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Whistle Stopper - The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
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List Price: $15.00
Our Price: $6.72
Your Save: $ 8.28 ( 55% )
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Manufacturer: Free Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 215
EAN: 9781416542742
ISBN: 1416542744
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 294
Publication Date: 2007-07-17
Publisher: Free Press
Studio: Free Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't bother reading the reviews... just BUY it!
Comment: This book touches on an issue that is near and dear to me lately in my personal search for truth, namely the relationship between Christianity and Science. Simply put, the heart of the debate lies in how one interprets the scientific data that is available and the first two chapters of Genesis. Collins does a great job in pointing out the flaws of Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the atheistic approach to science (a la Dawkins). Collins, along with Alister McGrath, Howard J. Van Till, and Gordon Glover (among many others) have done well in presenting the case that Science and Christianity do not conflict and one can hold to the theory of Evolution and not compromise one's faith. For the skeptic or the believer, this is a great book that deserves to be read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Language of God
Comment: Interesting book. Well worth reading since it helps settle the conflict between theism and science. A must reat for fundamentalists.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Yes, It is Not Mutually-Exclusive
Comment: I enjoyed the book well-enough. It is a decent read and parts of it were fascinating (the scientific aspects). But as a Papist, I had never been taught anything other than Evolution as a Mechanism for Creation. That is, I continue to be shocked that people consider the question as one that is mutually-exclusive. That is, that people frame the hoopla around the issue as one must choose Creationism OR Evolution, but not both. This sort of false dichotomy just strikes me as juvenile logic... similar to the not-so-bright folks who insult sacred symbols of the Christ by putting feet on them... as if, again, the two are mutually-exclusive. I did enjoy the book, but I didn't feel it was written for Papists, as we just don't see these two truths (Creation and Evolution) as anything but one in the same, stemming from the infinite majesty that is God.
So, for Fundamentalists, I see the benefit (if I am to take Collins's word for it that many of them struggle to reconcile the fact of Evolution and the fact that it is a mechanism authored by God for the unfurling of His Creation). For the Papist, however, the science is cool, but the appeal from Collins to his Fundamentalist brothers and sisters to accept the greatness of God and his Plan in its entirety (accepting Evolution as a function of Creation) seems so theologically rudimentary as to be a strange one to have to make at all.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not to hard of a read at all
Comment: Nice to read something by the guy who mapped it! You can actually find this guy in the world, he's not just some nobody.
Customer Rating:
Summary: DNA is STILL a problem for evolution!
Comment: I have great respect for Francis Collins as a man, a scientist, and a Christian. I agree with his main point that religion and science are indeed "overlapping magisteria", that you can be religious and scientific at the same time with no conflict. But I do reserve the right to disagree with him on a couple of points he made in "The Language of God".
First, I have a problem with the theory of evolution simply because of the overwhelming complexity of DNA. How did DNA originate? Nobel Prize winner Sir Fred Hoyle, in his book (of about 25 years ago) called "Evolution from Space", famously counts the odds of a single molecule of DNA happening by chance at 1 to 10 to the 40,000th power. Based on what science knows at this point, this is a number so small that there is simply not enough time from the Big Bang to now for it to have happened accidentally even once! This is why Hoyle proposed the theory of panspermia, the theory that the seeds of life here on earth came from outer space. But, even if DNA came from outer space, how did it originate there? The origin of DNA on earth is a major hurdle for evolution. How can it be accomplished via an undirected process like evolution?
I also think that Collins should have stood stronger on his religious beliefs. He was basically saying that there are many ways to God. This clearly contradicts what Christ said: "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me." Respect other religions? Of course, without a doubt! But all religions are not considered equal, by the religions themselves. That is why each person makes his own choice.
I wish I could have agreed with him more, but in good conscience I could not.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists. He works at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and scripture. Dr. Collins believes that faith in God and faith in science can coexist within a person and be harmonious. In The Language of God he makes his case for God and for science. He has heard every argument against faith from scientists, and he can refute them. He has also heard the needless rejection of scientific truths by some people of faith, and he can counter that, too. He explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes readers for a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible. The Language of God is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of faith: Why are we here? How did we get here? What does life mean?
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