Good, as far as it goes. - Rated 
This book is both interesting and frustrating. It is interesting because as a prominent theistic scientist (who took over leadership of the Human Genome Project from a prominent atheistic scientist) Collins has a unique vantage point from which to contribute to the science / faith debate. It's frustrating because, in this reviewer's opinion, Collins should have gone so much further in engaging more fully in the wider Christianity / Atheism debate.
The book's subtitle "A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief" is misleading. The pro-faith argument rests almost exclusively on the Moral Law whilst evidenced-based reasoning fills relatiely few of the book's pages. The reliance on philosophical argument is odd as one might expect the main evidence for belief from such a prominent scientist to be scientific in nature (Collins does touch on the Cosmological and Fine Tuning Arguments but these do not come across as central evidential pillars). However this reflects the thrust of the book - science doesn't land blows for theism or atheism - science should not even be in the fight.
Consequently I would say that this book does not add a great deal to the Christian / Atheist debate. Collins surveys that battle and seeks to pull back science from the front line. However I struggle to see how that is consistent with the worldview of someone who believes that the entire natural world has been created by the agency of a personal God, in order to declare his glory (which Collins must believe, as a self-confessed Evangelical). Science, as the study of God's creation, should be a powerful apologetic tool for those who have eyes to see, and thus I would recommend the book of another evangelical Scientist - John Lennox's "God's Undertaker" - above this book.
I found "The Language of God" frustrating for a number of additional reasons - at times Collins appears self aggrandising; in other places he seems to be humbly pleading with the wider scientific community to continue to take him seriously despite being a Christian (he spends much time criticising and distancing himself from his Christian brothers and sisters who hold different scientific views); his personal testimony chapter makes much of CS Lewis but little of the Lord Jesus.
However the book has many interesting and positive aspects. The general scientific education one receives from its pages is fascinating, irrespective of any religious connotations. The bioethics appendix is well thought through and raises helpful questions. It's fascinating to see how someone who appears to adopt everything the scientific establishment tells him from both within and outside his specialist field remains able to maintain an evangelical Christian worldview. It does a good job in presenting one way in which science and Christian theism can peacefully co-habit - Theistic Evolution or BioLogos in the author's own terminology (whether this is the correct answer is for the reader to decide). It is a well timed rebuke to believers who are tempted to use science as an excuse to give up on following Jesus Christ. It's reassuring to those who find the pseudo-scientific ramblings of Dawkins et al compelling. Ultimately this is a well intentioned book seeking to call an end to hostilities between science and the Christian faith and probably worth a read.
Well written, and interesting - Rated
I read this book as a counter to Dawkins' God Delusion. I found it enjoyable to read, and though I don't agree with some of his arguments, they were mostly well presented. The exception being the section where Collins addresses the assault on his daughter; it is simply beyond me to accept the idea of rape being a "challenge to learn forgiveness".
On the other hand, whatever pre-conceptions you come to the book with, it's unlikely to live up to them. For myself I came away from the book having learned more about science than about religion, when I had expected (and rather hoped for) the complete opposite!
A gentle apologetic based in science - Rated 
This is a delightful and excellent book on science-faith issues for the layman, written by the head of the Human Genome Project. Subtitle is A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, and this is the angle of approach, starting with the author's own journey from atheism in his mid 20s, influenced by his growing perception of a Moral Law and by C S Lewis. His transition from maths and physical chemistry to medicine and genetics a corollary of this.
Some of the reasons for belief he presents are particularly interesting in the light of his autobiographical framework - "The Big Bang cries out for a divine explanation", "The chance that all these [15 physical] constants would take on the values necessary to result in a stable universe capable of sustaining complex life forms is almost infinitesimal," which leads him to cogent reasons for a faith position.
His account of the role of DNA ("God's instruction book") and leading on through the Human Genome Project is fascinating. In this context we get to Darwin and biological evolution, which is very well and strongly handled. Dobzhansky is quoted with approval: "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
The third part of the book is a more traditional coverage of the relationship between science and faith, notable for being North American and a little more outspoken than I am used to. On Creationism Collins is forthright: "Can faith in a loving God be built on a foundation of lies about nature?" Showing that the only plausible understanding of what comes from certain quarters is that God is the great deceiver, he suggests that "by any reasonable standard, Young Earth Creationism (YEC) has reached a point of intellectual bankruptcy both in its science and its theology."
The outcome of this is that "By sending a message to young people that science is dangerous, and that pursuing science may well mean rejecting religious faith, YEC may be depriving science of some of its most promising future talents." But it "does even more damage to faith, by demanding that belief in God requires assent to fundamentally flawed claims about the natural world." "To adhere to the faith of their childhood, they are required to reject a broad and rigorous body of scientific data, effectively committing intellectual suicide." So they turn away from faith with its anti-scientific baggage in order to opt for truth. Collins does not labour the point beyond "A Plea for Reason" lovingly addressed to "the evangelical Christian church", but he supports the view that this will progressively debilitate many of those parts of the US church which are not already spiritually compromised in other ways, espousing gay ordination etc. The story is all too familiar, but I get more upset every time I am reminded of it.
