Posted by
Jason Cunningham on Thursday, July 05, 2007 7:43:52 PM
Re: "An egghead for the Oval Office," Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post, June 1, 2007.
I couldn't agree more with Mr. Robinson that at all times we need someone of high intelligence as our president. He has me wondering about something, however.
Mr. Robinson appears to give both faith and empiricism their proper due: "I want a president who believes in empirical fact, whose understanding of spirituality is complete enough to know that faith is 'the evidence of things not seen' and who knows that for things that can be seen, the relevant evidence is fact, not belief. I want a president -- and it's amazing that I even have to put this on my wish list -- smart enough to know that Darwin was right."
I find myself wondering, however, if Mr. Robinson -- if presented with a brilliant candidate -- would still cast his vote for said candidate if that person were a devout Christian.
Let me elaborate with a reality-based example. Francis Collins, a scientist, is well-known and well-respected for, among other things, his work as leader of the famous Human Genome Project, an intense research effort that produced a map of the entire human genetic code. Mr. Collins is a Darwin-believing scientist. He's also a Bible-believing Christian. He believes that the living things of this world developed through Darwinian evolution ... and that this process of evolution was created by the all-knowing, all-powerful God of the Bible. He believes what the Bible teaches ... and that there is a seamless harmony between that and science.
Now, I have no idea what his political views or ambitions are, but let's just say -- for grins and giggles -- that Mr. Collins decided to run for president. He's obviously a brilliant man, so let's assume that along with this brilliance, he possessed the other factors necessary in a good president -- and yet allowed for a full mingling of faith and science. Would he still get Mr. Robinson's vote? Would he get yours? Or does the Francis Collins type live too close to the edge? Is he "too religious" and/or "not empirical enough"?