Dr. Francis S. Collins is the head of the Human Genome Project. As such, he ought to be and is one of the foremost scientists of our age. And he is a believer, a theist, a Christian. His book The Language of God is the presentation of evidence for belief in God.

His story, presented in the first section of Part One: The Chasm between Science and Faith, is interesting. He began college at 16, graduated and went into a PhD program at Yale. He got married, had a child, became a believer, graduated, and went to medical school in the next ten years.

He presents many points of question, stumbling blocks to the unbeliever, and discusses them. Why is there suffering in the world if God is good? Isn’t believing in God just wishful thinking? Why does religion do so much bad stuff? (We talked about this today after having passed a Wiccan’s car with some exceedingly belligerent bumper stickers. I think she needs to review her belief in her three-fold law.)

I don’t think his answers would do for everyone, but they are a good discussion. He is a big Lewis fan, having come to belief with the help of Mere Christianity. But he is clearly a widely read Christian, quoting people I have heard of and others I have never read.

When I first began reading his book last month, I thought it was hard to get through. Today I raced through 55 pages, and then slowed to a dreary slog. I think there is too much information in the book to be able to race through it all. It’s a bite at a time book. But it looks as if each bite will be an incredible meal.