So write your code and preach your creed.
You’re closer than you might concede.
No need to keep the camps in separation.
The Word made flesh. The cancer healed.
Both hint at something now revealed —
a larger truth than all imagination.
Francis Collins, N. T. Wright, Bethan Willis, and Jim Stump at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, May 2026.
I am always inspired when Francis Collins and N. T. Wright get together. Last week at the Oxford Natural History Museum, in an event sponsored by BioLogos, Premier Unbelievable, and the Oxford Pastorate, they spoke about science and faith and their own personal journeys. The event was hosted by Bethan Willis, Oxford Pastorate Chaplain. Watch on YouTube or listen on the Premier Unbelievable podcast. At YouTube there is a general description and links to the different segments of the event.
In the finale — with Jim Stump on string bass — Francis and Tom sing three beloved folk songs updated with new lyrics:
- “Genesis,” to the tune of “Yesterday” by the Beatles (01:09:54)
- “Where is Wisdom found?” to the tune of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul, and Mary (01:13:32)
- “Hallelujah,” to the tune of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen (01:18:49)
Lyrics below. Download audio (songs only).
Genesis
Genesis,
Earth and heaven in a cosmic kiss.
Evolution must have been like this.
Oh, I believe in Genesis
DNA
shaping creatures from the dust and clay.
Double helix in the Milky Way.
Oh, Genesis meant DNA.
How he made it all
14 billion years ago
Wisdom, grace, and love,
For he spoke and it was so.
Genesis,
Eve and Adam in a world of bliss
in the paradise we all now miss.
Oh, I believe in Genesis
In a trice, didn’t listen to divine advice.
Einstein wondered whether God plays dice
We’re trapped within a world of vice
Why they had to fall,
I don’t know, It doesn’t say.
they did something wrong.
And we long for God’s New Day.
Genesis,
Royal priesthood in a holy bliss.
New Jerusalem will be like this.
Oh, I believe in Genesis.
Where is Wisdom found?
Now the lab is closed. Experiments done.
Discovered the gene. Had lots of fun.
But now we face the questions that remain.
Can we see the light behind the Sun?
Tell why the world was first begun?
Forever grasp the truth and make it plain?
So tell me, where is wisdom found?
Up in the sky or down in the ground?
Tell me ’cause I really want to know.
Is it in my head or in my heart?
I need you, Lord, to make a start.
Help me, Lord. I really want to know.
Now, the teaching’s done. We’ve read the text.
The students are wondering what’s coming next.
But there’s just one big question still in place.
Did it really happen like the old book said?
Did he walk here among us? Did he rise from the dead?
Did wisdom really wear a human face?
So tell me, where is wisdom found?
Is it up in the sky or down in the ground?
Tell me ’cause I really want to know.
Is it in my head or in my heart?
I need you, Lord, to make a start.
Help me, Lord. I really want to know.
So, how can the truth be both low and wild?
Can the how and the why be reconciled?
This question now should haunt us all our days.
With a pipette here and a Bible there,
We’ll find all truth is ours to share,
and all our quests resolve in songs of praise.
Oh, tell me, where is wisdom found?
Is it up in the sky or down in the ground?
Tell me ’cause I really want to know.
Is it in my head or in my heart?
I need you, Lord, to make a start.
Help me, Lord. I really want to know.
Hallelujah
I heard there was a secret chord.
The cosmos sang. It pleased the Lord.
But you prefer a clean equation, do ya?
You map the stars. You read the genes
defining truth and what that means.
But still you hum a gentle Hallelujah.
Hallelujah…
Now Thomas wanted peer review. He said,
“I’ll need some proof from you.
The kind that leaves a mark you can be sure of.”
He got the proof, but not the kind
that fits inside a tidy mind.
Well, look, the idols we must all be cured of.
Hallelujah…
You chase the Higgs, the cures are nigh.
You ask the how, ignore the why,
but both keep showing up to haunt your data.
and maybe truth’s a marriage vow
where “I don’t know” is still allowed
and faith not less it’s just a little braver
Hallelujah…
So write your code and preach your creed.
You’re closer than you might concede.
No need to keep the camps in separation.
The Word made flesh. The cancer healed.
Both hint at something now revealed —
a larger truth than all imagination.
Hallelujah…
