"The Language of God"... by Francis Collins

Good afternoon, my special little robins~

This book by Francis Collins entitled 'The Language of God' is a rather fascinating and uplifting one. If like me you are longing for a connection with the Sacred in life but find your old spiritual concepts are in conflict with your knowledge of scientific principles, read it.

There are some summarized scientific explanations interspersed with some spiritual ones. In case the author's name sounds familiar, Francis Collins was the head of the Human Genome Project, the team that cracked the human DNA codes. There is no doubt their work will make it possible for the prevention or cure of many genetically based diseases or inherited ones.

Collins' heavy scientific background would seem in conflict with a spiritual faith in a supernatural being, i.e., God, but his book attempts to bring the reader through his personal journey from atheism to believer. One has to want to believe, of course, for his arguments to be taken seriously, but they are very good ones.

I find it fascinating to be relieved of that knee-jerk reaction by many science-based people against belief in a higher being, particularly as Collins is considered to be a scientific genius. Oh, I know, if somebody said, "Hey, let's jump off that cliff!", would I just jump? Of course not, but it is interesting to confront our own religious and spiritual prejudices and see how Collins attempts to counter each one.

Remembering back to those embarrassing moments you would like to forget? I once asked a physicist who sang in the choir with me how a man of high science was able to come to church and believe in God. (It was a Roman Catholic church no less.) Obviously I was having my own doubts, which I have now discovered are a part of faith, but that's another post.

Anyway, after considering my rude question he said, "The more I learn about the universe, the easier it is to believe in God."

What I find amazing about Francis Collins' book, however, is that he seems to believe in the way a Theist does - that God is a supernatural being able to still care about the concerns and woes of individual people and that he wants a relationship with humanity.

I guess that's the way it is with family. Even though your loved ones are often a disappointment, you are loyal and love them just the same. It's a comforting thought, isn't it? Anyway, read the book. It's in paperback now and well worth it.

You can find it on-line at these sites: http://www.bordersstores.com/search/search.jsp
http://www.amazon.com/books-used-books-textbooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=283155

Clark County Diva