Religion and science can often seem in opposition, at least culturally. But they don’t have to be, say Marc Siegel and Francis Collins.
Siegel, who is a physician and a senior medical analyst at Fox News, has recently published a new book, “The Miracles Among Us: How God’s Grace Plays a Role in Healing,” in which he tells stories of unexpected — miraculous, he says — recoveries.
On this episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” I was joined by Siegel and Francis Collins — former director of the National Institutes of Health and the author of “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.” We discussed the intersection of faith and science, particularly the ways that some Christian communities have increasingly become skeptical of medicine like vaccines.
“God gave us this incredible gift of an intellect and curiosity and an opportunity to explore how nature works,” Collins said. “And God gave us nature as well and we get the chance through science to do that. I think of science as glimpsing God’s mind. Science is almost a form of worship because what you’re trying to do there is to be completely caught up in the awe of what we’ve been given in nature’s creation and also to use that to try to help people. To have Christians be the group that was most resistant to the outcome of this really seems wrong here.”
Collins and Siegel both hope that people of faith can see God as guiding discovery. “At the beginning of the pandemic, people were guided by God because of things that seemed completely counterintuitive, like an orthopedist working the Covid wards, looking at D-dimers and saying, ‘There’s a lot of blood clots, we’re seeing a lot blood clots.’ Where did he get the new intuition he needed?” Siegel suggested.
You can also read Siegel’s recent First Opinion essay, “I’m a doctor, and I believe in medical miracles.”
This is our last episode of the season. We’ll be back in the spring. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday.
