The human genome project is the biological sciences equivalent of putting a man on the moon or splitting the atom. By April, 2003 project researchers will have defined the complete sequence of three billion letters comprising our genetic code; what might be called God’s recipe for mankind. Leading that project, Dr. Francis Collins, a one-time atheist who now claims Jesus Christ as his Creator and Savior.

The human genome project is a cooperative effort between thousands of scientists at institutions all over the world. Dr. Collins coordinates their work through the National Human Genome Research Institute, a division of the National Institute’s of Health.

"We now have an almost completed sequence of our own instruction book. We’ve had now, since the summer of 2000, a reasonable draft, but we have been closing up all the gaps dealing with any of the letters we weren’t absolutely sure of." Dr. Collins says. "That is a wonderful milestone, but in order to see that applied for medical benefit, there are many other things we need to understand about how it works.

With the human genome map in hand, researchers can zero in on the damaged DNA strands that are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for most disease.

"We’ve just been feeling our way in the dark," Dr. Collins explains. "This is our best hope to actually figure those things out, and that should lead us to the ability to make predictions about who’s at risk in a way that allows them to reduce that risk, and allow all of us to have a better chance of living long and healthy lives. And it will also give us better ideas about treatments, so if you fall through that preventative medicine safety net, there’s something waiting for you there that’s a lot more effective and less likely to cause a terrible side effect than what we have now. That’s the promise; a lot of that is not around the corner, we’re talking for many of those things, maybe twenty years, some of them sooner, some of them about that long, but we can see the pathway now."

A very different path than Dr. Collins expected to be following at this stage in life. During his college years young Francis Collins was an atheist who reveled in bashing people of faith at every opportunity. But he met his match in the writings of Christian apologist C. S. Lewis. He admits that the book Mere Christianity (Available on our offerings page.) shook him to the core and forced him to consider, for the first time, Christ’s claim to be God made flesh and Savior of all.

"I knew nothing about faith," Dr. Collins remembers. "I had no idea who Christ was; what it meant that he came and died for me, that he shed his blood for my sins. I had no idea what that concept was about. The core of Christian faith was something that was completely obscured to me, and yet I somehow felt confident that I could shoot it down somehow. Ah, the arrogance of youth, I guess. Maybe it was a phase that it was good for me to go through. And I’m often grateful that I did go through that, and then came to a faith as an adult through the series of steps that I did. Because it really forced me to ask a lot of questions, and it gives me this confidence now that I sort of have considered all of those options, and now I’m in the place where I need to be."

Today, Dr. Collins finds it hard to imagine how he would face the challenges of life without faith as a ready resource. He says "I have the eternal God to go to, to ask for guidance, to ask for wisdom. James says, ‘If any man lacks knowledge, let him ask of God, who gives generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.’ I need that all the time, and that assurance is a great comfort in times where, in myself, I am woefully inadequate. The challenges are huge. The consequences are huge. I can’t do this even 1% on my own. And maybe more importantly, I have something to formulate opposition, when some new challenge comes along. I’m really glad for that!"

And there are many such challenges ahead as scientific advances take us into uncharted ethical waters.  For good or ill, science now holds the key to human genetics. Even more disturbing for some, the human genome project is just one of many scientific advances currently pushing us into uncharted ethical waters. Some in the faith community wonder if we’ve gone to far, but Dr. Collins rejoices in scientific inquiry.

Dr. Collins asserts, "I think of God as the greatest scientist. I mean, he knows all this stuff! I think probably in some way, I don’t mean to put thoughts into God’s mind because that would be impertinent, but I imagine somehow that God thinks it’s a good thing that we’re curious about his creation. We’re using the minds that he gave us to try to understand it, and when we do appreciate something that we didn’t recognize before and say, ‘Wow, that’s cool!’, that is, in some way, pleasing to God. That is part of what he hopes we will do – to use our minds to explore the world he has given us."

Still, Dr. Collins concedes that there are a number of ethical questions yet to be resolved concerning his own effort, the human genome project, and other scientific advances as well. But he argues that Christians have a vital, even essential role to play in each new debate. He says "In many of the ethical dilemmas that arise out of the new advances in science, whether it’s in genetics, or in things that have more to do with developmental biology like stem cells, it is critical for people of faith who stand on a firm foundation of what their moral principles are to be engaged in a very serious way in those deliberations about what is ethical and what is not."

Dr. Collins observes that such deliberations often grind to a halt when opposing camps stake out early positions without even considering the facts. He notes "There is a verse from Proverbs, Proverbs 19:2, that says it’s not good to have zeal without knowledge. Scientists sometimes go off on this; having zeal for some new development that they think is going to cure Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s without really knowing that that is true. But sometimes people in the faith community have zeal to sort of say, ‘That’s evil, it’s wrong!’ without really having taken the time to completely understand what the science is. And we quickly, I’m afraid in some instances, build into very dug-in positions and strong rhetoric, and then we’re not really talking to each other anymore."

It should be comforting to those on both sides of this issue that a man like Dr. Collins is leading the human genome project; a man of faith and integrity that sees scientific discovery as a form of worship.

He concludes "For me, much about the world that really matter is what is of spirit, and my relationship with God is more important to me than my relationship with science, although I’m a very excited guy when it comes to making a discovery. But for me, the opportunity as a scientist to learn new things about the world gives you a special sense of privilege if it occurs in the context of realizing that God knew that all along. And you have made a discovery, which in some way gives you a glimpse into God’s grandeur, and for me, that is very much like an experience of worship."