About top-notch scientist Dr. Francis Collins and his superb arguments about science being compatible with belief in (Christian) God; My adaptation to multi-faith God
Given below are my comments (edited) from a recent conversation I had elsewhere which I thought may benefit readers who are interested in science as well as spirituality and faith in God.
---, have you heard about Dr. Francis Collins, who is one of the top scientists of the world who has publicly argued for faith and against the atheism and agnosticism of scientists like Richard Dawkins? If not, I can point you to a Caltech talk of his which I found to be superb in refuting Dawkins' arguments and in showing that one can be a scientist and have faith in God.
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Here is my blog post on it: https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/francis-collins-the-language-of-god-a-scientist-presents-evidence-of-belief-transcript/
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Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was the Avatar in physical form, explaining the mystery of creation and the spiritual laws like that of Karma and reincarnation. So we are extraordinarily blessed to have got clear wisdom from such a powerful source.
But when it comes to science, some top scientists (e.g. Richard Dawkins) view everything through the lens of science which is a big mistake as science, despite being an extraordinarily powerful tool, is limited to nature and cannot be used to get into matters beyond nature like the subtle laws of spirituality like laws of karma and reincarnation.
While Francis Collins argues from his Christian faith point of view (and not Hindu Karma and reincarnation beliefs/revelations), he is able to use the language of scientists to counter Richard Dawkins' atrociously scornful attitude towards believers - Dawkins arrogantly titled his book - The God Delusion!!!
This post of mine dwells on background of Francis Collins (an extraordinary scientific career with top level recognition in USA govt.), how Collins' lecture helps to counter Dawkins (and other atheist and agnostic scientists inspired by Dawkins to intellectually attack theists), and also provides my Hindu take on matters where Collins gives his Christian take: https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/one-can-be-a-rigorous-scientist-and-a-believer-in-god-dr-francis-collins/
I found that Collins' talk and its transcript provided a contemporary basis to argue successfully against atheist and agnostic scientists who attack religious and spiritual beliefs. In particular, I think it would be very useful to young people of faith who do advanced science study like Masters or Ph.D. in top scientific institutions in the world. Normally such places are intellectually dominated by atheist and agnostic scientists, who may mock the faith of young students! I am not being imaginative here. This is real. The Collins lecture gives defense material to such young people of faith to counter efforts of atheist and agnostic scientists to scorn and mock their faith, using a person whose scientific credentials ****today**** (as against some 19th or early 20th century scientific figure) are top notch.
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Collins was associated in a founder role of an organization called BioLogos which seemed to promote the view that Christian faith and science are compatible. As he was asked to head the top health research institution in the USA, the NIH, he had to disassociate with BioLogos and pass the baton of management of BioLogos to others.
Now I found that BioLogos had (and still has) a concise 11 point 'What We Believe' statement which is a crisp and clear statement of belief in Christian God that is compatible with science.
I decided to adapt (to be precise, give top-level thoughts about the adaptation of) that great statement of belief, to a multi-faith setting, and have given that adaptation, in the form of suggested changes in this blog post: Crisp Statements of Belief in God that is Compatible with Science, https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/crisp-statements-of-belief-in-god-that-is-compatible-with-science/.
I request readers, especially scientists and fellow technologists (I am a former software technologist) to go through my above post and give me your valuable feedback. Please feel free to be critical. I welcome constructive criticism that improves my adaptation/direction for adaptation.
BTW Francis Collins is a member of the top scientists panel of the Roman Catholic Church - the Pontifical Academy of Sciences: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences. So Collins seems to be a notable man in science and the Roman Catholic Church's current view of God and science.
----
---, have you heard about Dr. Francis Collins, who is one of the top scientists of the world who has publicly argued for faith and against the atheism and agnosticism of scientists like Richard Dawkins? If not, I can point you to a Caltech talk of his which I found to be superb in refuting Dawkins' arguments and in showing that one can be a scientist and have faith in God.
---
Here is my blog post on it: https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/francis-collins-the-language-of-god-a-scientist-presents-evidence-of-belief-transcript/
---
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was the Avatar in physical form, explaining the mystery of creation and the spiritual laws like that of Karma and reincarnation. So we are extraordinarily blessed to have got clear wisdom from such a powerful source.
But when it comes to science, some top scientists (e.g. Richard Dawkins) view everything through the lens of science which is a big mistake as science, despite being an extraordinarily powerful tool, is limited to nature and cannot be used to get into matters beyond nature like the subtle laws of spirituality like laws of karma and reincarnation.
While Francis Collins argues from his Christian faith point of view (and not Hindu Karma and reincarnation beliefs/revelations), he is able to use the language of scientists to counter Richard Dawkins' atrociously scornful attitude towards believers - Dawkins arrogantly titled his book - The God Delusion!!!
This post of mine dwells on background of Francis Collins (an extraordinary scientific career with top level recognition in USA govt.), how Collins' lecture helps to counter Dawkins (and other atheist and agnostic scientists inspired by Dawkins to intellectually attack theists), and also provides my Hindu take on matters where Collins gives his Christian take: https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/one-can-be-a-rigorous-scientist-and-a-believer-in-god-dr-francis-collins/
I found that Collins' talk and its transcript provided a contemporary basis to argue successfully against atheist and agnostic scientists who attack religious and spiritual beliefs. In particular, I think it would be very useful to young people of faith who do advanced science study like Masters or Ph.D. in top scientific institutions in the world. Normally such places are intellectually dominated by atheist and agnostic scientists, who may mock the faith of young students! I am not being imaginative here. This is real. The Collins lecture gives defense material to such young people of faith to counter efforts of atheist and agnostic scientists to scorn and mock their faith, using a person whose scientific credentials ****today**** (as against some 19th or early 20th century scientific figure) are top notch.
----
Collins was associated in a founder role of an organization called BioLogos which seemed to promote the view that Christian faith and science are compatible. As he was asked to head the top health research institution in the USA, the NIH, he had to disassociate with BioLogos and pass the baton of management of BioLogos to others.
Now I found that BioLogos had (and still has) a concise 11 point 'What We Believe' statement which is a crisp and clear statement of belief in Christian God that is compatible with science.
I decided to adapt (to be precise, give top-level thoughts about the adaptation of) that great statement of belief, to a multi-faith setting, and have given that adaptation, in the form of suggested changes in this blog post: Crisp Statements of Belief in God that is Compatible with Science, https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/crisp-statements-of-belief-in-god-that-is-compatible-with-science/.
I request readers, especially scientists and fellow technologists (I am a former software technologist) to go through my above post and give me your valuable feedback. Please feel free to be critical. I welcome constructive criticism that improves my adaptation/direction for adaptation.
BTW Francis Collins is a member of the top scientists panel of the Roman Catholic Church - the Pontifical Academy of Sciences: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences. So Collins seems to be a notable man in science and the Roman Catholic Church's current view of God and science.
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