Religion and evolution [View all]

[Thats my opinion]

Can religion and science find some common ground?

Dr. Francis S. Collins is one of the world’s leading scientists. As head of the nation’s Human Genome Project, he led what may well turn out to be the most important biological breakthrough in modern history. Collins is one of a substantial number of the world’s premier scientists who are also people of religious faith. These theistic scientists have formed a group called “Theologis” believing that science and faith can share common ground. The group includes, among many others, a number of Nobel Laureates. They reject both Creationism in which faith trumps science and Intelligent Design in which science needs divine help. Collins spells out six premises as discussion points linking faith and science. They are:

1-The universe came into being out of nothingness approximately 14 billion years ago.
2-Despite massive improbabilities, the properties of the universe appear to have been precisely tuned for life.
3-While the precise mechanism for the origin of life remains unknown, once life arose, the process of evolution and natural selection permitted the development of biological diversity and complexity over long periods of time.
4-Once evolution got underway, no special supernatural intervention was required.
5-Humans are part of this process, sharing a common ancestor with the great apes.
6-Humans are also unique in ways that defy evolutionary explanation, which points to our spiritual nature. This includes existence of the Moral Law (the knowledge of right and wrong) and the search for God that characterizes human creatures throughout history.

Collins, Francis S. “The Language of God” Free Press (Simon And Schuster) New York 2006 page 200.


While those at both extremes might reject any one or more of the above premises, there are serious scientists who believe these may be a way to start a rational
discussion.