In 2007, Dr. Francis S. Collins penned The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, in which he puts forward his argument for the integration of faith and logic. Prior to his book, in a 2004 PBS interview, Collins discussed his conversion from atheism to faith while in medical school as he encountered the suffering of those afflicted with serious illness. 'They had terrible diseases from which they were probably not going to escape, and yet instead of railing at God, they seemed to lean on their faith as a source of great comfort and reassurance.' said Collins. 'They weren't, somehow, perceiving it as the really awful thing that it seemed to me to be. And that was interesting and puzzling and unsettling.'
Collins said his inquiry led him to the realization that he had 'made a decision to reject any faith view of the world without ever really knowing what it was that I had rejected.' 'And that worried me. As a scientist, you’re not supposed to make decisions without the data,' he said. 'It was pretty clear I hadn’t done any data collecting here about what these faiths stood for.'
Collins’s conversion was not instantaneous. He came to his 'faith is rational' conclusion after many painful months of resistance and ambivalence. 'I didn’t want this conclusion. I was very happy with the idea that God didn’t exist, and had no interest in me,' Collins said. 'And yet at the same time, I could not turn away. I had to keep turning those pages. I had to keep trying to understand this. I had to see where it led." NIH Director Francis S. Collins: Faith a Conclusion Arrived at Through Rational Thought
Who is Dr. Francis S. Collins? What is rational faith? How does one integrate reason and belief?
Collins said his inquiry led him to the realization that he had 'made a decision to reject any faith view of the world without ever really knowing what it was that I had rejected.' 'And that worried me. As a scientist, you’re not supposed to make decisions without the data,' he said. 'It was pretty clear I hadn’t done any data collecting here about what these faiths stood for.'
Collins’s conversion was not instantaneous. He came to his 'faith is rational' conclusion after many painful months of resistance and ambivalence. 'I didn’t want this conclusion. I was very happy with the idea that God didn’t exist, and had no interest in me,' Collins said. 'And yet at the same time, I could not turn away. I had to keep turning those pages. I had to keep trying to understand this. I had to see where it led." NIH Director Francis S. Collins: Faith a Conclusion Arrived at Through Rational Thought
Who is Dr. Francis S. Collins? What is rational faith? How does one integrate reason and belief?