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07/09/2009
Health head nominee: Should we be nervous?
Lots of people have concerns about Dr. Francis Collins' nomination as head of the National Institutes of Health, since he is a born-again Christian. But for us, we're holding on to comments like the one he gave Ex-Gay Watch back in 2007, in response to the way the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality was -- surprise, surprise -- misrepresenting his work:
It troubles me greatly to learn that anything I have written would cause anguish for you or others who are seeking answers to the basis of homosexuality. The words quoted by NARTH all come from the Appendix to my book “The Language of God” (pp. 260-263), but have been juxtaposed in a way that suggests a somewhat different conclusion that I intended. I would urge anyone who is concerned about the meaning to refer back to the original text.
The evidence we have at present strongly supports the proposition that there are hereditary factors in male homosexuality — the observation that an identical twin of a male homosexual has approximately a 20% likelihood of also being gay points to this conclusion, since that is 10 times the population incidence. But the fact that the answer is not 100% also suggests that other factors besides DNA must be involved. That certainly doesn’t imply, however, that those other undefined factors are inherently alterable.
Your note indicated that your real interest is in the truth. And this is about all that we really know. No one has yet identified an actual gene that contributes to the hereditary component (the reports about a gene on the X chromosome from the 1990s have not held up), but it is likely that such genes will be found in the next few years.
Major Geneticist Francis Collins Responds to NARTH Article [XGW]
So while we'll surely learn much more about Dr. C in the coming days, for now we are comforted that this is someone who sees a need to correct far-right misuse, and who understands (more than any of us) that inability to concretely pinpoint bio-genetic factors doesn't negate their existence. It is that sort of born-again person who could give a wide berth to past faith-based biases.
**ALSO: Dr. Collins made some gay-positive, truth-positive comments on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius/XM show. We'll try to get some clips from that appearance.
Your thoughts
I, personally, have no problem with a person being "born again". As long as they operate under the premise that that "born againedness" is something that they enjoy(??), and not something that they can use to beat others into submission with. And, it is particularly heartening to learn that some in that "rebirthed" subculture, have decided that "checking their intellect at the door" was not a prerequisite to gaining entry. And, while the voices of the more moderate tend to be drowned out by the raging homophobes in their midst, it is good to see that they persevere nonetheless.
Posted by: Dick Mills | Jul 9, 2009 3:31:46 PM
Nice to have an occasional reminder that people who are born again are not by default the enemy.
Posted by: RainbowPhoenix | Jul 9, 2009 3:59:26 PM
I heard parts of the interview with Signorile. His Christian views are similar to mine: there is no conflict between science and Christianity.
Posted by: Bonnie_Half-Elven | Jul 10, 2009 1:00:22 PM
Collins has upset some Christian conservatives by trying to reconcile Christianity and evolution, too. I'm not scared of him, and it's really nice to see someone who identifies as a born-again Christian who doesn't scare me.
Posted by: GreenEyedLilo | Jul 10, 2009 7:21:07 PM
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