Human Genome Pioneer Finds God, Expresses Belief In "Theistic Evolution"

Which seems to be evolution (Darwinism!) but according to God's preconceived plan.

Among Collins’s most controversial beliefs is that of “theistic evolution�, which claims natural selection is the tool that God chose to create man. In his version of the theory, he argues that man will not evolve further.

“I see God’s hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way,� he says.

I don't buy it, but this sort of theory at least doesn't contradict the evidence at hand.

Collins believes that science cannot be used to refute the existence of God because it is confined to the “natural� world. In this light he believes miracles are a real possibility. “If one is willing to accept the existence of God or some supernatural force outside nature then it is not a logical problem to admit that, occasionally, a supernatural force might stage an invasion,� he says.

It seems to me that, if one is going to believe in a faith-based theory of speciation, this one is least objectionable in terms of science. It's not really falsifiable, nor does it impose any dogma on scientific research, which is how I prefer my religious beliefs.

But that's just my humble opinion, of course.

Thanks to JackStraw.

posted by Ace at 05:14 PM

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