Director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, talks about herd immunity and shares how excited he is for Americans to slowly start returning to normal, while stressing how important it is that the 100 million unvaccinated Americans go get the vaccine. #Colbert #NIH #DrFrancisCollins
If God sends a boat your way when you’re drowning, don’t wave them off and say no thanks.. God will save me.
ReplyHis child like responses for Evangelicals are very telling. When imitating; he uses a 4 year olds voice.
ReplyVaccination doesn’t make you immune. It just means that if you get it you shouldn’t get as badly and you can still get it, not know and pass it on!
ReplyHow lovely is he?!
ReplyKeep in mind a lot of the evangelicals are cynical industries. They’re promoting anti-vax crap because they’re getting cash from affiliate links, audio books, speaking tours, conferences. One mega church in our home town was hawking $5000 conference tickets and caused an outbreak.
They want money. They’re gonna milk this wave of paranoia as long as it pays.
ReplyWhat a dummy!
ReplyThere is no god!
ReplyI’ve always found him sort of fascinating, as someone who’s not only a scientist who’s religious, but as a scientist who went from being an atheist to an evangelical. And how he believes in theistic evolution, which most evangelicals also reject.
ReplyWow…. I never expected to encounter something as profound as this interview, a word for the ages, I myself was once a very devoted Christian and now a very happy atheist (not very common to see it the way around as is Dr. Collin’s case), I continue to respect and admire Yawism and Elohism profoundly because of it’s implications on humanity throughout history and I enjoy how humans are so diverse and each very unique, marvelous.
ReplyIt’s like the lady on top of her house in a flood. a boat comes by to get her and she says no, God will save me. Then a log floats by and she psses that up, God will save me. Then a helicopter comes by and she said No. She then drowns and goes to heaven. She asks God why didn’t you save me. God said, i sent you a boat, a log and a helicopter. To be religious you have to dance around a lot of common sense. Like the scientist. You wear a life vest or a seat belt, why was god going to kill you.
ReplyTalking to someone on their last breath, if they’re comforted by their faith, no compassionate person would tell them they’ve lived a life of delusion.
ReplyDiscovering the complexities of the natural world, any man of self-reflection would be in awe of what he’s found.
Getting from there to believing in some agent pulling the strings from behind the curtain of reality… now that’s a leap.
Why aren’t any bacteriologists working on the Covid issue? THEY know that bacteria play host to viruses. They have a symbiotic relationship. It’s as if everybody is happy to simply BELIEVE that vaccines are the one solution to this rapidly mutating entity. A climate change disease.
ReplyFrancis never directly answers the question about why people of faith need seatbelts or vaccines. He seems to be pontificating that God works through “natural events” instead of just supernatural events, with the implication being that God somehow caused seatbelts or vaccines to be invented and wills them to be distributed and used. This argument is vacuous, self serving, and can be popped like a balloon for anyone who wants to think for 30 seconds. Presumably, God not only caused vaccines to be invented but also caused covid 19 in the first place. Shockingly, Collins never thinks to address this super obvious point.
ReplyEither God is not omnipotent and has no control over natural disasters, or God is intentionally killing lots of people who are elderly or live in poor countries like India or Brazil. No, please tell us how God works in “mysterious ways” by letting all the poor old people die abroad and magically sparing the rich and privileged. We live in an indifferent world where people suffer and die for no good reason every day. Covid happened for no good reason. Bad science and bad politics let it get out of hand. Good science and good politics will reign it in. God has nothing to do with it.
I’m happy for Dr. Francis with his wilful innocence…must be nice being soaked in & protected by the blood of baby Jesus, knowing that God saves all believers by imbuing his children with science so they can better understand his creations. Thank God for God ‘ey. Those 590,000 Americans should have believed harder.
ReplyYou loose so much credibility when you tell me your religious.
ReplyDr Collin’s brain must be in incredible shape, given all the mental gymnastics he must go through every day to reconcile his faith with his work!
ReplyBrainwashed Evangelicals should never be in office. Any religious person should not be in such jobs. People rely on facts and science, not invisible men in the skies.
ReplyCanada was way behind the USA but now we have surpassed it in total coverage with one shot. Our vaccine hesitancy is 10%.
ReplyEnough with the god crap
ReplyLost me on this one
ReplyScience as proven the power of Faith, and God, countless times.
ReplyEvery time someone is cured with a placebo, that is Faith and God.
Every time Science finds an “impossibility”, that is God.
But God is more then the impossible, he is all.
A family member was a hard core no vaccination but then the NFL started announcing the new season dates.
ReplyIf all it took was one question from a patient to change his entire worldview on the “afterlife” and religion, he obviously didn’t hold a very strong position either way.
