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desibaker83's review
4.0
Pretty good. At the end, it got a little derogatory (IMHO) against atheists and people who were not Judaeo-Christian.
benwillie's review
3.0
I've read so many similar books to this one in the last three months that they are all starting to blend together, however, this work by Francis Collins stands out in a few ways. First, Collins' radical conversion story from atheism to Christianity, and how he reconciled his immense scientific knowledge to his faith is a defining example of scientists coming to faith, and his eminence in the scientific community only adds to this credibility. In the past few years, I don't love how Collins has handled a few things as director of the NIH, blending church and state to a degree that I'm not sure is entirely advisable. But I would have to think and read more on that to intelligently comment. Regardless, this book doesn't deal with that, outlining some reasons for harmony between faith and science. Where I do disagree with this book is Collins' advocacy of theistic evolution. Having recently read [b:Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution|49038|Darwin's Black Box The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution|Michael J. Behe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442438284l/49038._SY75_.jpg|47974] on the inadequacies of the evolutionary theory (Darwin's On The Origin of Species sparked more of an idealistic mania than a specific one) and [b:Navigating Genesis: A Scientist's Journey through Genesis 1-11|21795109|Navigating Genesis A Scientist's Journey through Genesis 1-11|Hugh Ross|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449890537l/21795109._SX50_.jpg|41048475] from the perspective of old earth creationism, I agree with Collins' advocacy for the integration of science and Scripture, but I think he may have taken the path of "poetic interpretation of Genesis" in his attempted reconciliation, compromising on the inerrancy of Scripture which is the linchpin of the entire faith-reason argument. But though I don't agree with his specific conclusions, his organization BioLogos does have a plethora of good resources of faith and reason in general, and this book will definitely provoke thoughtfulness on the topic. If you're going to read it though, balance it with resources from Reasons To Believe or the Discovery Institute.
josiahrichardson's review
3.0
Just ok. For whatever reason, I have been reading ait of books lately that are content on doing the work necessary to dismantle their opponents beliefs, but fall well short of defending their own propositions. With Collins, I think he does well in pointing out the major errors with other major positions on the origins debates, but when it comes to putting forth his own understanding (biologos), he puts minimal effort into that endeavor. For instance, a major question that someone is going to ask about his position is: "What about Adam and Eve?" And this is a question that needs to be anticipated if you are trying to be persuasive, yet barely a page and a half of the book is given to his answer.
ethanong's review
3.5
1) Francis Collins confirmed to be a big CS Lewis guy
2) He and Richard Dawkins should fight in the octagon
2) He and Richard Dawkins should fight in the octagon
skarijay's review
3.0
Interesting book, heavy into the science but quite readable. It gave me some things to consider. Would have preferred if it was a more unbiased look at different theories, but he was fair.
debs4jc's review
collins presents his personal story of how he came to faith in the christian god. he was largely influenced by c.s. lewis's arguements. along the way he presents some information releated to his work on the human genome project, explaining some stuff about genetics and dna. he does a pretty good job of explaining scientific concepts in easy to understand terms. he lays out his arguments well and without being bombastic. whether or not the reader finds them convincing will of course depend on the reader's own set of convictions and how deeply they hold them. his attempt to blend modern science with christianity is laudible and i liked the way he keeps going back to the axiom that all truth is god's truth. it's an important reminder to us all.
debs4jc's review against another edition
3.0
Collins presents his personal story of how he came to faith in the Christian God. He was largely influenced by C.S. Lewis's arguements. Along the way he presents some information releated to his work on the Human Genome project, explaining some stuff about genetics and DNA. He does a pretty good job of explaining scientific concepts in easy to understand terms. He lays out his arguments well and without being bombastic. Whether or not the reader finds them convincing will of course depend on the reader's own set of convictions and how deeply they hold them. His attempt to blend modern science with Christianity is laudible and I liked the way he keeps going back to the axiom that all truth is God's truth. It's an important reminder to us all.