Theistic evolution is the effort to reconcile Darwin’s theory of undirected evolution with belief in God in general and Christian theology in particular. Analogous terms to theistic evolution include “evolutionary creation,” “fully gifted creation,” and “biologos.” Ambiguously Defined Theistic evolution encompasses a wide array of different approaches and views, which has generated considerable confusion about the actual meaning of the Read More ›
Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. Biologist Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker.1 Is Darwinian evolution compatible with faith in God? The nation’s preeminent pro-evolution lobbying group, the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), would have people believe that the answer is a resounding “Yes.” In recent years, the NCSE has spearheaded a PR campaign to convince Read More ›
In recent years, debates over faith and evolution have continued to intensify. On the one hand, “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins have insisted that Darwinian evolution makes it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. On the other hand, “new theistic evolutionists” like Francis Collins have assured people that Darwin’s theory is perfectly compatible with faith and need have no damaging cultural consequences.
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Theistic evolution proponents who do not openly deny that God guided the development of life typically insist that His guidance is unobservable in biology. Francis Collins proposes this view in The Language of God, suggesting that from God’s perspective the outcome of evolution could “be entirely specified… while from our perspective” evolution “would appear a random and undirected process.” [The Language Read More ›
Intelligent Design: William A. Dembski & Michael Ruse in Dialogue Edited by Robert B. Stewart Fortress Press, 2007, 257 pages Despite—or perhaps because of—the great volume of books published annually on Darwinian evolution and intelligent design, few new contributions are worth the time of those familiar with the major works of Dawkins and Gould, Johnson and Dembski. (Recent exceptions to Read More ›
On June 26, 2000, President Bill Clinton announced the completion of the Human Genome Project, which had just deciphered the sequence of DNA in a human cell. “Today,” he said, “we are learning the language in which God created life.” At the president’s side was Francis Collins, director of the project, who had helped to write Clinton’s speech. “It is Read More ›
As Oxford professor and arch-evangelist of atheism Richard Dawkins continues his crusade against religion, we finally have the first book-length critique of The God Delusion: Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath’s The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine (InterVarsity Press). One could hardly think of a more contrasting figure to Dawkins or a better apologist for Read More ›
This review appears in the October issue of The American Spectator. To subscribe, click here. The Language of God:A Scientist Presents Evidence for Beliefby Francis S. Collins(Free Press, 304 pages, $26) RECENTLY ASTROPHYSICIST and stalwart Darwin-defender George Coyne lectured before the largest scientific organization in the world, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As he railed against biological arguments for Read More ›
Originally Published in the October Issue of Touchstone Magazine. Francis Collins is the head of the Human Genome Project, the monumental and successful effort to map the 3.1 billion letters of the human genetic code and, surprisingly in a world where “leading scientist” is assumed to mean “hardboiled agnostic,” a serious Christian. In his new bestseller, The Language of God: Read More ›
A review of:The Language of GodA Scientist PresentsEvidence for Beliefby Francis S. CollinsFree Press, 304 pp., $26 Head of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins is among the country’s foremost author ities on genetics, a staunch Darwinist, and a prominent critic of Intelligent Design. He’s also an evangelical Christian who dramatically describes the moment he accepted Jesus as his personal Read More ›