FRANCIS COLLINS Director, National Human Genome Research Institute I see no conflict in what the Bible tells me about

Go an what science tells me about nature! Li"e St! Au#ustine in A!D! $%%, I o not fin the wor in# of Genesis & an ' to su##est a scientific te(tboo" but a )owerful an )oetic escri)tion of Go *s intentions in creatin# the uni+erse! ,he mechanism of creation is left uns)ecifie ! If Go , who is all )owerful an who is not limite bs)ace an time, chose to use the mechanism of e+olution to create -ou an me, who are we to sa- that wasn*t an absolutel- ele#ant )lan. An if Go has now #i+en us the intelli#ence an the o))ortunit- to isco+er his metho s, that is somethin# to celebrate! I lea the Human Genome /ro0ect, which has now re+eale all of the 1 billion letters of our own DNA instruction boo"! I am also a Christian! For me scientific isco+er- is also an occasion of worshi)! Nearl- all wor"in# biolo#ists acce)t that the )rinci)les of +ariation an natural selection e()lain how multi)le s)ecies e+ol+e from a common ancestor o+er +er- lon# )erio s of time! I fin no com)ellin# e(am)les that this )rocess is insufficient to e()lain the rich +ariet- of life forms )resent on this )lanet! 2hile no one coul claim -et to ha+e ferrete out e+er- etail of how e+olution wor"s, I o not see an- si#nificant 3#a)s3 in the )ro#ressi+e e+elo)ment of life*s com)le( structures that woul re4uire i+ine inter+ention! In an- case, efforts to insert Go into the #a)s of contem)orar- human un erstan in# of nature ha+e not fare well in the )ast, an we shoul be careful not to o that now! Science*s tools will ne+er )ro+e or is)ro+e Go *s e(istence! For me the fun amental answers about the meanin# of life come not from science but from a consi eration of the ori#ins of our uni4uel- human sense of ri#ht an wron#, an from the historical recor of Christ*s life on 5arth! S,565N /IN75R /s-cholo#- )rofessor, Har+ar 8ni+ersitIt*s natural to thin" that li+in# thin#s must be the han iwor" of a esi#ner! But it was also natural to thin" that the sun went aroun the earth! O+ercomin# nai+e im)ressions to fi#ure out how thin#s reall- wor" is one of humanit-*s hi#hest callin#s! Our own bo ies are ri le with 4uir"s that no com)etent en#ineer woul ha+e )lanne but that isclose a histor- of trial9an 9error tin"erin#: a retina installe bac"war , a seminal uct that hoo"s o+er the ureter li"e a #ar en hose sna##e on a tree, #oose bum)s that uselessl- tr- to warm us b- fluffin# u) lon#9#one fur! ,he moral esi#n of nature is as bun#le as its en#ineerin# esi#n! 2hat twiste sa ist woul ha+e in+ente a )arasite that blin s millions of )eo)le or a #ene that co+ers babies with e(cruciatin# blisters. ,o a a)t a ;i ish e()ression about Go : If an intelli#ent esi#ner li+e on 5arth, )eo)le woul brea" his win ows! ,he theor- of natural selection e()lains life as we fin it, with all its 4uir"s an tra#e ies! 2e can )ro+e mathematicall- that it is ca)able of )ro ucin# a a)ti+e life forms an trac" it in com)uter simulations, lab e()eriments an real ecos-stems! It oesn*t )reten to sol+e one m-ster- <the ori#in of com)le( life= b- sli))in# in another <the ori#in of a com)le( esi#ner=! >an- )eo)le who acce)t e+olution still feel that a belief in Go is necessar- to #i+e life meanin#

an to 0ustif- moralit-! But that is e(actl- bac"war ! In )ractice, reli#ion has #i+en us stonin#s, in4uisitions an ?@&&! >oralit- comes from a commitment to treat others as we wish to be treate , which follows from the realiAation that none of us is the sole occu)ant of the uni+erse! Li"e )h-sical e+olution, it oes not re4uire a white9coate technician in the s"-! >ICHA5L B5H5 Biochemistr- )rofessor, Lehi#h 8ni+ersit-B Senior fellow, Disco+er- Institute Sure, it*s )ossible to belie+e in both Go an e+olution! I*m a Roman Catholic, an Catholics ha+e alwa-s un erstoo that Go coul ma"e life an- wa- he wante to! If he wante to ma"e it b- the )la-in# out of natural law, then who were we to ob0ect. 2e were tau#ht in )arochial school that Darwin*s theor- was the best #uess at how Go coul ha+e ma e life! I*m still not a#ainst Darwinian e+olution on theolo#ical #roun s! I*m a#ainst it on scientific #roun s! I thin" Go coul ha+e ma e life usin# a))arentl- ran om mutation an natural selection! But m- rea in# of the scientific e+i ence is that he i not o it that wa-, that there was a more acti+e #ui in#! I thin" that we are all escen e from some sin#le cell in the istant )ast but that that cell an later )arts of life were intentionall- )ro uce as the result of intelli#ent acti+it-! As a Christian, I sa- that intelli#ence is +er- li"el- to be Go ! Se+eral Christian )ositions are theolo#icall- consistent with the theor- of mutation an selection! Some )eo)le belie+e that Go is #ui in# the )rocess from moment to moment! Others thin" he set u) the uni+erse from the Bi# Ban# to unfol li"e a com)uter )ro#ram! Others ta"e scientific )ositions that are in istin#uishable from those atheist materialists mi#ht ta"e but sa- that their nonscientific intuitions or )hiloso)hical consi erations or the e(istence of the min lea them to e uce that there is a Go ! I use to be )art of that last #rou)! I 0ust thin" now that the science is not nearl- as stron# as thethin"! ALB5R, >OHL5R /resi ent, Southern Ba)tist ,heolo#ical SeminarGi+en the human ten enc- towar inconsistenc-, there are )eo)le who will sa- the- hol both )ositions! But -ou cannot coherentl- affirm the Christian9truth claim an the ominant mo el of e+olutionar- theor- at the same time! /ersonall-, I am a -oun#95arth creationist! I belie+e the Bible is a e4uatel- clear about how Go create the worl , an that its most natural rea in# )oints to a si(9 a- creation that inclu e not 0ust the animal an )lant s)ecies but the earth itself! But there ha+e alwa-s been 5+an#elicals who asserte that it mi#ht ha+e ta"en lon#er! 2hat the- shoul not be assertin# is the i ea of Go *s ha+in# set the rules for e+olution an then ste))e bac"! An e+en less so, the mo el hel b- much of the scientific aca em-: of e+olution as the result of a ran om )rocess of mutation an selection! For one thin#, there*s the issue of human 3 escent!3 5+an#elicals must absolutel- affirm the s)ecial creation of humans in Go *s ima#e, with no )h-sical e+olution from an- nonhuman s)ecies! Cust as im)ortant, the Bible clearl- teaches that Go is in+ol+e in e+er- as)ect an moment in the life of His creation an the uni+erse! ,hat rules out the ima#e of a "in of i+ine watchma"er!

I thin" it*s interestin# that man- of e+olution*s most ar ent aca emic efen ers ha+e mo+e awafrom the ol claim that e+olution is Go *s means to brin# life into bein# in its +arious forms! >ore of them are sa-in# that a trul- informe belief in e+olution entails a stance that the material worl is all there is an that the natural must be e()laine in )urel- natural terms! ,he-*re sa-in# that an-one who trul- feels this wa- must e(clu e Go from the stor-! I thin" their self9anal-sis is correct! I 0ust coul n*t isa#ree more with their )remise!