Former Human Genome Project director blends faith, science

By Anna Wilde     1/22/09 6:00pm

To many, science and religion are polar opposites. Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project and a devout Christian, hoped to dispel this notion of absolute separation by speaking to the Rice and Houston community at the Veritas Forum Wednesday evening in the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management's Shell Auditorium. Over 1,300 people attended the forum, more than half of whom were Rice students and faculty. Five overflow sites were made available for those who were not able to view the event in person.

Collins, who previously served as co-director of the Human Genome Project , related his work in science to the development of his faith. His book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which tells the story of his path from atheism to Christianity, was published in 2007.

"Do you have to choose [between the worldviews of science or religion]?" Collins asked. "Is it possible to find harmony between the two? I argue that it is. To pick one over the other is limiting when trying to answer questions."

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Collins detailed his extensive educational and professional history while explaining his personal religious background: a lack of concrete faith until his late 20's. After gentle prodding from a patient about his religious beliefs, Collins sought out a Methodist minister neighbor who provided him with the book that solidified, for Collins, the undeniable existence of God - C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. After Wednesday's talk, a free copy of the book was made available to each attendee bearing a Rice ID.

Collins synthesized his views on evolution and creation in a light-hearted manner.

"Evolution is God's plan for giving upgrades," he said.

Collins argued that the traditional term for this science-faith synthesis - theistic evolution - left a lot to be desired. He suggested the term BioLogos to describe his ideals, pointing to the Greek etymological roots of bios, life and logos, the Word. Collins plans in the upcoming months to unveil an informational Web site to share his ideas about the coexistence of faith and science in the universe that will reflect his created term.

The Veritas Forum was started in 1992 by students at Harvard University to facilitate the pursuit of veritas, which means "truth" in Latin, as encouraged in the founding mission of the university, according to the Veritas Web site. This academic year the forum has been active at 38 college campuses in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Rice previously hosted Veritas in February 2002. The weeklong series was one of the longest in Veritas' history, according to Dan Cho, executive director of the Veritas Forum. About a year ago, Veritas and a team of campus ministers began planning a shorter but more influential visit, with hopes of continued activity in the years following the event.

"We want to be a catalyst to the community," Cho said.

He emphasized that the national Veritas Forum is not always involved in follow-up events, but plans are already in the works for a solely Rice-led Veritas event to take place next year or the year after.

This forum was coordinated and funded by Rice University campus ministries, including Agape Christian Ministries, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Reformed University Fellowship, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, Rice Graduate Christian Fellowship, Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry, Houston Lutheran Campus Ministry and Baptist Student Ministry. Churches in the Houston area, including St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Houston Chinese Church, First Presbyterian Church, Houston and private donors such as the John Templeton Foundation also contributed.

The Veritas at Rice planning committee consisted of campus and Houston-area ministers Andy Dennis, Billy Crain, Brad Fuerst, Doug Lew, Chris Sneller, Josh Bell, Mike Karim, Peter Ou, Emily Everett, Todd Bryant and Kurt Ritz. Sociology Professor Michael Lindsay, Martel College senior Collin Mueller and Brown College senior Abby Van Wyk were also part of the team.

Collins, who had been serving on President Barack Obama's transitional team up until the inauguration, also shared his views on science and public life at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy before the Veritas Forum.

Veritas was followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by Sociology Professor Michael Emerson and a reception and book signing at the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion. Follow-up discussion sessions were led by students at each college during dinner Thursday.

For some attendees, Collins accomplished his goal of not only opening scientists' eyes to the importance of religion, but vice versa.

"[The talk] made me seriously consider the science aspect and alternative to intelligent design," Jones College junior Mary Grace Hager said.

For others, the Veritas Forum did not solidify the connection of science and religion.

"The speech didn't affect my religious views because I've never felt that science really absolutely disproves or proves anything in that realm," Martel College sophomore Miguel Quirch said. "The speech did a decent job showing that science isn't an absolute factor in proving or disproving religion.

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