In this short interview (<4 min) Dr Francis Collins (Director, National Human Genome Research Institute) explains why he believes in a personal God and how his faith is compatible with science. For a brief article about Dr. Francis Collin's road to faith, see Why this scientist believes in God.
Given the apparent "rift" between science and faith in God in our modern world, it is perhaps surprising to learn that many famous scientists of the past had a deep faith in God! Many of today's scientists do too although you may not often hear about them. And like believing scientists before them (see a partial list below), they don't see a conflict between Christianity and science. Dr. Collins in the youtube video above is one example.
This topic is one I hope to visit time and again, but today I simply want to list a few scientists whom you may have heard of who were devout Christians:
1. Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543): Polish astronomer who put forward the first mathematically based system of planets going around the sun.
2. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627): Philosopher known for establishing the scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning.
3. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): Brilliant mathematician and astronomer. He did early work on light, and established the laws of planetary motion about the sun.
4. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): Galileo's troubles with the established church are famous, but his problem was with the institutionalized church, not Christianity. His controversial work on the solar system was published in 1633.
5. Rene Descartes (1596-1650): French mathematician, scientist and philosopher who has been called the father of modern philosophy.
6. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher.
7. Isaac Newton (1642-1727): In optics, mechanics, and mathematics, Newton was a figure of undisputed genius and innovation.
8. Robert Boyle (1791-1867): One of the founders and key early members of the Royal Society, Boyle gave his name to "Boyle's Law" for gases, and also wrote an important work on chemistry.
9. Michael Faraday (1791-1867): The son of a blacksmith who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. His work on electricity and magnetism not only revolutionized physics, but led to much of our lifestyles today, which depends on them (including computers and telephone lines and, so, web sites).
10. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884): The first to lay the mathematical foundations of genetics, in what came to be called "Mendelianism".
11. William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907): Kelvin was foremost among the small group of British scientists who helped to lay the foundations of modern physics.
