Dr. Francis Collins speaking at the Faith in Life series at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN. – YouTube screenshot collage.
“Doctor, what do you believe?”
Leaving him speechless at the moment, the question from one of his hospital patients sharing her faith led Dr. Francis Collins to find answers. It took Collins two years to journey from his previous life with no faith or religious background, to that of an eminent scientist who believes in God as a Christian.
The question brought Collins to a pastor acquaintance who give him a copy of C.S. Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity. The small but popular book tells of Lewis’ similar journey. Collins, the former head of the National Institutes of Health, shared the story of his journey at the Faith in Life program at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN.
I had hoped to attend the event on April 16 but had to settle for watching the video later on YouTube. If it’s okay to still have heroes these days, Collins would qualify. At 76 he remains active in writing and speaking, based on his vast knowledge of science, and the way he has bridged that with faith.
The following lines about Collins come from my Nov. 13, 2024, post, Darkness at noon on the road to wisdom: “If you are not familiar with Dr. Francis Collins, he was the tall one with Dr. Anthony Fauci at news conferences as they strove to present the facts up against the false and absurd (Postmodern?) proclamations of the president in 2020 about Covid-19.
Language of God
“As director of the National Institutes of Health, Collins marshalled the resources of science to produce a Covid vaccine in record time. Prior to that he led the Human Genome Project, which identified the estimated three billion pairs of genes in our DNA (the language of God).
“Published in 2006, his book, The Language of God, provides an excellent overview of the project, and a powerful thesis for a ‘satisfying harmony’ between faith and science ‘…We desperately need both voices to be at the table, and not to be shouting at each other’.”
The Faith in Life series hosts nationally acclaimed speakers with positive yet realistic messages that offer hope and wisdom in these unsettled times: David Brooks, Lorie Line, Kevin O’Connell, William Kent Kruger, Ray Suarez, Marilynn Robinson, Authur C. Brooks. I was able to attend the event with Brooks and appreciate his book, From Strength to Strength – Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.
At the April 16 talk, Collins describes how as a scientist he can relate the Big Bang Theory to a belief in God, why there is something instead of nothing. Science and faith are allies – science describes the how, and faith the why. The Bible is the book of God’s words; nature is the book of God’s works, he says.
Universal moral law
More evidence comes from the Moral Law, which Collins describes as being innate in humankind. From the beginning of humanity, people intrinsically understood right from wrong. The impulse comes from God. Another line from Collins that I appreciate: ‘We are all brothers and sisters, we are all Africans,’ referring to the origins of humankind in east Africa about 100,000 years ago. At the DNA level all humans are about 99.9 percent identical.
In his 2024 book, The Road to Wisdom, Collins writes, “This is a book about the sources of wisdom, something that I fear too many of us have lost sight of. I was inspired to write it after spending many years in the public eye and seeing just how badly divisiveness and politics have warped our thinking – including our ability to discern truth, our understanding of science, and our anchor to the fundamentals of faith represented in our churches. This is my attempt to ‘unwarp’ us, and to help recover what matters most.”
Amid all the turmoil today, that’s the message he now proclaims in his speeches and outreach to such groups as Braver Angels (See my May 8, 2025, post, ‘Reduce the Rancor’ – It takes Braver Angels to build bridges across the political divide). He noted a Pew Research poll reporting that in the U.S. 57 percent had negative views of their neighbors; Canadians held the least such views.
Compassion deficit
Polarization is really affecting our lives, Collins says. There is a great distrust of science putting funding at risk for medical research. There is a compassion deficit in our nation as people have aligned their values to ideology and not basic human values. He urges people to re-anchor their values to the principles of love and service to neighbors. Distinguish facts from fakes, reach out from your bubble.
More about Collins from the Faith In Life website: After leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute, “he founded and served as president of The BioLogos Foundation, which promotes discourse on the relationship between science and religion and advocates the perspective that belief in Christianity can be reconciled with acceptance of evolution and science, especially through the theistic evolution idea that the Creator brought about his plan through the processes of evolution. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Collins to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.”
Restore science
Although I could have a pretty good guess, I would like to hear Collins’ comments about the recent New York Times story: Trump Fires Board Members of Group That Oversees U.S. Science Funding. “The dismissals from an independent board that oversees the National Science Foundation marked the president’s latest assault on scientific research organizations. The dismissals are the latest in Trump’s clash with scientific research organizations, as his administration cuts funding to its lowest level in decades.”
Without sufficient funding, long-term efforts such as the human genome project would not have happened. Results of the genome project today promise the development of treatments aimed at specific sites on the DNA double helix strand. We the people must make every effort to restore a progressive, democratic government that will rebuild the damage that is being done to scientific research.
Even though I had already read a library copy of Collins’ latest book, had I been able to attend the April 16 event it’s likely that I would have stood in line to purchase a signed copy. Depending on my courage and circumstances, I could have mentioned to him that I am the Forrest to whom he had inadvertently sent an email message.
I sent him an email saying that my Nov. 13, 2024, Substack post mentioned his books, and thanking him for his inspiring work. Later that day I was surprised to receive a response, then chagrined when it became apparent that he had confused me with another person by the same first name. I replied with an apology and explanation. He wrote back: “Thanks for your note, and my apologies for the mix up. I guess you could say I got lost in the Forrests.” You can add a great sense of grace and humor to his impressive resume.
