe God created human beings in their present form within the past 10,000 years.

"You can't arrive at that conclusion without throwing out all the evidence of the sciences," says Collins.

The problem of not believing in evolution as one might not believe in, say, goblins or flying pigs has repercussions beyond the obvious -- that the United States will continue to fall behind other nations in science education. Collins says many creationist-trained young people suffer an intense identity crisis when they leave home for college, only to discover that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Talk about messing with your mind.

Collins says he hears from dozens of young people so afflicted. Most susceptible to crisis are children who have been home-schooled or who have attended Christian schools. Of all religious groups and denominations, evangelical Protestants are the most reluctant to embrace evolution. Their objections haven't changed much since Billy Sunday first articulated them almost 100 years ago and revolve around the fear that acceptance of evolution negates God.

To Collins, Darwin is a threat only if one thinks that God is an underachiever. Collins doesn't happen to believe that. His study of genes has led him to conclude that God is both outside of nature and outside of time. He's big, in other words. The idea that God would create the mechanism of evolution makes sense.

Now, if only he can convince his fellow Christians.

Through the foundation and Web site, Collins is hoping to help home-schoolers and other Christian educators come to grips with their scientific doubts. Among other projects, he intends to develop curricula that combine faith and science. He also hopes to help fundamentalist scientists see the error of their ways.

Whatever one's stripes or lack thereof, helping fundamentalists evolve can only be good for civilization -- a cause in which even the faithless can believe.

David Blacklock - btw, I didn't write any of this.

[Gman]

"You can't arrive at that conclusion without throwing out all the evidence of the sciences," says Collins.

The problem of not believing in evolution as one might not believe in, say, goblins or flying pigs has repercussions beyond the obvious -- that the United States will continue to fall behind other nations in science education. Collins says many creationist-trained young people suffer an intense identity crisis when they leave home for college, only to discover that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Talk about messing with your mind.

Collins says he hears from dozens of young people so afflicted. Most susceptible to crisis are children who have been home-schooled or who have attended Christian schools. Of all religious groups and denominations, evangelical Protestants are the most reluctant to embrace evolution. Their objections haven't changed much since Billy Sunday first articulated them almost 100 years ago and revolve around the fear that acceptance of evolution negates God.

To Collins, Darwin is a threat only if one thinks that God is an underachiever. Collins doesn't happen to believe that. His study of genes has led him to conclude that God is both outside of nature and outside of time. He's big, in other words. The idea that God would create the mechanism of evolution makes sense.

Now, if only he can convince his fellow Christians.

There is a fundamental difference between believing and understanding evolution:

“believe”: to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.
“understand”: to perceive the meaning of: grasp the idea of: comprehend.

If teachers of science would realize their job to teach students, to know and understand evolutionary theory, but not require them to believe it as all truth, then much of this ID conflict would go away.. Sound education rests on conveying knowledge and understanding, not beliefs… Basically Darwinian evolution is not part of our reality. It's a belief system.. DE might make assumptions, that is true, but it is hardly factual. Science does not exclude God. Neither does it include God. Let's just leave it that way and be truthful about it....

[David Blacklock]

Hi Gman,

I just hate to see people dismiss what might be good evidence on account of preconceived ideas from another tradition. I know we - including me - are all susceptible to this. Whether what we lean toward at any given time is called a belief, a fact, a hunch, a gut feeling - I don't know how important all that is. It's important if you're on the State School Board and your vote effects policy. Any supposed "fact" in science is always up for grabs given new evidence. The best one can do is follow the best evidence at the time.

DB

[Gman]

Hi Gman,

I just hate to see people dismiss what might be good evidence on account of preconceived ideas from another tradition. I know we - including me - are all susceptible to this.

Hi David... Long time no see... I don't think anyone is dismissing any evidence here.. It's just when one view claims a dogmatic superiority over the other. I say let the evidence stand and let the chips fall wherever they go... Let them dance together.

Whether what we lean toward at any given time is called a belief, a fact, a hunch, a gut feeling - I don't know how important all that is. It's important if you're on the State School Board and your vote effects policy. Any supposed "fact" in science is always up for grabs given new evidence. The best one can do is follow the best evidence at the time.

DB

Yes that is important. And our tax dollars pay for those State Board members. So where is my voice? I think that people who are committed to Darwin's theory in advance lose sight of the difference between the theory and the facts and hence they present it as unquestionably true. Basically it's just a possible few facts mixed in with numerous assumptions... But that doesn't matter anyways because it will always leave the delivery room with the "fact" stamp on it. After all this is true science... Any other science is considered a religious confession.