Time magazine recently profiled Dr. Francis Collins, a scientist who believes in God and science in that order. Collins heads the National Institute of Health. He is and has been in the middle of our nation’s struggle with the pandemic. (He is Dr. Fauci’s boss.) More important, Dr. Collins is a Christian. 

In his The Language of God Collins described moving from atheism to agnosticism. Finally, he describes an experience when, as he put it, “I knelt in the dewy grass as the sun rose and surrendered to Jesus Christ.” That decision became the cornerstone to Collins’ holding biblical truth and science together. 

Holding biblical truth and science together is important for you and me. The world seems to have crowned science as king. Many believe science is the way to discover true knowledge; that science is the only real hope for the future. Some believe human beings, even the human race itself, can be “engineered” to move us toward perfection. They claim death is simply a hurdle that science will help us leap. In short, there is a naïve optimism that counts on technology (applying science) to solve the world’s problems. 

As Christians we cannot ignore the increase of knowledge and ability exploding around us. God gave us minds and these minds are to be used for His glory. He called us to season and to illuminate the world, not simply complain about circumstances. If we are to have any influence on today and tomorrow, we need to think about bringing together science and biblical truth. Here are some points to think about:

  • Seek to establish a firm biblical foundation of truth in our own hearts and minds. When we explain or defend biblical truth, we should not simply be trying to justify our own opinions or what we’ve always heard.
  • Recognize the importance of humankind. We are not “top of the evolutionary heap” animals. People are God’s representatives in the world. We are important. We have a history and a purpose.
  • Accept that humankind and the world with it is fallen. Sin is a fact of life in each of us and in whatever setting we find ourselves. Broken from the beginning, our ultimate hope is in God, not in ourselves.
  • Affirm the value of science and technology as tools which God may use in His way. These tools, when used with such biases as rejection of the supernatural, disregard for God (no God or no need for God), self-exaltation to the point of neglecting others folks, however, may be more harmful than helpful.
  • Reject the view that human knowledge and ability is the final measure. God alone is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful).

Finally, as C. S. Lewis wrote regarding our commitment to God’s unchanging standards, “We must at all costs not move with the times.” Even when the latest scientific evidence or national poll stands against biblical truth, God’s Word is sure.

  Francis Collins, The Language of God, (New York:  Free Press, 2006), 225.