Dr. Collins has undoubtedly aided many scientific advances, in particular, he is most known for his impressive discoveries of disease genes, and his authority in the Human Genome Project, which was highly successful, and exposed much unknown knowledge in regards to the structure of DNA. But along with his support from the scientific community, Dr. Collins has received much criticism for his religious beliefs. Some of that criticism is based on the type of religion that he is associated with, which is evangelical Christianity. In 2006, Dr. Collins released his book entitled, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.
This book is one of the main reasons for his criticism, and in my opinion it’s very easy to see why upon reading it. Many fellow scientists have said such religious commitment could be a sign of "mild dementia" (*1). And I must say that I agree with this. It is troubling to me that some can be so intelligent, as to reveal undiscovered scientific truths and have such high academic regards, yet also believe in religious fairy tales.
But Dr. Collins hasn't always been an evangelical Christian. In fact, he claims to have been atheist for years before he discovered Jesus Christ. To me, it seems quite evident as to why Dr. Collins is a believer, and I don't think it has much to do with scientific facts (although that is his claim). In his book, he talks about how he was a confident non-believer until he started working in the medical field. Upon viewing all of the dying patients, he was moved to find the truth about God. Already, it can be seen that at this point, that he had a hidden agenda of emotional attachment. He was now searching for God because of the death of his patients. Therefore, he wanted to find God. If you start to research into something, already wanting that something to be a certain way, chances are you will conclude your research in a state of how you want it to be, regardless of how it really is. Understandably, dying patients is not an easy thing to witness, but no matter how sad it may be, it doesn't change the facts.
There are a few other things that Dr. Collins discusses in his book that disturb me. In this book, he talks about the day he was converted to Christianity, and how he surrendered to Christ after two years of self debating, (two years after he had started searching for God, upon dealing with the death of his patients). He wrote that he was hiking in the Cascade Mountains, and came across a beautiful frozen waterfall. Upon seeing this waterfall, he felt he could no longer resist. His knees hit the grass, his doubts were removed, and he surrendered to Christ. In an interview for New York Times, he even said that there were three streams in the waterfall, which he believed symbolized the trinity. Is that a scientific conclusion? It’s hard to see that such a brilliant man refuses to use the great principles of science, towards questioning Gods existence. Principles that he is very familiar with.
There are a few other things that Dr. Collins discusses in his book that disturb me. In this book, he talks about the day he was converted to Christianity, and how he surrendered to Christ after two years of self debating, (two years after he had started searching for God, upon dealing with the death of his patients). He wrote that he was hiking in the Cascade Mountains, and came across a beautiful frozen waterfall. Upon seeing this waterfall, he felt he could no longer resist. His knees hit the grass, his doubts were removed, and he surrendered to Christ. In an interview for New York Times, he even said that there were three streams in the waterfall, which he believed symbolized the trinity. Is that a scientific conclusion? It’s hard to see that such a brilliant man refuses to use the great principles of science, towards questioning Gods existence. Principles that he is very familiar with.
Two years of research, and what finally converted him? A waterfall. If that isn't a hidden agenda of emotional attachment, I don’t know what is. This whole situation in very similar to extremists in Islam. Many of these Islamic members are extremely well educated. There are Islamic members who are so intelligent, that they have the ability to create nuclear bombs, as well as many other intelligent designs. These are the same people who believe that after they sacrifice their lives in the name of Allah, there will be 72 virgins waiting for them in heaven.
As crazy as that may sound, the truth is this. Smart people can be fooled. You can be very well educated, and still lack common sense. What is common sense to me when it comes to religion? It is this. Extraordinary claims, call for extraordinary evidence. Not extraordinary claims or emotion. Simple as that. If you say your god is real, I'll ask, based on what evidence? Because when you ask why I deny the existence of your God, I show you substantial amounts of proof. Without emotion.
I encourage you to view the video below, in which Dr. Collins briefly describes why he is a believer. For more information about his beliefs, research his book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.
(*1) reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/health/06nih.html
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