Book Review: “The Language of God” by Francis S. Collins (Free Press, 2006)

Marjorie Sutherland | April 2009

“On a warm summer day just six months into the new millennium, humankind crossed a bridge into a momentous new era”. So begins the book by Francis Collins, leading geneticist and appointed head of the publicly funded Human Genome Project. As coordinator of this ten-year project, Collins oversaw work in 20 genome centers in six different countries worldwide. During the official “unveiling” speech when the project was completed, President Clinton stated: “Today we are learning the language in which God created life.  We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, and the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift”. One might wonder how a prominent scientist like Collins would respond to such a statement. Was this a case of Clinton's speechwriters waxing poetic? A last ditch effort to appease any objections from the American “religious right”? Actually, this section of Clinton's speech was written with Collins' endorsement, because Francis S. Collins is a Christian.

In his book, The Language of God, Collins weaves his own life story through the three overview headings of "the chasm between science and faith”, "the great questions of human existence” and “faith in science, faith in God”. The first section of the book is really a synopsis of Collins own faith journey. Beginning his science education and career as a chemist and later as a medical doctor, Collins' agnosticism/atheism was initially confronted by an elderly patient unafraid to diagnose the spiritual condition of her professional caregiver. While reading Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis systematically dealt with most of his objections to faith and atheism lost all intellectual credibility.  Collins became a deist, and soon after a theist. He shares his personal journey to faith openly, and although often refers to other world religions in the text, makes his choice of the Christian faith clear. This is not a man who has a hazy notion of spirituality; this is a man who has a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord.

The second and third sections of the book are devoted to unpacking the fact that Collins has remained wholeheartedly an Evolutionist. He provides what he considers to be unquestionable evidence for evolution from astronomy, geology, and biology with, naturally, a focus on genetics.  Within the evolutionary framework, he is seeking a “richly satisfying harmony between scientific and spiritual world views”. Collins expresses frustration regarding the wearing nature of Creation-Evolution dialogues, and expresses sorrow for the way he and others have been dismissed by many within the Christian community. He argues that “belief in God can be an entirely rational choice and that the principles of faith are, in fact, complementary with the principles of science”. He outlines that some speculation regarding alternative interpretations of Genesis chapter 1-2 have been voiced since the time of St. Augustine, wildly predating any controversy with evolutionary theory, and that for him personally, the “evidence” for the existence of God hinges on the internal moral law and the requirement of a Being who is responsible for a universe intelligent and finely tuned enough to create and support life. In his view, evolution does not remove God from the equation. Obviously he has rejected atheism/agnosticism in becoming a Christian, but presents in section three what he sees as critical flaws in a literal reading of Genesis chapter 1-2, and in Intelligent Design theory's interjection of  “miraculous” interventions where natural (but still God ordained) mechanisms may one day provide an explanation.

While the book is engaging, the reader is left with a few unanswered questions. Collins nowhere provides an evolutionary mechanism for the main character in the book – the structure of DNA.  It remains very curious that evolutionists have yet to propose a credible mechanism for the evolution of molecule on which all this depends. It is also surprising that Collins avoids any conversation about death. Most Christians operate in a “creation-fall-redemption” model that does not seem to mesh obviously with a worldview in which deleterious errors are the functional mechanism for change and death is not a result of sin but a critical part of the process. Also, Collins is determined to present evolution as unquestionable, but fails to push as persuasively about his faith.  His own subtitle suggests “a scientist presents evidence for belief”, but he is more evangelistic about evolution.

In conclusion, the book is an important theistic voice calling in the scientific wilderness. Instead of dismissing his work and his book simply because he does not believe in seven day Creation, we would do well to celebrate the fact that God is given full credit for Creating, and continue the discussion regarding how.  

Reviewed by Marjorie Sutherland, Science teacher, Woodland Christian High School, Breslau, Ontario.