The BioLogos Foundation is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...
that supports the view that
God created the world using
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
of different
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
as the mechanism. It was established by
Francis Collins in 2007 after receiving letters and emails from people who had read his book, ''
The Language of God
''The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief'' is a bestselling book by Francis Collins in which he advocates theistic evolution. Collins is an American physician- geneticist, noted for his discoveries of disease genes, and ...
''. The primary audience was Christians in the beginning, but Collins as well as later leaders of the organization have sought to engage with
scientific skeptics
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...
as well as general audiences invested in biological science.
BioLogos affirms
evolutionary creation
Evolutionary creation, also presented as Evolutionary creationism, is the religious belief that God as Creator brings about his plan through processes of evolution. It is a type of creationism which, like theistic evolution, accepts modern science ...
as a core commitment.
Presidents
The foundation has been led by the following presidents:
*
Francis Collins (foundation 2007 – 16 August 2009; resigned to become 16th director of the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the lat ...
)
*
Darrel Falk
Darrel R. Falk (born 1946) is an American biologist. He is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Point Loma Nazarene University and is the past president and a current senior advisor with BioLogos Foundation,
an advocacy group that emphasizes compati ...
(16 August 2009 – January 2013)
* Deborah Haarsma (January 2013 – present)
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, BioLogos sponsored livestream events featuring the NIH director and BioLogos founder Francis Collins.
Responses
The BioLogos Foundation has drawn criticism from both
creationists and
antitheist
Antitheism, also spelled anti-theism, is the philosophical position that theism should be opposed. The term has had a range of applications. In secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to the belief in any deity.
Etymology
The ...
s. A ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' article about the foundation reported different responses in 2009.
BioLogos has also received praise and positive responses. Supporters of The BioLogos Foundation include ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' columnist
Kathleen Parker, who has argued that the foundation's goal of "helping fundamentalists evolve can only be good for civilization."
References
Bibliography
* ''
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief'', by Francis Collins
{{DEFAULTSORT:BioLogos Foundation
Christian organizations established in 2007
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Criticism of creationism
Christianity and science
Christianity and evolution