Last Updated On April 8th 2017
Minor update on Jan. 28th 2020
The BioLogos Foundation, http://biologos.org/, seems to be a very interesting evangelical Christian community which is ‘committed to exploring and celebrating the compatibility of evolutionary creation and biblical faith, guided by the truth that “all things hold together in Christ.”’
I very much liked the “What We Believe” section of [28th Jan. 2020: original link seems to have changed a little; this is new link: https://biologos.org/about-us/what-we-believe/ ] http://biologos.org/about. I presume that the views of the BioLogos founder would have had a significant bearing on this section and so I felt it appropriate to give the below information about its founder. However, there are many other distinguished persons associated with BioLogos whose views too would have had a bearing on its “What We Believe” section, I presume.
BioLogos Founder
BioLogos was founded in 2007 by Dr. Francis Collins, http://biologos.org/blog/author/collins-francis, who I view as one of the outstanding scientists of our times who seems to have led a balanced life of science and God, and who seems to have made quite some efforts to share his belief with the community at large that Christian faith and science can go together, and has also convincingly refuted claims of some scientists that “in the absence of scientific proof of God’s existence the default answer should be that there is no God” [1]. Dr. Collins clearly asserts, “But if you are going to try to take the tools of science and disprove God, you are in the wrong territory. Science has to remain silent on the question of anything that falls outside of the natural world.” [1]
Dr. Francis Collins has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Yale University in 1974, and is also a physician earning his M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) from University of North Carolina in 1977. He followed these degrees with a distinguished research career in genetics. His wiki states “Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950), is an American physician-geneticist noted for his discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project (HGP).” He is currently the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, which “is the leading supporter of biomedical research in the world“. He does not seem to be holding any major position currently in the BioLogos foundation (to avoid any controversies, I guess). This Scitable, Nature Education page gives another interesting view of his research contributions.
He has received many honors including the US National Medal of Science and US Presidential Medal of Freedom. His contributions have also been recognized by the Catholic church. His wiki states, “In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Collins to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences“.
What We Believe Adapted to a Multi-Faith/Universal Faith View
Here, it is appropriate for me to first mention that this blog and I do not have any direct affiliation with The BioLogos Foundation, at the present time or in the past. But I am deeply appreciative of whatever I have examined in the website of The BioLogos Foundation and am thankful to them for their wonderful service to society in promoting faith in Christ that is compatible with science. I am also thankful to them for having their “What We Believe” section freely accessible on the Internet which enables people like me to consider adapting it, as given below, for a multi-faith/universal faith perspective in a way that carefully respects their copyright.
I am a multi-faith person with a belief that there is one Almighty God which is expressed and/or experienced in sometimes similar and sometimes slightly different ways by believers, followers and teachers of different religions. I believe in the divinity of major figures of many religions and find a lot of commonality in the essence of the teachings of different religions with *Love*, perhaps, being the most powerful common theme of the teachings of most, if not all, religions.
I have made a humble attempt to adapt the [28th Jan. 2020: original link seems to have changed a little; this is new link: https://biologos.org/about-us/what-we-believe/ ] “What We Believe” section of BioLogos to a multi-faith/universal faith view. Due to copyright restrictions I have provided a paraphrased short explanation of the points of the BioLogos, “What We Believe” section referred by their associated numbers, followed by my comment on whether it can be used as is or whether it needs to be adapted. If it needs to be adapted I have humbly suggested the kind of change needed. It is suggested that the points in the sections below be read side by side with the corresponding point in “What We Believe” section of BioLogos.
I realize that I could, of course, be making some mistakes, but I thought it may be an interesting starting point for some people who are very happy with the BioLogos beliefs but believe not only in the divinity of Jesus Christ but also in the divinity of some other figures of various faiths.
1. This point is about the belief that the Holy Bible is the authoritative word of God. [Change: This would need to be adapted to refer to an allegorical (as against literal) interpretation of holy scripture of various faiths.]
2. This point deals with God revealing Himself through nature. [No change needed. Wonderful view of nature as an expression of God.]
3. This point deals with belief about all people having sinned and needing to be saved. [Change: This may not be in line with the beliefs of some faiths.]
4. This point affirms faith in historical incarnation of Jesus Christ as man and affirms faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ. [Change: This would need to be adapted to refer to historical incarnations of figures from various faiths.]
5. This point is about belief in a God who is directly involved with and intervenes in human affairs. I think this belief in God who answers prayers is a vital point. [No change needed.]
6. This point is about God being involved in natural laws (as creator and sustainer) but also having the ability to work outside natural laws by doing supernatural acts (miracles). [No change needed.]
7. This point deals with the belief that science is an important tool for understanding natural laws and that faith in God and science are “mutually hospitable”. [Change: This would need to be adapted to refer to traditions of other faiths too where “faith and science are mutually hospitable”. The acceptance of science as a reliable tool to “investigate and describe” the natural/material world but the rejection of Scientism is an important part here. The wiki defines Scientism partly as “the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or most valuable part of human learning to the exclusion of other viewpoints” which, IMHO, is a *wrong* and *harmful* view. Some of its supporters go to the extent of making false statements that science has debunked or refuted God and religion.]
8. This point states the belief that God created universe and life over billions of years. It also clearly states the belief that God is actively involved in the world *now*. [No change needed.]
9. This point clearly states that evolution and belief in God can go together but also states the disagreement with the view that “evolution is a purposeless process or that evolution replaces God”. [No change needed.]
10. This point deals with the belief that human beings have been created by God as spiritual beings and that God has given human beings an elevated position in creation. [Change: While most religions do accept that the human being among all forms of life on earth has a larger spiritual role besides the biological role, some religions may not limit the spiritual role to only humans among all forms of life on earth.]
11. This point deals with belief that conversation among Christians on controversial matters dealing with science and faith can be done in a civil and honest manner. [Change: This would need to be adapted to refer to other faiths without weakening the stress on the conversation between science and faith on controversial issues being conducted in a very civil and honest manner. I would like to state that I have great respect and reverence for many of the organizations representing various religious faiths throughout the world, including the Christian Church (various denominations). The good that they have done, and are currently doing, for humanity, especially the needy – materially needy and/or spiritually needy – sections of humanity, IMHO, is very significant.]
That finishes the points from the BioLogos “What We Believe” section.
I would like to humbly add two points for consideration.
a. We believe that God can be viewed as the embodiment of love and that we should love God with all our heart and all our mind, and that God responds to our love with various expressions of His love. As humans, most, if not all, of us may not be able to really comprehend why a loving God has created pain and suffering in this world but that may be due to our limited understanding and vision.
b. We believe that God ensures that human beings (some faiths include other living beings as well) who do good acts receive good results (benefit) for those acts, and ensures that those who do bad acts receive bad results (suffering) for those acts. The belief about the manner in which the human being (or other living being) gets the benefits or suffering varies across faiths (e.g. in heaven/hell (or equivalent) or in future in this lifetime or, for those faiths which believe in reincarnation, one of the future lifetimes).
I am I 