ABSTRACT:
As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, we have become not just a hyper-partisan society but also a deeply cynical one, distrustful of traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom. Skepticism about vaccines led to the needless deaths of at least 230,000 Americans. “Do your own research” is now a rallying cry in many online rabbit holes. Yet experts aren’t perfect either: they (we) can make mistakes, and institutions can lose their moral compass. So how can we navigate through all this? And how can scientists and people of faith play effective roles in re-anchoring us?

In this talk, I plan to review the four core sources of judgment and clear thinking that have anchored all successful societies down through history, but that are now under significant threat in our divided nation: truth, science, faith, and trust. Drawing on ethics, philosophy, Christian theology, and my own scientific experience from the Human Genome Project and heading the National Institutes of Health, I will try to make a robust case for each of these sources—their reliability, but also their limits. Ultimately, I will argue that they should work together, not separately—and certainly not in conflict.

I will shine a light on how deterioration in our traditional support for these foundational anchors has led to distrust of science and public health, partisanship, emergence of racist messages, denial of climate change, and threats to our democracy. But as followers of Jesus, we are not without hope: God is still sovereign and there are specific actions that each of us can take. 

Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD is an American physician-scientist. Under his direction, the international Human Genome Project produced the first finished sequence of human DNA in 2003. From 2009 through 2021, he served as the 16^th Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world. Collins has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Templeton Prize. He received a doctorate in physical chemistry from Yale University, and a medical degree from the University of North Carolina. An atheist in graduate school, Collins became a Christian in medical school and has sought ways to emphasize the harmony of science and faith. He is the author of The Language of God (Free Press), Belief (Harper One), and The Language of Science and Faith (with Karl Giberson, InterVarsity). Collins founded The BioLogos Foundation in November 2007 and served as president until August 2009 when his official duties as NIH Director required him to step down. His new book The Road To Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust will be published by Little, Brown in September 2024.

Walter Kim, President | National Association of Evangelicals
Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. He preaches, writes and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. He regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms; addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions; and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with a wide range of organizations. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.

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There will be a dessert reception immediately following the talk.

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