Intelligent Design is dealt with well, as a modern manifestation of God of the Gaps - "ID portrays the Almighty as a clumsy Creator." Dembski is quoted as saying that if advances in scientific knowledge close the gaps, ID is finished. Collins concludes that "this outcome is already at hand." All the iconic 'irreducible complexities' have been reduced!
His chapter on theistic evolution, or BioLogos as he prefers to call it so as to de-emphasise evolution, is sound but sad. He suggests that though most scientists who are Christians (understanding God as sovereign Creator) line up there they will not speak out (as he didn't until recently), while hardly any theologians are familiar enough with biological science to so either. So while he asserts this position as being intellectually rigorous and allowing science and faith to be mutually supportive, it is largely unknown in main street and high school USA. Most Americans know of only YEC or ID as Christian positions, and he quotes a frightening 45% as supporting YEC. But the background and partial explanation of this is that aggressive atheism has captured the idea of evolution, with YEC and ID advocates contributing to its stigma. Richard Dawkins gets a serve earlier in the book.
Is it possible to conceive of high-level transdenominational attention being given to addressing this problem? Something like the Council of Nicea in 325AD? The doctrine of creation has never been so obviously relevant to human stewardship of Earth and its resources as today, and nor has science - through medicine, IT, engineering, and now meteorology - been so central to human wellbeing and the aspirations of 6.5 billion of us. Nor has the whole of western civilisation relying on science been under so much threat from mindless fundamentalism. Is a consensus on hermeneutics and epistemology (not to mention eschatology) related to Creation and how we manage it conceivable?
A 37-page Appendix on Bioethics and an index are included. The Bioethics helpfully touches upon medical genetics, stem cells and cloning (with positive view of SCNT/ therapeutic cloning), heritability of traits and selection for them.
Stimulating, readable exploration of science and faith - Rated
One of the big issues of our day is the science/faith debate, recently reignited by Richard Dawkins in his bestseller The God Delusion. A number of writers have responded to Dawkins' claims about the incompatibility of science and religious faith (John Lennox's God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? is particularly helpful).
But The Language of God is a bit different. It's not so much a direct response to Dawkins as the reflections of a top scientist who is also a Christian believer. As director of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins is unquestionably one of the leading scientists of his generation.
He gives a personal account of why he moved from atheism to Christianity, along the way offering pointers from human nature and the physical world towards the existence of God, with a particular debt to the non-fiction writings of CS Lewis. As a committed evolutionist (a `theistic evolutionist', in his words), he also explains why he has so little time for Creationism and - perhaps more surprisingly - the Intelligent Design movement.
This is a thoughtful, passionate book by a man overflowing with enthusiasm about both science and faith, and full of illuminating ideas about how the two fit together. And it's surprisingly readable: people not trained in science, philosophy or theology will have no problem getting through it. Quite simply, one of the most interesting books I've ever read.
Clear, accessible and humble - how refreshing! - Rated 
How refreshing to read a book by a scientist about faith in God which is totally free of the hyperbole, intemperance and aggression of other recent publications! Collins frames his proposals with humility and his criticisms with care and respect - if only all contributions to the God debate could be written in a similarly gracious manner (whether by theist or atheist) we'd all be better off - and more light than heat would be generated.
This book is extremely valuable for two important reasons.
First, Collins is an extremely eminent scientist. As director of the Human Genome Project, Collins is possibly one the most respected scientists in the world and he is also committed believer in God. His scientific integrity is beyond question - indeed his harshest words are directed towards creationists who abandon any pursuit of science and he is strongly critical of Intelligent Design - and yet he sees no contradiction between his scientific discoveries and his belief in God.
Second, Collins used to be an adamant atheist. This is no "dyed-in-the-wool faith-head" (to use a memorable but misleading description) - Collins was brought up by free-thinking, non-believing, liberal parents and only later in his adult life arrived at his Christian faith after a painstakingly rational search which thoroughly examined the evidence.
Consequently this book slays two great myths currently doing the rounds. Collins demolishes the notion that science and faith are contradictory or in conflict - not only do a huge number of scientists have a theistic faith, the vast majority of those who don't see no contradiction between being a believer and being a scientist. The myth of a great battle between science and faith is simply a dragon conjured up by fundamentalists on both sides of the atheist/theist debate to stoke the fires of antipathy. Secondly, Collins demonstrates that there is nothing irrational about faith. Faith, by its very nature, goes beyond reason, but it is no way contrary to reason. In describing his own faith-journey (from agnosticism to atheism to theism to Christianity) Collins shows how a reasonable, rational and open-minded search for truth can easily lead to Christianity.
Although this faith-journey is perhaps too briefly outlined to properly cover the philosophical themes he brings up it provides useful context to the heart of the book where Collins shows how faith and science can sit quite happily side-by-side - indeed he shows how this was always the belief of people like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein.
Collins communicates his enthusiasm for science in an infectious, accessible manner, and I found myself (as a non-scientist) captivated by the amazing world of genes and DNA. As a scientist, Collins' can marvel at the wonders of the order of the cosmos beyond and the intricacies of the double-helix within whilst at the same time, as a believer, seeing the hand of a divine designer in both.
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