The Language of God

A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

By: Francis S. Collins

Narrated by: Francis S. Collins

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists, yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and scripture. Dr. Collins has resolved the dilemma that haunts everyone who believes in God and respects science. Faith in God and faith in science can be harmonious, not separately but together, combined into one worldview. For Collins, science does not conflict with the Bible, science enhances it.

The Language of God makes the case for God and for science. Dr. Collins considers and dismisses several positions along the spectrum from atheism to young-earth creationism, including agnosticism and Intelligent Design. Instead, he proposes a new synthesis, a new way to think about an active, caring God who created humankind through evolutionary processes.

He explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes listeners on a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible. The Language of God is essential for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of all: Why are we here? How did we get here? And what does life mean?

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2006 Francis S. Collins. All rights reserved. (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Collins' credibility as a scientist and his sincerity as a believer make for an engaging combination, especially for those who, like him, resist being forced to choose between science and God." (Publishers Weekly)

DNA 5 stars Rest Darwin rambling 1star

I purchased this audiobook mainly to learn about dna
Disappointed book turned into Darwin’s book rambles. How stubborn and close minded young earth people taking Bible too seriously. Making assurances God using evolu

Remarkable!

The author captures and explains in understandable form the centuries old struggle between science and religion. By sharing his own struggle and extraordinary scientific achievements, he allows us to enter into his journey and to evaluate our own. This is a deep exploration of faith and our human relationship to God.

For those on the fence

This book's greatest attribute is that it provides the current nonbeliever with reasons to consider and ultimately acknowledge the existence of god Because of this, it is best read by non believers or at least those 'on the fence' re: belief in god. The negative reviews by others appear to be from people who believed in god prior to reading the book and were dissappointed that the author did not touch upon discussions that resonated with them. It is not clear why they take a negative view toward the approach of someone else who also has strong belief in god, but this is another matter. I take the target audience to be those like the author in his younger day...someone who does not believe in god because it 'cant' be proven' or have no opinion on god because it is a safe position to take. This book provides reasons why it is reasonable for 'even a scientist' to believe in god. As a scientist myself, I found his arguments to be very understandable and plausible and worthy of thought and consideration. I don't know what more could be said of a book on this topic. The author gives much credit to CS Lewis for guidance, however, I found this book much easier to read than Lewis' essays.

If you are someone who would like to have logical arguments and actual evidence of God, then you will find the book at least interesting and you might even find it convincing.

Brilliant

The author used his expertise in the field of science to paint an incredibly convincing picture about the compatibility and coexistence between science and God. Very thought-provoking read!

Balanced and Reasoned

I found doctor Collins appointment doctor Collins approached to be very balanced and reasoned. I recommend this book if you were interested in these issues

One of the best books I’ve read in a while.

Extremely thought-provoking. Very scientific, objective and logical. It made me change beliefs I’ve held for 30 years.

I think it’s important for us as humans to search for facts and truth. Not just for ourselves personally,but for us as a human race to understand our natural world and why we came to be placed in it. This book helps aid that search.

Highly recommend everyone listen to this book.

Loved it

Great book. Hard to argue with the facts. Very fare with both sides of the issue.

Honest intelligent believer

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It gives an honest and educated view on spirituality from a believer's perspective. Dr. Collins is a top scientist and his arguments for belief are perfectly logic and coherent and can be summed in the two essential questions: "is there an original purpose?" and "why has man always searched for a god?". Collins believes that science hasn't found an answer to these and furthermore he believes that the answer cannot be given by science but should come from within by means of a leap of faith. Personally I don't find his reasons convincing and so I remain a solid atheist but that's just me. If were a serious believer (and not an uneducated zealot) I would appreciate the intelligence and fulness of Dr. Collins's arguments and my own belief would probably be reinforced by them.I would recommend this book to anyone (believer AND not) who is interested in having a deeper knowledge on the universal debate "God vs. Science" and doesn't want to waste time with uneducated rants (creationism etc...). Dr. Collins has strong ideas and they can be very well appreciated even without taking the final leap of faith that he ultimately does. That is entirely up to you as the same Dr. Collins very honestly says at the end of his book.

Any additional comments?

This was an extremely interesting book. Dr. Collins is a learned, unpretentious person and he delivers his ideas in a very accessible language even for non scientifically educated listeners (readers). The book is at times moving when Dr. Collins mentions episodes from his personal life and I came to admire the person even if I ultimately cannot agree with his conclusions. I found more reason in Dawkins's "The God Delusion" but, frankly speaking, if I had to choose based on gut feeling, I'd rather buy a dinner to Dr. Collins!If the topic interests you then this is a book you must listen to (read).

Thought provoking

I liked that this was narrarated by the author. The ongormation was interesting & gave me a lot to ponder.

You do not have to choose between Faith and Reason

What did you love best about The Language of God?

I have long believed that there can be an understanding of science and evolution AND deep faith. The author gives a respectful and detailed account of many perspectives and arrives at a thoughtful and scientifically sound conclusion.