ReplyIn response to some of the comments: If you are walking on the beach and you see a sand castle, there is no way you think it got there by itself. You may ask, “Wow, nice sand castle, how did it get there” (meaning, “who made it?”). If the week you were on the beach was a sand castle festival and you saw 1200 sand castles, you would still not think that they got there by themselves. However, we do that when we look at nature. We see (some of) the complexity and we can be in awe and ask, “How did that get there?” There are only two possible answers really: Either someone is there who made this order, or random, haphazard forces is at the base. In both cases (any 1st year epistemology undergrad will tell you) there is a leap of faith. To believe in chance (or “nothing”) is as religious and as consequential for life as to believe in Something. It will be occupied with its own dogmas and doctrine as a quick read of the comments here show. So while I sympathize with those who are tired of the simplistic evangelicals who crowd our social media pages, I beg to underline that the simplicity is on both sides and both are irritating. These are important questions in life that must be approached with a decent amount of humility and thought. I appreciate Dr. Collins’ stance here as one of humility and thought.
ReplyIf you could only convince yourself of religious belief to become a calmer, happier person, I think a lot of us atheist would choose that, even though nothing of it makes logical sense.
ReplyIf Steven tried that in Florida our dipstik govenor would fine him immediately.
ReplyTo the people out there that say you only believe in facts, where are your facts that God doesn’t exist? You can’t prove a negative. You have the faith/belief that God isn’t real. Im agnostic because you can’t prove one or the other.
ReplyKeep the god equation out of mankinds health future.
ReplyAs a decidedly agnostic, Reform Jewish by birth and youth, with Pagan tendencies as an adult…I just want to say that Dr. Collins gives me hope that religious-non-believers in science can see that there is no real reason to discount the science. If you believe in God, and believe that God works through people then Scientists, in my view, are among the holiest of humans; they are the ones literally communicating with our creator when they reach new understanding of the ways of nature.
ReplyThe Parable of the Drowning Man is relevant to Dr. Collins’ comments.
ReplyA person of faith could see the vaccines as being like the life vest (and other methods of rescue) from God offered to the drowning man. Hopefully enough people will be smart enough to take the life-saving gift that’s been presented to them.
That Hitch-22 book in the back!
ReplyRELIGION = FAKE NEWS
ReplyAny “Doctor” that still denies evolution and believes in “Faith” is the molecular essence of delusional !!!
ReplyYou know, I used to look at religious bumper stickers in bewilderment, wondering “Who could possibly be converted by that?”
Well. There you go I guess. We found the guy…
Replymaybe this ‘god’ character should’ve intervened a little EARLIER in the pandemic, like before it reached pandemic status?
ReplyBeing a lifelong Christian and curious observer of nature, and now a science educator myself, I love how Dr. Collins interweave his faith and his love of science so eloquently. I see God’s fingerprints in everything I learn about through my science education.
ReplyThis is what I can’t wrap around my head about a lot of the faithfuls…. Why not think of the invention of science as how God worked His way into helping us. If you got cancer, why not think of chemotherapy as how god wants to help you, and instead think of them as poison and pray the cancer away.
ReplyBoy oh boy he could have been director of NASA.
ReplyLol, fucking what?
ReplyThe second half of this has got to he the most hopelessly desperate bullshit I’ve ever heard…
I’ve thought a lot about what I believe in and I have an answer. I don’t believe there is a place for any supernatural entity in this universe. But I also believe it’s a personal choice due to lack of evidence. People who believe should listen to Dr Collins. Dr Collins should teach his beliefs that religion and science can coexist. It would help a lot.
ReplyColbert is a Faucian insider? Oh BOY! You just lost half of your audience.
ReplyI wish us who believe in religions and in particular evangelists would just clearly say that God blesses us with brains to figure out problems. vaccinations are God’s miracle given to us to improve ourselves and care for those around us.
ReplyI believe in compassion and being good to people. That’s my religion.
ReplyAs much as I support this guy, the idea that as an Atheist he converted because he didn’t hold any kind of rational belief to discuss… so he was “Atheist” because he’d never really thought about it… ? That’s an agnostic at best.
ReplyI’m not religious, but I’m glad this guy was on the show, 1) Because a lot of people are, and he can speak to them, and 2) Because as someone who qualifies as an atheist (I lack a belief in God)…atheists in any comments section are just the most obnoxious people on earth, and it tickles me to see everyone get so bent out of shape.
Replypolio! polio not eradicated until 1970s !! and they gave me a shot at birth so what did i care??
ReplyWow! This is high level theology and medicine and I am so excited about it arriving on late night!!!!!
ReplyThe idea of expecting to not need a vaccine because you prayed for a miracle baffles me.
ReplyWhen you take a hot pan out of the oven, do you pray for your hand to be protected from the heat, or do you use a hot pad?
