Brad+Mitchell+Entry+4

It is my belief that the fact that they put a deeply religious man in charge of a major scientific organization is preposterous. Religion has no place in science since science directly contradicts religion. A religious man can never be completely unbiased. He may say that he has “no religious agenda for the N.I.H,” but this is very improbable since many biomedical research fields are opposed by the church. One such example is the matter of cloning. Christians believe that cloning is morally wrong but as director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis S. Collins will have to make meaningful decisions concerning whether or not to continue research. Someone who is as strongly and openly religious as he is could not possibly make a logical, coherent decision without bringing in his own preconceptions. This being said, Dr. Collins claims that he will not bring religion into any of his decisions. “In a recent interview over French toast at a diner near the agency’s sprawling campus here, Dr. Collins rejected any notion that faith and science conflicted in substantial ways. Indeed, he said, science illuminates the work and language of God. And he pointed out that he wrote in his book about God that he supports therapeutic cloning.” Personally, I think this shows him as a hypocrite. When one is so openly Christian and writes books about his religion, saying that he supports something so opposed by that which he is so devoted to is not right. It is possible that he could be both a believer and a productive scientist but he should not be in charge.