The document discusses scientist Francis Collins' views on reconciling faith and science, specifically regarding evolution and the origins of life. It summarizes Collins' perspective that scientific evidence shows evolution occurring over millions of years, guided by God. The document also examines interpretations of Genesis and contrasts young earth creationism with views that see God using evolution as His mechanism for creation over long periods of time.

1. Francis Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief “ The Big Bang cries out for an explanation. It forces the conclusion that nature had a defined beginning. I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that But what of the rest of creation? What are we to make of the long, drawn-out process by which our own planet, Earth, came into existence, some 10 billion years after the Big Bang?”

2. King David (Psalm 8) “ 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”

3. The Challenge Facing Us Today “ If the existence of God is true (not just tradition, but actually true) and if certain scientific conclusions about the natural world are also true (not just in fashion, but objectively true), then they cannot contradict each other. A fully harmonious synthesis must be possible.” Francis Collins

4. Which comes closest to your views? Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God designed and still guides the process. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but no god had a part in this process. God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.

5. A Spectrum of Beliefs and Views God-led Creationism Godless Evolution Intelligent Design YHWH-led Evolution Young Earth Creationism god-led Evolution

6. Results have remained essentially unchanged since 1986 45% 38% 13%

7. Two Biggest Anti-Evolution Arguments Eliminates the need for a supernatural designer How do you explain the existence of the Moral Law? How do you explain the universal longing for God, for something and Someone more? Contradicts sacred texts that describe God’s role as Creator The Koran (15:26) also describes life developing in stages, with humans being a special act of creation. For many Christians and Jews, the great creation story of Genesis 1 and 2 is a solid bedrock

8. Genesis 1:1 – 2:7 The creation of humankind is ‘different’ in these two accounts Gen 1 – Plants on Day 3 (11-12) and humans on Day 6 (27) Gen 2 – Humans (5-7) before plant life (8-9) Original authors and audience weren’t thinking ‘science’ Poetry and allegory > Meaning Concerned with answering ‘Who?’ and ‘Why?’ not ‘How?’ and ‘When?’ Taking every word literally runs into other problems Does God really forget and need prophets to remind Him (Exod 33:13)? Must we really remove an eye and a hand (Matt 5:29-30)? Collins: “The intention of the Bible was (and is) to reveal the nature of God to humankind. Would it have served God’s purpose 3,400 years ago to lecture to His people about radioactive decay, geologic strata, and DNA?” (175)

9. Darwin’s Revolutionary Idea All living species are descended from a small set of common ancestors—perhaps just one. Variation within a species occurs randomly. The survival or extinction of each organism depends on its ability to adapt to its environment (natural selection). “ There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” Charles Darwin, Origin (459)

10. A Convergence of Evidence Confirms EVOLUTION Detectives use the convergence of several lines of evidence to deduce who most likely committed a crime. Same method scientists use to deduce the likeliest explanation for a particular phenomenon. As a historical science, evolution is confirmed by the fact that so many independent lines of evidence converge to its single conclusion. Independent sets of data from geology, paleontology, botany, zoology, herpetology, entomology, biogeography, comparative anatomy and physiology, genetics and population genetics, etc., each point to the conclusion that life evolved. Creationists have yet to unravel all these lines of evidence nor have they constructed a rival theory that can explain them better than the theory of evolution.