When you use the bathroom, do you pray the germs away, or wash your hands?
There’s a difference in expecting God to do some things for you, or expecting him do everything for you.
I really wonder how Dr Collins’ mind works and how he reconciles being an evangelical Christian with basic science like evolution. Even just natural selection and antibiotic resistance for example plays right into this idea and that _has_ to be something he accepts as self-evident. At the same time I first noticed a book behind him that said “Jesus” on the edge and wasn’t particularly surprised, that is until I also spotted Christopher Hitchens’ “Hitch-22” book at the top left! Mind: blown. This man is a living contradiction. I’d be very curious to know how he arranges all of these ideas in any sort of coherent mix in his mind.
ReplyA town flooded and a guy is stuck on his roof. He prays for god to come down and save him. A boat comes along but he doesn’t get on it. Two more boats pass and he doesn’t get on. He prays to God again to come save him and God responds with “I sent you 3 boats!”
ReplyMy pastor told that story in a sermon on God helping those who help themselves.
Very intelligent man, loved the discussion on God and science.
ReplyI’m a little disturbed that the director of the NIH is a religious nut
ReplyIt’s always that last bit…
ReplyGod created a world full of germs and viruses and then we are expected to be grateful to Him when scientists find a way to combat one of them.
ReplyHaha right middle and left exists in every aspect of life hahaha….even religion hahaha
ReplyI think I missed the complexities of herd immunity
ReplyCan we have more of this guy please? Like, not just on this show, but in politics too?
ReplyCovid passports (your papers!) are not a good idea. 2-tier societies are bad – a 2-tier world is worse. Vaccinate all who want it, especially the poorer countries. Finally, what about the millions, and millions, and millions of people who have been infected (by the whole, entire virus) and recovered?
ReplyAny time someone starts talking about “the creator” and we have to “pray to him” so i don’t get in a horrible car accident today seems so unbecoming of a so-called “higher power”. So if an innocent child that is a passenger dies in a carwreck, its because they didn’t pray enough? Oh, let me guess… it was “God’s plan” for that child to die. Religion seems like such a lazy viewpoint on life.
ReplyI would think God probably also awards those who fend for themselves.
ReplyYeah…. no. There is no rational evidence for God. I wish there were more Christians like him tho. Debating science minded Christians is far more interesting than willfully ignorant science deniers.
ReplyWe won’t see 75% – 80% vaccination until we start vaccinating young children against Covid. There are about 48 million people under the age of 12 in this country. Until they are vaccinated, they can continue to incubate and transmit the virus, even if they don’t get deathly ill.
ReplyHard to take this scientist seriously when he believes so strongly in make believe tales
ReplyIt’s like the story of the drowning man, who tells 3 would be rescuers, no, god will save me. When he drowns and meets god, he says, god why didn’t you save me? God replies, what do you mean, I sent you 3 boats?
ReplyAs an Anglican surrounded by family members who are Evangelical Christians, I really appreciate Dr. Collins perspective and I’m so thankful for his ideas on how to communicate with other Christians about the vaccine.
ReplyYikes. Hot topic!
ReplyEvangelical and ascientist? That’s an oxymoron, and this wonderful man illustrates that. Rationality favors the belief in God? What a ridiculous thing for an intelligent person to say.
ReplyHorrible to have to spoon feed those who believe in magic
ReplyUgh why are people like this given important roles at the top.
ReplyI cannot trust an EC, scientist or otherwise .
ReplyAlready knew what he had to say about herd immunity; more interested in his ideas regarding the relationship between faith and science.
ReplyWonderful.
ReplySo much evidence for a particular god, and yet, where is the paper in Nature ? The fact is that when things exist we can use science to show that. This includes delusions. We can induce them with chemicals since consciousness and memory are electrochemical in nature. What can one NOT believe on faith ? So he may well be in a deep well of theism (check out his “three frozen waterfalls” moment), that’s no reason or others to do the same.
ReplyI liked listening to this man! It’s like a perfect balance of faith and trust in science explained.
Reply“There’s a lot more going for being a believer in God than for being an atheist”
ReplySo an atheistic graduate student in quantum mechanics was converted to evangelical Christianity through… Pascal’s Wager?
I have nothing but respect for this man, but it honestly baffles me if such a tired, logically flawed argument was all it took to change his entire worldview.
This man is closer to the founding fathers regarding religion than a lot of people claiming to be patriots right now.
ReplyI have no problem with his faith i do have a problem with him claiming the certainty of evidence of there being a god and it being the rational position. Thats complete bs. I also dont believe for one second his anecdote about religious sick patients doing better than non believing patients. There have been many studies on this and none support his story.
ReplySome of the first scientists were Catholic monks.
ReplyBreaking bread and hugging sounds absolutely wonderful!
Reply