The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

Collins argues that “the elegance behind life’s complexity” (86) is a reason to believe in God—but in a more complex way than was assumed before Darwin.

Before Darwin, many people found the Argument from Design intellectually compelling; in fact, Darwin himself was convinced by it in his early career. As stated by the naturalist William Paley, this argument uses the famous watchmaker analogy, comparing the world to a watch whose complexity seems to imply the existence of a maker. There is a problem with this analogy, however. It relies on the idea of complexity—the universe is complex, just like a watch. But just because the world is complex like a watch does not necessarily mean that it too had a creator; the complexity may have another explanation. Thus, Collins says that Paley’s argument is not sufficient.

Science has gone beyond Paley’s argument by studying the origins of life on earth through radioactivity and chemical decay, which allow scientists to measure the age of various rocks on earth with remarkable precision. Thus, whereas the Big Bang is thought to have occurred 14 billion years ago, the Earth would appear to be about 4.55 billion years old.

Science has not yet solved the mystery of how life arose on Earth about 400 million years ago. Some theists have argued that the existence of DNA is proof of God’s direct intervention in nature, but Collins cautions against pegging our faith on this particular scientific mystery. Science is advancing in this area, and the discipline of fossil studies is helping us to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the history of life on Earth.

All these forms of scientific study were made possible by Charles Darwin, the originator of evolution science. In his “explosive” theory, Darwin proposed that “all living species are descended from a small set of common ancestors—perhaps just one” and that change in species takes place through natural selection or “descent with modifications” (97). Although some lay people still object to Darwin’s work, all serious biologists see his findings as the best way to explain the diversity of life on Earth.

Monk and scientist Gregor Mendel’s research into plant development in the late 19th century enhanced Darwin’s findings and led directly to the discovery of genes and DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick, who in 1953 chronicled the physical design of the “double helix” of the DNA molecule. (See analysis for explanation of the DNA molecule.) For Collins, far from demystifying the universe, the intricacy of life forms and DNA points toward God: “Do not fear, there is plenty of divine mystery left” (106).

Collins came to lead the Human Genome Project in 1992. After describing the arduous process that led to deciphering the human genetic code eight years later, Collins discusses what the genome tells us about evolution. Collins and his scientist colleagues found several unexpected things in the genetic code: fewer protein-coding genes than suspected, and such a low genetic diversity among human beings in general that “we humans are truly part of one family” (126).

The facts of the genome support Darwin’s theory of evolution. Mutations in genes cause gradual changes in animals’ body structures over time (i.e., natural selection). Rapid changes in disease-causing viruses sometimes take place, posing a challenge to the effectiveness of vaccines. The detailed study of the genetic code has shown that human beings share much of their genome with other organisms—for example, humans share 96% of genes with chimpanzees. Finally, ancient repetitive elements (AREs) provide evidence of a common ancestor for humans (see Part 2 Analysis). Though the genome project confirms the truth of evolution, Collins insists that the work does not mean that God does not exist: “it merely shows us something of how He operates” (141).