Interesting interview with Francis Collins
National Geographic’s February issue has what is the best interview I’ve seen with Francis Collins, a leading scientist whose professed Christianity makes him much despised by scientists who fear religion. There is, for instance, no discussion of Collins’ conversion experience while hiking, which was obviously powerful for him but doesn’t translate so well for those of us who weren’t there (at least, it doesn’t translate well for me). Instead, the interview presents Collins as a thoughtful, humorous man who struggles with difficult issues like free will, and how we can tell when God is present.
He also, in response to a question on neurotheology, gives an answer that shows why science and faith have felt tension since the ancient Greeks invented reason:
I think it’s fascinating but not particularly surprising. We humans are flesh and blood. So it wouldn’t trouble me—if I were to have some mystical experience myself—to discover that my temporal lobe was lit up. That doesn’t mean that this doesn’t have genuine spiritual significance. Those who come at this issue with the presumption that there is nothing outside the natural world will look at this data and say, “Ya see?” Whereas those who come with the presumption that we are spiritual creatures will go, “Cool! There is a natural correlate to this mystical experience! How about that!”