The BioLogos Foundation

The BioLogos Foundation is a Christian advocacy group that supports the view that God created the world using evolution of different species as the mechanism.^[1] It was established by Francis Collins in 2007 after receiving letters and emails from people who had read his book, The Language of God.^[2] 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 as well as general audiences invested in biological science.

The BioLogos Foundation

Formation	2007
Legal status	Non-profit
Headquarters	Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
President	Deborah Haarsma
Website	biologos.org

BioLogos affirms evolutionary creation as a core commitment.^[3]

Presidents

Founder Francis Collins is known primarily for having served both as leader of the Human Genome Project and as director of the National Institutes of Health.

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)
• Darrel R. Falk (16 August 2009 – January 2013)
• Deborah Haarsma (January 2013 – present)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BioLogos sponsored livestream events featuring the NIH director and BioLogos founder Francis Collins.^[4]

Responses

A Time article about the foundation reported different responses in 2009.^[5]

BioLogos has also received praise and positive responses. Supporters of The BioLogos Foundation include Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, who has argued that the foundation's goal of "helping fundamentalists evolve can only be good for civilization."^[6]

Reception of the "evolutionary creationism" message of BioLogos within the Christian community has been mixed. Young earth creationists identify BioLogos as one of the great compromisers of the Bible, accusing members of bowing to science over the clear Word of God.^[7] BioLogos counters that they affirm all the core tenants of the traditional Christian faith, and that their views on evolution are consistent with notable defenders of Christianity such as Augustine, an early church father,^[8] and B.B. Warfield, a staunch 19th century promoter of biblical inerrancy.^[9]

References

1. "Of faith and reason". Nature Immunology. 11 (5): 357. May 2010. doi:10.1038/ni0510-357. ISSN 1529-2916. PMID 20404844.
2. "Q & A: Francis Collins".
3. "About BioLogos". BioLogos. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
4. Randall, Rebecca. "To Debunk Viral Conspiracies, First Build Trust". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
5. Sullivan, Amy (May 2, 2009). "Helping Christians Reconcile God with Science". Time. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
6. Parker, Kathleen (May 10, 2009). "An Evolution for Evangelicals". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
7. John UpChurch, The Danger of BioLogos, Blurring the Line Between Creation and Evolution, Answers Magazine, Oct-Nov, 2011. https://answersingenesis.org/theistic-evolution/the-danger-of-biologos/
8. Craig D. Allert, What is a Literal Reading?: Lessons from Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine, BioLogos, January 15, 2015. https://biologos.org/articles/what-is-a-literal-reading-lessons-from-gregory-of-nyssa-and-augustine (accessed Jul 13, 2024)
9. Mark Noll, B.B. Warfield, Biblical Inerrancy, and Evolution, BioLogos, August 22, 2011. https://biologos.org/articles/b-b-warfield-biblical-inerrancy-and-evolution (accessed Jul 13, 2024)

Bibliography

• The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, by Francis Collins